- Mel Sheppard
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Medal record
Mel SheppardMen's athletics Competitor for the United States Olympic Games Gold 1908 London 800 metres Gold 1908 London 1500 metres Gold 1908 London Medley relay Gold 1912 Stockholm 4x400 metre relay Silver 1912 Stockholm 800 metres Melvin Whinfield "Peerless Mel" Sheppard (September 5, 1883 – January 4, 1942) was an American athlete, member of the Irish American Athletic Club and winner of four gold medals at the 1908 Summer Olympics and 1912 Summer Olympics. Along with Henry Taylor of United Kingdom, he was the most successful athlete at the 1908 Olympics.
Contents
Biography
Born in Almonesson Lake, New Jersey, Mel Sheppard, or "Peerless Mel" as he was nicknamed, was rejected by the New York Police because he had a slightly enlarged heart. Cardiopulmonary problems notwithstanding, Sheppard won three consecutive AAU titles in the 880 yards (805 m) from 1906 to 1908 and became a main favourite for the middle distance events at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. By late 1907 Sheppard held the world indoor records for 600 yards, 880 yards, 1000 yards and the mile.[1]
Sheppard and Guy Haskins
During the indoor season of 1907/08 Sheppard raced Guy Haskins[2] 3 times and losing all 3.[3] In the first he was well beaten, in the second when about to be beaten again he threw Haskins to the floor with a flying mare and was disqualified and in the third he walked off the track when about to be beaten again.[1] By May the New York Times reported that Haskins, "unquestionably the best half-mile and mile performer in the country", had been refused selection for the United States team to the 1908 Olympics for which he had been trying.[1] He was not selected for the Australasian team either, largely for financial reasons.[1]
1908 Olympic Games
The 1908 Olympics were the first true championships for the 1500 metres, as the previous Olympics were not well attended by the top milers of the day. However, the heats for the final were capricious in their format: only the winner of each of the eight heats would qualify for the final, and there was no seeding to ensure that top runners were separated in their heats. Accordingly, top runners like 1904 and 1906 Olympic champion James Lightbody, John Halstead, second-fastest in history in the event and three-time AAA champion George Butterfield all failed to advance.
Sheppard won the 1500 metres, setting an Olympic record at 4:05.0 in the first round that fell in the very next heat, when Norman Hallows ran a 4:03.6. Sheppard matched Hallows' time in the final the next day to win the first running gold medal awarded at the 1908 Games.
In the 800 metres, Sheppard won his first round (semifinal) heat with a time of 1:58.0; James Lintott remained close throughout the race and threatened to eliminate Sheppard from the competition. Noted for being a frontrunner, Sheppard ran the first 400 metres of the 800 metres final in 53 seconds and went on to win in the world record time of 1.52.8.
He earned his third gold medal on the medley relay race. He was the final runner on the American team, running fully half of the 1600 metre race. He was passed the baton by fellow Irish American Athletic Club member John Baxter Taylor, Jr., who would become the first African-American to win an Olympic Gold medal. Even without being in as good of form as he had been in the individual races, Sheppard had little trouble retaining the leads giving to him by his teammates, William Hamilton, Nate Cartmell, and John Taylor. The team won both the first round and final, in times of 3:27.2 and 3:29.4. Sheppard's 800 metre split for the final was 1:55.4.
1 Mile Relay World's Record
At the Amateur Athletic Union metropolitan championships held at Travers Island in 1909, Sheppard was part of the Irish American Athletic Club's four-man relay team that broke the world's record for the one mile relay, with a time of 3 minutes 20 2/5 seconds. The other three men on the record breaking team were; C.S. Cassara, William Robbins and James Rosenberger.[4] His 1910 trading card called him "undoubtedly the greatest mid-distance runner the world has ever seen." [5]
1912 Olympic Games
After winning Amateur Athletic Union titles at 880 yards (800 m) in 1911 and 1912, Sheppard was a favourite to defend his Olympic 800 metres title at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm. At Stockholm, he tried the same tactics as in London, but after an opening lap of 52.4, he was overtaken by teammate Ted Meredith who set a new world record of 1.51.9. Sheppard won his fourth gold medal as lead-off runner on the 4 x 400 m relay team that set a world record of 3:16.6.
