Matt Gordy
Matthew Bell Gordy (December 26, 1909 – August 18, 1989) was an American pole vaulter. In 1933 Gordy shared first place at both the NCAA championships and the national championships and helped Louisiana State University win the NCAA team title.
Early life
Gordy grew up in the small city of Abbeville, Louisiana. As Abbeville was home to a bamboo grove, local athletes had easy access to bamboo poles that would otherwise have been expensive, and pole vaulting became popular as a result.[1] In high school, Gordy also competed in high jump, long jump and triple jump, but LSU head coach Bernie Moore felt the pole vault would be his best event.[1]
Career
Entering the 1933 NCAA championships, neither the LSU Tigers or Gordy individually were considered favorites.[2] However, LSU's stars Glenn "Slats" Hardin and Jack Torrance scored a combined three wins and a third place, and with only the pole vault left, LSU had a slim lead over coach Dean Cromwell's University of Southern California.[1] In the pole vault, USC fielded Bill Graber, who was a 1932 Olympian and held the outdoor world record of 14 ft 4+3⁄8 in (4.37 m), while Gordy came in with a personal best of only 13 ft 4+1⁄4 in (4.07 m).[3] If Graber won, Gordy had to score six points (the score for third place, or a three-way tie for second) for LSU to tie with USC, and more than six points for LSU to win outright.[4]
Four jumpers, including both Graber and Gordy, cleared 13 ft 6 in (4.11 m); for Gordy, this was already a personal best.[5][6] Graber then cleared 14 ft (4.26 m) to break the tie;[6][7] Gordy was left in a three-way tie for second, which would have tied the score between LSU and USC at 55 points each.[6] On his last attempt Gordy cleared 14 ft, tying Graber for first, and LSU won the meet outright;[6] after a remeasurement, the height cleared by Graber and Gordy was ratified as 13 ft 11+1⁄16 in (4.24 m), which was a new meeting record.[8]
At the national (AAU) championships two weeks later Gordy again tied for first, this time with indoor world record holder Keith Brown of Yale.[9][10] The winning height, 14 ft (4.26 m), was Gordy's personal best; he was the tenth amateur in the world to jump 14 ft or more.[11] The 1933 national championships were Gordy's last major meet, as he graduated from LSU and went to work on the oil rigs of Louisiana and later Texas; he eventually became an Amoco drilling superintendent in Houston.[1]
Legacy
Gordy was inducted in the Louisiana State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1937[12] and in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1985.[1][13]
References
- ^ a b c d e "Matt Gordy". Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
- ^ "Tiger Team Hoped For Fifth Position". The Palm Beach Post. June 19, 1933. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
- ^ "Louisiana Winner of National Track Meet". Nevada State Journal. June 18, 1933. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
- ^ "Team Scores" (PDF). Track & Field News. Retrieved December 16, 2014.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Hill, E. Garry. "A History of the NCAA Championships" (PDF). Track & Field News. Retrieved December 16, 2014.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c d Laney, Ruth. "LEGENDS: 1933 LSU track team overcame all odds to become champions". Tiger Rag Magazine. Archived from the original on December 16, 2014. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
- ^ Dunkley, Charles (Associated Press) (June 18, 1933). "Louisiana State Wins National Track Crown". Monroe Morning World. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
- ^ "1934 NCAA Championship Meet Start Lists" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
