Genius of Ted Haydon

Edward "Ted" Haydon was born in Saskatchewan Canada in 1912 and moved to Chicago in1917 where he lived the rest of his life. He was renowned for creating the University of ChicagoTrack Club in 1950, a unique blend of college and club that changed the way track and fieldorganizations were seen. Over the years seventeen club members qualified for the OlympicGames - in 1956, 1960, 1964, 1972, 1976, 1980, and 1984 - Jan Johnson finishing third in thepole vault in 1972 and Rick Wohlhuter also third at the 1976 Games in the 800 meters.A 1933 graduate of the University of Chicago, Ted spent the first sixteen years of his career as asocial worker during the height of the Great Depression and WWII, one of the neighborhoods hewas responsible for the site of the 1929 St. Valentine''s Day Massacre frequented by the likes ofAl Capone and Bugsy Moran.Ted had a wit matched by few, his "Being a member of the UCTC is a state of mind. If you thinkyou are, then you are" one of the classic lines. The club coach and U of C varsity coach at thesame time, he opened the organization to people of all levels, espousing a Run For Fun mottoto his charges, the eight minute milers just as welcome as those who could break four minutes.He was known to counsel athletes after a bad race with the quip "Don''t worry about the racetoday, I know you are capable of much worse" or "If you want to run faster times you''ll need torun shorter races." Ted''s alibi list was legendary, complete with boxes to check the excuse,handed out to all his new athletes and comprised of these examples - "I wanted to see whatthey gave 3rd place" or "I felt great and that''s always a bad sign."He was an assistant coach for the 1968 and 1972 US Olympic teams; also coaching at the ''63and ''79 Pan American Games, the 1961 Maccabi Games, leading US teams on European andRussian tours in 1958 and 1975, inducted into the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame in 1975. Itwould take a thesaurus to list all Ted''s great qualities. He will always be remembered for hissense of humor, a fedora on his head, and the two stopwatches around his neck.