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1907 Hornet Track
Team
Chillicothe high school
has had great success in sending athletes to college
and, in a few cases, brief careers in the professional
leagues. However in the 100-plus years of athletics at
CHS, who was the first to generate statewide laurels? It
was a track star named Earl Steele. Here's what the 1907
Chillicothe Cresset School Yearbook says about Steele.
The Chillicothe High School has an athlete who will, before
long, hold the world's record for the mile run, and that
athlete is Mr. Earl Steele, a popular member of the Senior
Class.
Mr. Steele by frequent runs to his home, nine miles
from the city, has developed into a "miler" with good speed
and wonderful endurance.
At the track and field meet, held at Chillicothe he easily
took the first places in the mile and half mile run and third
place in the quarter.
On May 4th, Mr. Steele entered the mile run at the
Inter-High School meet held at Columbia, MO. At this meet
there were some fast hard-trained runners but for the first
three-quarters Steele made those runners travel faster than
they ever dreamt they could go.
He led the race until within one hundred yards of the
line when two runners "sprinted on him" and all three coming
in close together. Steele got third prize, a bronze medal. The
judges of the meet were surprised at his speed and endurance
and spoke favorably of him as a "miler." His time was about
4:52.
Steele ran in the Class B Mile race at the Washington
University track meet, held in St Louis, Saturday May 18 and
easily took the gold medal. He sprang ahead on the start and
kept the lead the entire mile, winning by 60 yards. Although
running in B class he made the best record of all "milers" in
both classes. His time was 4:48 lowering the High School
record 3 seconds.
Without a trainer he has his time down to 4:48 and next
year under a coach, he is sure to lower that record. Here's
wishing him "success."
Steele's time of 9:50 held for three years before being broken by
1.2 seconds by another Missourian.
Steele was also a member of the 1911 four-mile relay team whose
record of 18:56 stood for several years. |