- ^ Mallon, Bill; Buchanan, Ian; Track & Field News. "A History Of The Results Of The National Track & Field Championships Of The USA From 1876 Through 2014". Track & Field News. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
- ^ Kirksey, George (Associated Press) (July 1, 1933). "Metcalfe Easy Winner in 100 and 200 Meters". Stevens Point Daily Journal. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
- ^ Dumas, Gerard. "14-FOOT ERA (4.26,7m)". Pole Vault Canada. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
- ^ "LSU Athletics Hall of Fame Members". LSUsports.net. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
- ^ "Aaron Predicts Strike". The Victoria Advocate. June 24, 1985. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
- v
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New York Athletic Club
- 1877: George McNichol
- 1878: Alfred Ing
NAAAA
- 1879–81: William Van Houten
- 1882: B.F. Richardson
- 1883–86: Hugh Baxter
- 1887: Tom Ray (GBR) & Hugh Baxter
- 1888Note 1: G.B. Quinn
Amateur Athletic Union
- 1888Note 1: Lincoln Godshall
- 1889: Lat Stones (GBR) & D.F. O'Brien
- 1890: Walter Rodenbaugh
- 1891–92: Theodore Luce
- 1893–94: Christian Buchholz
- 1895: Hermann Thomas
- 1896: Franklin Allis
- 1897: Jesse Hurlburt
- 1898: Raymond Clapp
- 1899: Irving Baxter
- 1900: Bascom Johnson
- 1901: Charles Dvorak
- 1902: August Anderson
- 1903: Charles Dvorak
- 1904: H.L. Gardner
- 1905: Roy Heater
- 1906: LeRoy Samse
- 1907: Ed Cook
- 1908: William Halpenny (CAN) & Claude Allen
- 1909: Roy Paulding
- 1910: Harry Babcock
- 1911: Ed Cook, Frank Coyle & Sam Bellah
- 1912: Harry Babcock
- 1913: Stanley Wagoner
- 1914: Ken Curtis
- 1915: Sam Bellah
- 1916: Sherman Landers
- 1917: Edward Knourek
- 1918: Carl Buck
- 1919–20: Frank Foss
- 1921–22: Edward Knourek
- 1923–24: Edwin Myers
- 1925: Harry Smith
- 1926: Paul Harrington
- 1927–28: Lee Barnes
- 1929–30: Fred Sturdy
- 1931: Jack Wool
- 1932: Bill Graber
- 1933: Keith Brown & Matt Gordy
- 1934: Keith Brown, Bill Graber & Wirt Thompson
- 1935: Earle Meadows & Bill Sefton
- 1936: George Varoff
- 1937: Bill Sefton
- 1938: Cornelius Warmerdam
- 1939: George Varoff
- 1940–44: Cornelius Warmerdam
- 1945: Boo Morcom & Robert Phelps
- 1946: Irving Moore
- 1947: Boo Morcom
- 1948: Boo Morcom & Bob Richards
- 1949–51: Bob Richards
- 1952: Bob Richards & Don Laz
- 1953: Don Laz & George Mattos
- 1954–57: Bob Richards
- 1958: Ron Morris
- 1959: Don Bragg
- 1960: Aubrey Dooley
- 1961–62: Ron Morris
- 1963: Brian Sternberg
- 1964: Fred Hansen
- 1965: John Pennel
- 1966: Bob Seagren
- 1967: Paul Wilson
- 1968: Dick Railsback
- 1969–70: Bob Seagren
- 1971: Jan Johnson
- 1972: Dave Roberts
- 1973: Mike Cotton
- 1974: Dave Roberts
- 1975: Don Baird (AUS) * Terry Porter
- 1976: Earl Bell
- 1977: Mike Tully
- 1978: Dan Ripley
- 1979: Mike Tully
The Athletics Congress
- 1980: Tom Hintnaus
- 1981: Billy Olson
- 1982: Dan Ripley & Billy Olson
- 1983: Jeff Buckingham
- 1984: Earl Bell
- 1985: Joe Dial
- 1986: Mike Tully
- 1987: Joe Dial
- 1988–89: Kory Tarpenning
- 1990: Earl Bell
- 1991–92: Tim Bright
USA Track & Field
- 1993–95: Scott Huffman
- 1996–97: Lawrence Johnson
- 1998–99: Jeff Hartwig
- 2000–01: Lawrence Johnson
- 2002–03: Jeff Hartwig
- 2004: Tim Mack
- 2005: Brad Walker
- 2006: Russ Buller
- 2007: Brad Walker
- 2008: Derek Miles
- 2009: Brad Walker
- 2010: Mark Hollis
- 2011: Derek Miles
- 2012–13: Brad Walker
- 2014–19: Sam Kendricks
- 2020 not held
- 20212020 OT: Chris Nilsen
- Note 1: In 1888 both the NAAAA and the AAU held championships
- OT: The 1920, 1928, 1932, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 championships incorporated the Olympic Trials, otherwise held as a discrete event.
- 2020 OT: The 2020 Olympic Trials were delayed and held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.