Tagged: films

The Sub 4 Reunion: Honoring UO Track and Field Athletes

The second hour included a Q & A session led by current OTC Elite runners Andrew Wheating and Tom Farrell.
The Sub 4 Mile Reunion included a Q & A session led by current OTC Elite runners Andrew Wheating and Tom Farrell. Photo by Lauren Goss.

On May 27th, a select group of University of Oregon runners were honored at the Sub Four Reunion, hosted by the Oregon Track Club.  The sold out event at the John E. Jaqua Academic Center for Student Athletes was filled with UO alumni, past and current UO coaches, and running enthusiasts.  The event honored the 10 surviving runners who ran a mile in less than 4 minutes under coach Bill Bowerman.  Coinciding with The Prefontaine Classic, the reunion duly recognized Steve Prefontaine as the 11th UO runner to break the 4-minute barrier in 1970.

As the Thomas Intern Film Archives Assistant for the University of Oregon Special Collection and University Archives, I’ve been working on the identification, preservation and digitization of the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics Films collection.  When I heard about this reunion a few months ago, I became curious about track and field films in this collection. With nearly 4,000 films, over 2.5 million feet of film, and 8 decades of University of Oregon athletic heritage, I hoped to locate some suitable material.  To my surprise and joy, I successfully discovered footage of two of the sub-four minute mile moments.  First, the unabridged film of Jim Bailey running the first sub-four minute mile in the United Stated in 1956, and second, clips of Dyrol Burleson breaking the four minute barrier at Hayward Field in 1960.

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RxL34RzcH8&feature=youtu.be

The clip reel captivated both attendees and honorees during the first hour of the event.
The clip reel captivated both attendees and honorees during the first hour of the event. Photo by Lauren Goss.

 

With the help of my colleagues, Elizabeth Peterson (Humanities Librarian and Curator of Moving Images) and Jennifer O’Neal (Corrigan Solari University Historian and Archivist), we were able to digitize the footage and offer a clip reel to the reunion organizer, Todd Bosworth.  In addition to the films, the clip reel includes photographs of the runners located by University of Oregon graduate research assistant, Zach Bigalke.  Many thanks to University of Oregon undergraduate student, Joe Hughes, for producing such a captivating clip reel.  As a third generation UO alumni, it was an honor to attend the event to celebrate fellow Ducks and their accomplishments.

 

 

List of reunion honorees and the time and date of their first sub-4 minute mile:

Jim Bailey 3:58:6 (May 5, 1956)
Dyrol Burleson 3:58:6 (April 23, 1960)
Jim Grelle 3:59:9 (April 28, 1962)
Keith Forman 3:58:3 (May 26, 1962)
Archie San Romani 3:57:6 (June 5, 1964)
Wade Bell 3:59:8 (June 2, 1966)
Roscoe Divine 3:59:1 (June 2, 1966)
Arne Kvalheim 3:59:4 (May 6, 1967)
Dave Wilborn 3:56:2 (June 23, 1967)
Steve Savage 3:59:2 (June 5, 1970)

Event media coverage:

Register Guard

KEZI

KMTR

Around the O

Run Blog Run

–Lauren Goss, Thomas Intern Film Archives Assistant

James Blue Papers to Permanently Reside at UO Libraries

jamesblueThe University of Oregon Libraries is pleased to announce that the personal papers and collected production materials of renowned filmmaker James Blue have found a permanent home in the Special Collections and University Archives.

The James Blue Papers are a gift of the Blue family. The materials were first placed on deposit in UO Libraries Special Collections in December 2013, and the deed of gift was finalized on April 10, 2015. The collection consists of the filmmaker’s personal papers, production materials, correspondence, photographs, sound recordings, and films, including the award-winning Olive Trees of Justice (1962), The March (1963), and A Few Notes on Our Food Problem (1968).

We’ve previously highlighted the arrival of the collection here and a recent celebration of the collection here.

More information about James Blue and his legacy is available here.

Behind the Scenes: Student work on the Wayne Morse film collection

“I am a delicate ribbon of film – misuse me and I disappoint thousands; cherish me, and I delight and instruct the world.”

~excerpt from The Film Prayer by Crawley Films Limited

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Do you ever wonder what it might be like to work on one of our amazing collections? The UO Special Collections and University Archives is very lucky to have amazing student workers who have the opportunity to process some very interesting collections.  Over the past year Kit Becker worked diligently on the processing and preservation of the Wayne Morse film collection. Continue reading →