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Evening Star Games History | |
The Evening Star Games, sometimes called the Evening Star-AAU Games, was a high performance indoor track meet contested in the Washington D.C. National Guard Armory for fourteen years consecutively from 1948 to 1961. The meet hosted world class amateur and collegiate talent in addition to local talent.
The meet featured a unique sprint series in which sprinters were encouraged to race in the 70 Yard Dash, 80 Yard Dash, and 100 Yard Dash all within about two hours. The meet also highlighted an invitation 70 Yard Hurdle race, 600 Yard Dash, and Mile Run. The high jump was contested from the beginning and the pole vault became a crowd favorite after it was introduced in 1949. The first women's event was added in 1951. A full slate of high school events was added in 1955, prior to which the high school athletes were welcome to enter the all-comers events.
Perhaps the most famous athlete to compete in the Evening Star Games was U.S. Olympian Wilma Rudolph who won the Women's 50 Yard Dash in the 1959 Evening Star Games, but her time of 6.2 did not eclipse the meet record of 5.8 set by her Tennessee teammate Isabelle Daniels in 1956. The 5.8 50 yard time was recorded in a preliminary race and was reported as a world record in 1956. Daniels tied the American record in the 100 yard dash with a time of 11.1 in the same meet. Rudolph went on to gain international fame when she won three gold medals at the 1960 Olympics.
Records below are unofficial records based on results and recaps found retroactively. World Records (W.R.) and American Records (A.R.) were reported by the Washington Post and may not have been official events eligible to be ratified as records.
High School Meet Records (1948-1961)
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Event Result Name School Year
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60 Yard Dash 6.2 Eddie Miles Eastern 1958
70 Yard Dash (all-comers) 7.1 Henry Tresher Mercersburg Academy 1950
80 Yard Dash (all-comers) 7.9 Henry Tresher Mercersburg Academy 1950
100 Yard Dash 9.9 Eddie Miles Eastern 1958
600 Yard Run 1:15.5 (tie) Alexander Wright Cardozo 1961
Ramsey Thomas Catonsville 1961
1000 Yard Run 2:21.1 Jules Lucas Cardozo 1956
Mile Run 4:30.8 Irv Hook Dundalk 1961
70 Yard High Hurdles 8.7 Robert Green Spingarn 1961
660 Yard Medley Relay 1:12 Washington-Lee 1956
Mile Medley Relay 3:41.5 Randolph-Macon 1961
Mile Relay 3:33.8 Bethesda-CC 1960
Broad Jump 22-03 1/8" Russ Peterson Washington-Lee 1961
High Jump 6-03 3/8" Charles Davis Washington-Lee 1958
Pole Vault 12-03 Ward Sims Woodberry Forest 1956
Men's Meet Records (1948-1961)
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Event Result Name Affiliation Year
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70 Yard Dash 7.0 Dave Sime Duke University 1956, 1960
70 Yard HH (5 hurdles) 8.2 W.R. Lee Calhoun N. Carolina College 1957
70 Yard HH (6 hurdles) 8.2 A.R. Hayes Jones E. Michigan U 1961
80 Yard Dash 7.8 Dave Sime Duke University 1958
100 Yard Dash 9.5 A.R. Dave Sime Duke University 1956
600 Yard Run 1:12.7 Joe Gaffney Shanahan Catholic Club 1955
1000 Yard Run 2:12.7 Cary Wiesiger Quantico Marines 1961
One Mile Run 4:08.3 Ed Moran NYAC 1960
One Mile Walk 6:40.8 Ronald Zinn USMC 1961
Mile Medley Relay 3:39.6 Catholic University 1958
Mile Relay 3:21 West Chester Teachers 1960
Two Mile Run 8:54.4 Al Lawrence Houston Athletic Club 1961
Two Mile Relay 7:49.2 Western Michigan 1960
Three Mile Run 14:01.4 John Macy Houston 1960
Pole Vault 15-04.50 Don Bragg Shanahan Catholic Club 1959
High Jump 6-08.25 Charles Stead Villanova 1959
Women's Meet Records (1948-1961)
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Event Result Name Affiliation Year
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50 Yard Dash 5.8 W.R. Isabelle Daniels Tennessee A&I 1956
70 Yard Hurdles 9.5 (tie) Constance Darnowski German-American A.C. 1955
Evelyn Lawler Tuskegee Institute 1951
100 Yard Dash 11.1 tie-A.R. Isabelle Daniels Tennessee A&I 1956
220 Yard 26.6 Lucinda Williams Tennessee A&I 1959
440 Yard 63.4 Lillian Green NY Police 1959
880 Yard 2:25.3 Sandra Pashkin Unattached 1961
440 Yard Relay 52.4 NYPAL 1959
440 Yard Medley Relay 52.3 Tennessee A&I 1959
880 Yard Relay 1:51.6 Daley Youth Chicago 1961
High Jump 4-09 Helena Walker Central Jersey TC 1961
Shot Put 4k 44-01.25 W.R. Adele Tischler Czechoslovakia 1956
The Evening Star Games officially ended after the 1961 games, and the D.C. Public Schools Invitational was said to replace the Evening Star Games at the D.C. Armory in 1962. The D.C. Public Schools Invitational eliminated the AAU competition by 1964 and the meet evolved into a K-12 meet by 1965.
In 1968, the organizers of the CYO National Invitational cited the old Evening Star Games as the meet they aspired to re-create in the D.C. Armory and later at Cole Field House at University of Maryland. |
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