Archie San Romani
Archie Joseph San Romani (17 September 1912 – 7 November 1994) was an American
the following year.Early life
San Romani was born in Frontenac, Kansas, on 17 September 1912.[1][2] He was run over by a truck at age 8, and his right leg was mangled so badly that doctors considered amputating it;[2][3][4] he took up running as a form of rehabilitation.[2] His childhood paralleled that of his future friend and rival Glenn Cunningham, who was also from Kansas and also nearly had a leg amputated at age 8.[3][5][6]
Athletic career
San Romani studied at
He repeated as NCAA champion in
At the Olympics San Romani placed second in his heat to qualify for the final.[1][16] In the final he finished fourth in 3:50.0, missing out to New Zealand's Jack Lovelock (who set a new world record), Cunningham and Italy's defending champion Luigi Beccali.[15]
A week later, he was part of a United States relay team (with Chuck Hornbostel, Venzke and Cunningham) that set a new world record of 17:17.2 in the 4 x Mile relay.[1][17] Finally, in October he scored an upset victory in Princeton, defeating both Lovelock and Cunningham.[7][18][19]
San Romani never won a national outdoor title,[1][11] but he did become American indoor champion in 1937, beating an international field including Beccali and Venzke.[1][20][21] He ran his personal mile best of 4:07.2 in winning the 1937 Princeton Invitational Mile[1][22][23] and stayed in good shape for the rest of the year. In Stockholm on 5 August he ran the mile in 4:08.4 - less than two seconds outside Cunningham's world record - despite halting after 1500 meters under the impression that had been the end of the race.[24][25][26] Three weeks later in Helsinki he ran 2000 meters in a world record time of 5:16.8, breaking Henry Jonsson's previous mark of 5:18.4.[1][14][27] San Romani's world record lasted for almost five years until Sweden's Gunder Hägg ran 5:16.4 in July 1942.[14][27]
In the winter of 1938 San Romani suffered from health problems and lost some conditioning.[23] While he managed to return as a leading contender and only narrowly lost to Cunningham in the 1938 Princeton mile,[28][29] he never improved his personal bests again.[1] He placed third at the national championships that year[11] and remained one of America's leading milers until his retirement in 1940.[30]
Retirement and later life
After retiring from Track & Field he lived in Portland, Maine for several years, working first as a musical instructor and then at the local shipyard.[31] In 1945 he moved back to Kansas[31] and opened a jewelry store in Wichita.[32][33] He eventually moved to California to teach music again he taught at Dale Jr High School, and Sycamore Jr. High School, in Anaheim California ;[2][33] he died in Auberry, California on 7 November 1994.[1][2] He was posthumously inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.[34]
Personal life
San Romani married Lena Plumley in 1937.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Archie San Romani Bio, Stats and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f "Archie San Romani, A 1930's Miler, 82". The New York Times. 9 November 1994. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- ^ a b c d e Hymans, Richard. "The History of the United States Olympic Trials - Track & Field". USA Track & Field; Track & Field News. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-05-24. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
- ^ The Reading Eagle. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
- Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö.
- The University of Kansas. 20 April 1940. Archived from the originalon 28 October 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^ a b "Music and Racing Lure San Romani". Lawrence Journal-World. 27 January 1937. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^ "Emporia Runner Works in Coal Mine for Condition". Lawrence Journal-World. 5 August 1935. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^ "Emporia Runner Takes NCAA Mile". Lawrence Journal-World. 24 June 1935. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^ a b c Hill, E. Garry. "1500m/MILE" (PDF). Track & Field News. Retrieved 19 May 2013.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c d Mallon, Bill; Buchanan, Ian; Track & Field News. "A History Of The Results Of The National Track & Field Championships Of The USA From 1876 Through 2011". Track & Field News. Archived from the original on 2016-07-14. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^ Hymans, Richard (21 June 2012). "OLYMPIC TRIALS HISTORY INTRODUCTION". Track & Field News. Archived from the original on 24 May 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^ The national championships and the Olympic Trials were held separately for the first time since 1924. In 1992 they were merged into a single meet again.[12]
- ^ a b c Butler, Mark; IAAF Media & Public Relations Department (2011), IAAF Statistics Handbook Daegu 2011, International Association of Athletics Federations
- ^ a b "Athletics at the 1936 Berlin Summer Games: Men's 1,500 metres". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^ "Kansans Qualify". Lawrence Journal-World. 5 August 1936. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^ "New 4-Mile Mark". Lawrence Journal-World. 15 August 1936. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^ "Venzke Cannot Be Ignored In Princeton Mile, Says Veteran Coach of Track". Reading Eagle. 15 June 1937. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^ "Mile Mark May Tumble in Princeton". Lawrence Journal-World. 15 June 1937. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^ "San Romani Beats Venzke in Mile Run". Reading Eagle. 28 February 1937. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- Miami Daily News. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^ "Venzke Faces Labor Meet". Reading Eagle. 8 July 1937. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^ a b "Gene Venzke Faces Mile At Princeton". Reading Eagle. 15 June 1938. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- St. Petersburg Times. 6 August 1937. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^ "Misunderstanding Causes San Romani to Miss Mark". Lawrence Journal-World. 6 August 1937. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^ "San Romani Misses New World's Record". Ottawa Citizen. 6 August 1937. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^ The Milwaukee Journal. 22 July 1942. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^ "Fans Disappointed At Princeton Meet". Ludington Daily News. 20 June 1938. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^ "Favorites Win Feature Events in Princeton Invitational Meet". Reading Eagle. 19 June 1938. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- The Milwaukee Journal. 24 December 1940. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^ a b "San Romani To Leave Portland". The Lewiston Daily Sun. 18 May 1945. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^ "Archie San Romani, Jr. Reared to Run Mile". The Milwaukee Journal. 8 February 1960. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- ^ a b "Archie San Romani". Tiger Alumni News. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- ^ "State hall of fame announces '04 class". The Topeka Capital-Journal. 7 January 2004. Archived from the original on 7 December 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
- ^ "Emporia Turns Out for Wedding of San Romani". Lawrence Journal-World. 19 July 1937. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- Eugene Register-Guard. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^ "Archie San Romani Sr. And Jr. 'I'm living my life over again'". Sports Illustrated. 11 May 1959. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- ^ "A Roundup Of The Sports Information Of The Week". Sports Illustrated. 15 June 1959. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- ^ Hymans, Richard. "The History of the United States Olympic Trials - Track & Field". USA Track & Field; Track & Field News. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 24, 2013. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
- ^ "U.S. Rankings — Men's 1500/Mile" (PDF). Track & Field News. Retrieved May 19, 2013.[permanent dead link]
- ^
https://www.registerguard.com/article/20160527/sports/305279958 Barrier Breakers], Register-Guard, May 27, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2021.