Post-competition career
Sheppard was a member of the New Jersey National Guard and the 69th Regiment. During World War I, he served as an athletic director at a number of military training camps. After the war he coached for a number of amateur athletic clubs. Sheppard worked for John Wanamaker and was the recreational director for the Millrose A.A., which was formed by Wanamaker's employees.[6]
Death
Mel Sheppard died in his home in Bayside, Queens, New York City.[7] He was buried in New Camden Cemetery in Camden, New Jersey.[8] His obituary cites "acute indigestion" as the cause of death. He was survived by his wife Estelle (née) Symon, his daughter Mrs. Adelaide Kohler of Wildwood, New Jersey and his son Melvin Sheppard Jr., who was on the track and cross-country team at Princeton University in 1932.[6]
Legacy
While it is widely claimed that "after retiring from sports Sheppard became a lawyer (he was one of the defenders of the Lindbergh child kidnapper Bruno Hauptmann)" this is apparently an Internet myth. The lead attorney for Bruno Hauptmann was a Mr. Edward J. Reilly. "The Trial of Bruno Richard Hauptmann," by Sidney B. Whipple, (originally published by Doubleday, Doran & Co., NY, 1937) makes no mention of Sheppard. Whipple lists the defense team present for the first day of trial as "Mr. Reilly, Mr. Fisher, Mr. Pope, Mr. Rosecrans." There is no evidence that Mel Sheppard ever practiced law, or had anything to do with the Lindbergh child kidnapper.[9]
References
- ^ a b c d Heidenstrom, P. (1992) Athletes of the Century. Wellington: GP Publications. ISBN 1-86956-044-2
- ^ Haskins was a New Zealander studying dentistry at the University of Pennsylvania where he was team-mate of Olympian John Taylor. See The Ivy League and the Olympic Games: Charles Baxter Taylor
- ^ At a fourth meeting Haskins ran a handicap race in a time well under Sheppards record but Sheppard ran a relay instead. Afterwards the New York Times proclaims "Haskins is the greatest distance runner in America". See Heidenstrom, 1992. p. 28.
- ^ "Mile Relay Record at Travers Island." New York Times, Sept. 26, 1909.
- ^ 1910 Mecca Cigarettes Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter Series trading card.
- ^ a b "Melvin Sheppard, 57, Olympic Star. He Was Rejected as a Police Candidate Shortly Before Setting Olympic Mark". New York Times. January 4, 1942. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00910FD3D58167B93C6A9178AD85F468485F9. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
- ^ "Mel Sheppard Dies Suddenly". Associated Press in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 5, 1942. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ttkOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=CGoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2764,6460110&dq=mel+sheppard&hl=en. Retrieved 2010-07-12. "Mel Sheppard, the first American to win both the 800-meter and the Olympic titles, died un expectedly at his home here today, he was 68 years old. ..."
- ^ "Rites in Bayside for the Noted Middle-Distance Runner". Associated Press in the New York Times. January 5, 1942.
- ^ *Track & Field News: The Bible of the Sport since 1948
Further reading
- Cook, Theodore Andrea (May 1909) (PDF). The Fourth Olympiad London 1908 Official Report. London: British Olympic Association. http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1908/1908.pdf. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
- De Wael, Herman (2001). "Athletics 1908". Herman's Full Olympians. http://users.skynet.be/hermandw/olymp/ath1908.html. Retrieved 2006-07-27.
- Greenberg, Stan (1987). Olympic Games: The Records. London: Guinness Books. ISBN 0-85112-896-3.
- Kieran, John (1977). The Story of the Olympic Games; 776 B.C. to 1976. Philadelphia and New York: J.B. Lippincott Company. ISBN 0-397-01168-7.
