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Mt. San Antonio College Relays
Where The World's Best Athletes Compete
History of the Mt. SAC Relay
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H
ilmer
Lodge was with the Mt. SAC Relays a relatively short
time, but the impact he had on it, and track and
field in the U.S., was profound. In preparation for
his first Mt. SAC Relays event, Hilmer convinced the
Mt. San Antonio College Board of Trustees to
construct a state of the art track and field facility
inside an already beautiful stadium complex. When
completed, it was considered one of the fastest
all-weather tracks in the world. The composition was
of volcanic ash, clay and diatomaceous earth.
On April 24th and 25th, 1959, Lodge's bold plan to
put on a major Relay carnival on the west coast to
match those of the well established Penn and Drake
Relays turned into reality. He wanted his event to
coincide with the dates of America's traditional
early season meets, but not limit the competition to
prep and collegiate level athletes. He wanted
America's post graduate, club and open athletes to
compete as well. Moreover, he wanted women to have
opportunities equal to the men. Thus, in 1959 a major
track and field meet was born on the West Coast,
unique among meets in the U.S.
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Hilmer Lodge
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At the
conclusion of the 1959 affair, Track and Field News
reported, "The first annual Mt. SAC Relays got
off to a good start with first class performances in
every event and excellent standards of achievement in
all areas. The West Coast's only two day affair
(which will continue to occupy the same dates as the
much older Penn and Drake Relays) outclassed the old
established meets by a wide margin in a comparison of
winning performances."
The Mt. SAC Relays has maintained its quality
throughout the years, and over the past 43 years
continues to out-perform all other major meets across
the nation. As we prepare to celebrate our 44th
annual event, it is interesting to look back at the
history of this famous meet.
Hilmer
retired in 1963 and moved with his wife Dorothy to
Pala, California to devote full time to his citrus
ranch which had previously been just a hobby. From
his first Relays in 1959 through his retirement in
1962, the event had grown from 850 high school,
community college, college and club athletes
competing in 56 different events over a 14 hour
period to a two day meet over 19 hours, consisting
of 139 events with almost 3000 athletes. In that same
span, the new facility (combined with Lodge's
involvement in national and Olympic track and field)
attracted the U.S. Olympic Team to Mt. SAC for its
1960 and 1964 training and trials site, and in 1968
as one of its two trial venues.
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Don Ruh |
While Hilmer continued his involvement in the relays
after his retirement, the school's second track
coach, Don Ruh, assumed the day to day duties of the
meet as its manager and director for the nex 24
years. During that period, the event continued to
grow in size and popularity while maintaining its
claim of being the US's number one performance meet.
By 1985, the Mt. SAC Relays had become the largest
meet in the world. The competition portion of the
meet now extended over 50 hours, 6 days, 350 events
and over 9000 competitors.
The Relays
became an international affair as athletes started
coming from around the world looking for quality
competition in near ideal conditions. A typical
Relays had teams from 18-20 nations present with
Mexico, Canada and Australia traditionally sending
the largest contingents. In 1980 a diplomatic coup
took place at the Relays when a team from the
People's Republic of China agreed to meet Taiwan for
the first time since their countries' separation over
40 years earlier. This historical event opened the
door of cultural and sports exchanges from that time
on. In this same era, traditional Southern California
track and field events, such as The Coliseum relays
and the Compton relays, fell by the wayside because
of severe financial problems.
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| The Mt. SAC
Relays continue to survive as a nonprofit event because
of its strong network of volunteers. This group of
dedicated officials and the lay Games Committee work
tirelessly to ensure the success of the Relays. In
1986, a former Mt. SAC athlete, world record holder and
Olympic pole vault gold and silver medalist, Bob
Seagren, returned to Mt. SAC as a Vice-president of
Puma USA to give the Relays its first major sponsorship.
The new Puma Mt. SAC Relays was given a much needed
boost while the original philosophy of the event was
maintained. The "Tradition of Excellence"
of the Mt. SAC Relays
continues to the present day. |
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In 1984,
the success of the Los Angeles Olympic Games prompted
the formation of The Amateur Athletic Foundation of
Los Angeles to promote sport among the youth of
Southern California. In 1986, the AAF selected the
Mt. SAC Relays as its first ever grant recipient.
This honor allowed the Relays to expand its program
to include boys and girls to participate in two
special AAF-MT. SAC Relays Youth Days. This would
never have been financially possible without the
support of the AAF. This program, along with the
instructional clinic program, has grown each year;
over 50,000 youth athletes have actively participated
since the inception of the program.
With the
ever increasing need for AAF-MT. SAC Relays
coordination and Olympic development programs, Ruh
decided in 1988 to pass the directorship of the
Relays on to a long time track and field enthusiast,
Dan Shrum. Shrum had served as chairman of the Games
Committee for 3 years and was well versed in the
workings of the Relays. Also at this time, Dr. Ernie
Gregoire, the long time Women's Division Chairman,
assumed the role of Executive Committee Chairperson.
Dan kept the proud tradition of the Relays intact
through 1996. Mazda was the major sponsor from 1989
through 1992. The 1992 event, which was seen
nationwide on television, showcased 15 eventual gold
medalists from the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, along
with 10 silver and 7 bronze medalists. No other US
meet came close to matching this level of quality.
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Dan Shrum
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Scott Davis
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The directorship of the Relays was passed on to Scott
Davis in 1997. Davis was the Assistant Director in
1996 and has been the public address announcer of
the event since 1982. He has been a correspondent
for Track & Field News since 1977 and is the
publisher of the famed United States Track &
Field Annual, a book which is now in its 24th
consecutive year. He is considered one of the top
Track & Field authorities in the world.
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