A tribute to all those contenders who Missed out by that much
As Tasmania’s election count comes to an end, Ian Cole remembers the characters narrowly left out of the history books
WAY back in time, in the television series Get Smart, the chief character, one Maxwell Smart (aka Agent 86), would often say on not quite achieving something, “Missed it by that much!”
There may well be some in Tasmania, after the distribution of preferences in the Hare-Clark system, who will start to echo those sentiments. For when it comes down to opportunities in life, history may not remember well those who missed it by that much. There are some worldwide examples. In the field of music, many know
Ringo Starr as the drummer of The Beatles. Back in 1962 on the cusp of Beatlemania, Beatles drummer Pete Best was replaced by Ringo Starr. Best therefore missing the acclaim, the fame and I guess the riches of being part of The Beatles phenomenon.
In a different field also in the early 1960s, the Russians were narrowing down the list to nominate a cosmonaut who would take the world’s first space flight. It came down to two — Gherman Titov or Yuri Gagarin. Gagarin was selected with Titov as his back-up if something went wrong with
Gagarin’s health. It didn’t and Gagarin became famous as the first man in space. Pete Best and Titov missed it by that much!
In the field of science, Charles Darwin is the name that springs to mind when evolution is mentioned.
However, at the same time that Darwin was formulating his ideas on natural selection, so was one Alfred Russel Wallace way off in the Malay Peninsula. Though they jointly produced ideas on evolution, it was Darwin’s fortune to publish first. It was his On the
Origin of Species in 1859, which made Darwin, not Wallace, the name associated today with evolution.
Also in the field of science, Nikola Tesla first filed a successful patent for “radio”. Not much later Guglielmo Marconi filed for a patent but it was rejected. Curiously in 1904, the US patent office decided to overturn Tesla’s patent and consequently Marconi’s patent was recognised and therefore he is credited with the invention of radio. Both Wallace and Tesla missed it by that much.
Sport is an area where there
are many stories of just missing out. Back in the 1950s, the race to break the fourminute mile was on in earnest.
The chief combatants were John Landy from Australia and Roger Bannister from the UK. In early 1954, Landy ran three races that produced times of four minutes and two seconds, his latest in April 1954. One month later in Oxford, Bannister, a medical student, broke the four-minute barrier in a race that was broadcast live on the BBC and commentated by Harold Abrahams of Chariots of Fire fame. Landy did break the four minutes a month after that, but the moment to be first had gone. A household name in Australia, Landy missed it by that much, as did another Australian sportsperson.
In the Sydney Olympics, Australians watched the heartbreak of walker Jane Saville when, only 200m from entering the stadium where 90,000 people awaited to roar in appreciation of her anticipated gold medal in the 20km, she was disqualified.
And of course, in football there would be many stories. Back in 1996, both James Hird and Michael Voss jointly won the Brownlow Medal for the best player in the AFL with 21 votes each. Somewhat forgotten was one Corey McKernan who also polled the same number of votes to make a triple dead-heat. However, as he had been found guilty of a misdemeanour earlier in the season, he was ineligible to win — missed it by that much.
But as good Aussies we do remember on occasions those who tried but for whom things did not work out. At school, we learned of the trials and tribulations of Burke and Wills as they explored inland Australia. We also listened in awe of the journey of Scott of the Antarctic, only to discover Amundsen had beaten him to the South Pole.
With some notable exceptions, history however remembers the victors and not so much those who just missed. Then again I do have clear and fond memories of one Agent 86, as he tried to save the world from KAOS, but nearly every week in the late 1960s, occasions arose where he often missed it by that much.