- Nelson, Cordner and Quercetani, Roberto (1985) The Milers, Tafnews Press, ISBN 0-911521-15-1
- Wudarski, Pawel (1999). "Wyniki Igrzysk Olimpijskich". http://olympic.w.interia.pl/. Retrieved 2006-07-27. (Polish)
External links
- Archives of Irish America - NYU
- Sports-reference profile
- Mel Sheppard at findagrave.com
- Winged Fist Organization
Olympic Champions in Men's 800 m 1896: Edwin Flack (AUS) · 1900: Alfred Tysoe (GBR) · 1904: James Lightbody (USA) · 1908: Mel Sheppard (USA) · 1912: Ted Meredith (USA) · 1920: Albert Hill (GBR) · 1924: Douglas Lowe (GBR) · 1928: Douglas Lowe (GBR) · 1932: Tommy Hampson (GBR) · 1936: John Woodruff (USA) · 1948: Mal Whitfield (USA) · 1952: Mal Whitfield (USA) · 1956: Tom Courtney (USA) · 1960: Peter Snell (NZL) · 1964: Peter Snell (NZL) · 1968: Ralph Doubell (AUS) · 1972: Dave Wottle (USA) · 1976: Alberto Juantorena (CUB) · 1980: Steve Ovett (GBR) · 1984: Joaquim Cruz (BRA) · 1988: Paul Ereng (KEN) · 1992: William Tanui (KEN) · 1996: Vebjørn Rodal (NOR) · 2000: Nils Schumann (GER) · 2004: Yuriy Borzakovskiy (RUS) · 2008: Wilfred Bungei (KEN)
Olympic Champions in Men's 1500 m 1896: Edwin Flack (AUS) · 1900: Charles Bennett (GBR) · 1904: James Lightbody (USA) · 1908: Mel Sheppard (USA) · 1912: Arnold Jackson (GBR) · 1920: Albert Hill (GBR) · 1924: Paavo Nurmi (FIN) · 1928: Harri Larva (FIN) · 1932: Luigi Beccali (ITA) · 1936: Jack Lovelock (NZL) · 1948: Henry Eriksson (SWE) · 1952: Josy Barthel (LUX) · 1956: Ron Delany (IRL) · 1960: Herb Elliott (AUS) · 1964: Peter Snell (NZL) · 1968: Kip Keino (KEN) · 1972: Pekka Vasala (FIN) · 1976: John Walker (NZL) · 1980: Sebastian Coe (GBR) · 1984: Sebastian Coe (GBR) · 1988: Peter Rono (KEN) · 1992: Fermín Cacho (ESP) · 1996: Noureddine Morceli (ALG) · 2000: Noah Ngeny (KEN) · 2004: Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR) · 2008: Asbel Kiprop (KEN)
Olympic Champions in Men's 4×400 m relay 1908: United States (Hamilton, Cartmell, Taylor, Sheppard) • 1912: United States (Sheppard, Lindberg, Meredith, Reidpath) • 1920: Great Britain (Griffiths, Lindsay, Ainsworth-Davies, Butler) • 1924: United States (Cochran, Helffrich, MacDonald, Stevenson) • 1928: United States (Baird, Spencer, Alderman, Barbuti) • 1932: United States (Fuqua, Ablowich, Warner, Carr) • 1936: Great Britain (Wolff, Rampling, Roberts, Brown) • 1948: United States (Harnden, Bourland, Cochran, Whitfield) • 1952: Jamaica (Wint, Laing, McKenley, Rhoden) • 1956: United States (Jenkins, Jones, Mashburn, Courtney) • 1960: United States (Yerman, Young, G. Davis, O. Davis) • 1964: United States (Cassell, Larrabee, Williams, Carr) • 1968: United States (Matthews, Freeman, James, Evans) • 1972: Kenya (Asati, Nyamau, Ouko, Sang) • 1976: United States (Frazier, Brown, Newhouse, Parks) • 1980: Soviet Union (Valiulis, Linge, Chernetsky, Markin) • 1984: United States (Nix, Armstead, Babers, McKay) • 1988: United States (Everett, Lewis, Robinzine, Reynolds, McKay, Valmon) • 1992: United States (Valmon, Watts, Johnson, Lewis, Hall, Jenkins) • 1996: United States (Smith, Harrison, Mills, Maybank, Rouser) • 2000: Vacant • 2004: United States (Harris, Brew, Wariner, Williamson, Rock, Willie) • 2008: United States (Merritt, Taylor, Neville, Wariner, Clement, Witherspoon)
Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2009 1974–75 Philadelphia Flyers • Larry Bowa • John Cappelletti • Eddie Collins • Bill Conlin • Joey Giardello • Julius "Judy" Johnson • Neil Johnston • Tommy Lasorda • Merrill Reese • Pete Retzlaff • Betty Shellenberger • Mel Sheppard • Emlen TunnellCategories:- American sprinters
- American middle distance runners
- Olympic track and field athletes of the United States
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1908 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1912 Summer Olympics
- Olympic gold medalists for the United States
- Olympic silver medalists for the United States
- People from Camden, New Jersey
- Former world record holders in athletics (track and field)
- 1883 births
- 1942 deaths
- Olympic medalists in athletics (track and field)
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