Scottish Daily Mail

Trailblaze­r vs marathon man

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KATHRINE Switzer was the first woman to officially run the Boston marathon, enrolling without the organisers noticing she was female. But another woman, Bobbi Gibb, ran and finished the marathon both in 1967 and the year before. As women weren’t allowed to participat­e Bobbi did not actually register — she just joined in.

Official entrant Kathrine later recalled: ‘Two miles into the race . . . all of a sudden I heard a scraping noise of shoes running faster than mine. I turned round and saw the angriest face I’d ever seen. It was race official Jock Semple.

‘He grabbed me by the shoulders, spun me back and screamed: “Get the hell out of my race!” He started trying to rip off my bib numbers. With that, Arnie [her trainer] jumped in and said: “Leave her alone. She’s OK, I’ve trained her. You stay out of this.” He (Semple) came back and grabbed me again. He had me by the sweatshirt and I was trying to get away from him.

‘He was pulling me back when, all of sudden, my boyfriend, Tom Miller [a hammer thrower], came running full tilt and hit this race official with the most beautiful crossbody block you could ever imagine, and sent him flying through the air.’

Photograph­s of the enraged Semple attempting to rip Switzer’s number were widely published.

Born John Duncan Semple in Glasgow on October 26, 1903, Jock Semple emigrated to Philadelph­ia, U.S., in 1921 to work as a carpenter. He became a long-distance runner, moving to Boston in 1930 after running his first Boston Marathon.

Semple became a sports administra­tor as well as a physical therapist and trainer for athletes. He worked from the Boston Garden Arena as therapist and masseur for the Boston Celtics’ NBA team and later for the Bruins’ hockey team. He also trained the U.S. Olympic hockey team in 1948 and 1952 and worked with Olympic bobsledder­s, skiers and skaters.

He ran in more than 100 marathons and, as Boston Marathon race co-director, was instrument­al in the increasing popularity of the event through innovation­s including the implementa­tion of qualifying times in 1970 and, ironically, the formal admission of female runners in 1972. Semple became notorious for his habit of attacking those he perceived to be ‘non-serious’ runners. In 1957, he narrowly escaped arrest for assault after attempting to tackle a runner in swim fins and a snorkellin­g mask.

Later in life, Semple reversed his position on women competing in the marathon and was publicly reconciled with Switzer. In 1981, he published an autobiogra­phy, Just Call Me Jock. He was inducted into the RRCA American Long Distance Running Hall of Fame in 1985. He died of liver and pancreatic cancer in 1988.

The Jock Semple Award given by the Boston Athletic Associatio­n is named in his honour.

Jancis Marshall, Warwick.

QUESTION

The 1962 Frank Sinatra LP All Alone features, on two tracks, an uncredited performanc­e by a lady soprano. Who was she? THIS album was put together by arranger, composer and producer Gordon Jenkins, who had many collaborat­ions with Sinatra. The album was to be called Come Waltz With Me but the title, including the song, was dropped before its release.

The song All Alone was written by Irving Berlin in 1924 as a loving memorial to his mother, who died in 1922. Many singers have performed and recorded it over the years, but no one has sung it with as much emotion as Sinatra.

The opera singer who joins Sinatra at the end of this song is Loulie Jean Norman (1913-2005), pictured. A contralto soprano, able to sing in four octaves, she appeared on many albums with which composer/producer Gordon Jenkins was involved.

She sang the high notes on the song The Lion Sleeps Tonight — a million seller for The Tokens in 1961 — provided voiceover for actress Juliet Prowse in the Elvis Presley film G.I. Blues, and appeared with Presley singing Moonlight Swim in Blue Hawaii. She may be best remembered for singing the wordless vocals on the opening music on the original Star Trek series.

All Alone was re-issued on CD in 1999, with Come Waltz With Me included as a bonus track. Despite being released in 1962 with many songs on the album written by Irving Berlin and others by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heuson, it was poorly received and didn’t sell well.

Since the album’s re-issue, it has been acknowledg­ed as one of Sinatra’s finest.

Michael Brooks, Kendal, Cumbria.

QUESTION

In the song Star Of The County Down, what is a

‘boreen green’? STAR Of The County Down was written by Cathal McGarvey (1866-1927). The song describes a young man’s love for a beautiful girl (Rosie McCann). He won’t yoke his horse or turn his plough; he won’t even smoke his pipe until he makes the Star of the County Down his bride and has her sitting by his fireside. The opening verse begins: Near Banbridge town, in the County Down, one morning last July Down a boreen green came

a sweet colleen, And she smiled as she passed me by McGarvey was a native of Ramelton, Co Donegal, who lived most of his life in Dublin. His song was first published in Herbert Hughes’s Irish Country Songs IV in 1936, but is thought to have been written as early as 1920.

The Star Of The County Down has been recorded by numerous Irish performers including John McCormack, The Dubliners and The Irish Rovers. Van Morrison recorded a version with the Chieftains and it was also covered by the London-Irish band The Pogues.

Boreen is an Anglicisat­ion of the Irish Gaelic bóithrín, a diminutive of bóthar — road. A cailín or colleen is a young girl, a diminutive of caile — maid. Boreen also appears in names of minor roads such as Mobhi Boreen in Glasnevin, Dublin.

Jack Lambson, London NW3.

QUESTION

When was John Motson’s first commentary? FURTHER to the earlier answer, Motson’s test commentary for the BBC featured the 1969 FA Amateur Cup Final between Sutton United and North Shields, not South Shields.

North Shields triumphed and when they returned to Wembley after a 46-year absence in 2015 they again collected winners’ medals, defeating Glossop North End 2-1 in the FA Vase final.

Ken Gaunt, Basingstok­e, Hants.

 ??  ?? QUESTION
In 1967, Kathrine Switzer became the first woman to run the Boston marathon. She was attacked during the race by a male member of the crowd. What happened to him? Running into trouble: Tom Miller (right) steps in as his girlfriend, Kathrine...
QUESTION In 1967, Kathrine Switzer became the first woman to run the Boston marathon. She was attacked during the race by a male member of the crowd. What happened to him? Running into trouble: Tom Miller (right) steps in as his girlfriend, Kathrine...
 ?? IS THERE a question to which you have always wanted to know the answer? Or do you know the answer to a question raised here? Send your questions and answers to: Charles Legge, Answers To Correspond­ents, Scottish Daily Mail, 20 Waterloo Street, Glasgow G2  ??
IS THERE a question to which you have always wanted to know the answer? Or do you know the answer to a question raised here? Send your questions and answers to: Charles Legge, Answers To Correspond­ents, Scottish Daily Mail, 20 Waterloo Street, Glasgow G2

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