Facts and Resources

William “Bill” Ashenfelter placed second in the 1952 United States Olympic Tryouts behind his brother, Horace Ashenfelter. Both competed for the New York Athletic Club. The year before, Bill had been an AAU National Cross-Country Champion. Bill did not complete his preliminary heat of the Olympic Steeplechase. H. D. Thoreau ed., 1953 Official NCAA Track and Field Guide: Official Rules Book and Record Book of College Track and Field, (New York: National Collegiate Athletic Bureau, 1953), 16. Olympedia, OlyMADMen, ed. s.v. “Bill Ashenfelter,” accessed August 3, 2020, www.olympedia.org/athletes/78051. Asa S. Bushnell, ed., United States 1952 Olympic Book, Quadrennial Report United States Olympic Committee: Games of the XVth Olympiad Helsinki, Finland July 19 to August 3, 1952, VI Olympic Winter Games Oslo, Norway February 14 to 25, 1952, 1^st Pan American Games Buenos Aires, Argentina February 25 to March 8, 1951, (New York: United States Olympic Association, 1953) 97.

A Wonderful Surprise

On August 4, 1952, after leaving the Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, Bill Ashenfelter joined most members of the United States Olympic Track and Field Team who traveled to London for the United States versus the British Empire Games at White City Stadium. London built that facility for the 1908 Olympic Games. The Americans competed against the English, Australians, Canadians, Jamaicans, and the rest of the British Empire in a thunderstorm in front of an enormous crowd.

One event was the two-mile relay in which each runner carried the baton for 880 yards. When planning the race, the coaches easily filled three slots on the relay team. The empty slot for the fourth runner challenged them.

Coaches with three good legs on a relay team strategize in different ways. Some put all their speed in front and hope the weakest runner maintains the lead to the finish line. Others insert their weak leg in the second or third position, understanding that at least they would get a good start and finish for their team. For this race, head coach Brutus Hamilton and his crew put their fastest runner last, second fastest third, and third fastest second. They hoped their strategy would recover from a weak beginning. The coaches decided Mal Whitfield, with back-to-back gold medals in the 1948 and 1952 Olympics, should anchor the relay. Reggie Pearman placed 7^th in the 1952 Olympic 800-meter finals. He performed well in relays, too. Hamilton put him on the third leg. John Barnes ran the 800 meters in Helsinki, but his fourth-place finish in the semi-finals eliminated him from the finals. As an Olympic 800-meter runner, he deserved the second position on the team. Singing the coaches’ lament, they searched for a fourth leg of their team to start off the relay.

The coaches turned to William “Bill” Ashenfelter, steeplechase runner and brother of gold medalist Horace Ashenfelter. Bill competed in the first heat of the Olympic steeplechase but did not finish. However, Bill possessed two important characteristics. One, he competed in races of at least 880 yards, which many of the sprinters had not. Two, he was available. Bill ran the lead-off leg in the two-mile relay.

Thane Baker, the subject of Running in Borrowed Shoes, always enjoyed Bill Ashenfelter’s company when they spent time together. During the race, Thane got a kick out of Bill’s run against the British Empire’s half-mile powerhouses. To his credit, Thane always believed Bill ran faster, but his brother Horace possessed more endurance. The loudspeakers announced that Bill Ashenfelter and his fellow relay members set a new world record on that soggy track. What a wonderful surprise!

Bill Ashenfelter may not have come out of the Olympics with a medal like his brother, but he ran on a relay team that set a new world record.

This text derived from a deleted portion of Running in Borrowed Shoes.