Walter Marty

Walter George Marty (August 15, 1910 – April 25, 1995) was an American high jumper. He set both indoor and outdoor world records in his speciality and was national co-champion both indoors and outdoors in his peak year of 1934.

High jump career

Early career

As a student at Fresno High School, Marty jumped 6 ft 4 14 in (1.93 m) at the 1929 West Coast Relays, setting a United States high school record;[1][2] only five athletes of any age jumped higher that year.[3] Marty duplicated the mark in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum while winning the 1929 CIF California State Meet.[4] In 1930 Marty was national junior champion[5] and represented the United States in a dual meet against the British Empire; he cleared a personal best 6 ft 5 14 in (1.96 m) in that meet and won ahead of national senior champion Anton Burg.[6][7]

In June 1931 Marty cleared a personal best 6 ft 6 38 in (1.99 m) at the inaugural Kern County Relays in Taft;[8] at the national (AAU) senior championships three weeks later he jumped 6 ft 4 38 in (1.94 m) and placed second to Burg, who defended his title.[9] Marty was selected to tour South Africa that fall as one of nine American track and field athletes.[10][11] In Queenstown he cleared 6 ft 6 34 in (2.00 m) for a new South African all-comers record;[12] it was the second-best jump in the world that summer, behind George Spitz at 6 ft 7 516 in (2.01 m).[13]

Marty remained in good form in 1932; he cleared 6 ft 6 12 in (1.99 m) at the Far Western Conference meet in Sacramento, leading Fresno State College to a conference title.[14] Marty also won at the Olympic Trials semi-finals in Long Beach, jumping 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m).[15] He was considered one of the favorites to make the 1932 Olympic team but narrowly missed out; at the final Olympic Trials in Palo Alto he cleared 6 ft 5 58 (1.97 m) and placed shared fourth as the top three qualified.[16][17]

Peak and decline

In 1933 and 1934 Marty was the world's leading high jumper, setting several new world records.[11] He set his first world record at the West Coast Relays in Fresno on May 13, 1933, clearing 6 ft 8 58 in (2.04 m) and breaking Harold Osborn's outdoor world record from 1924.[18][19] Marty's main rivals at his peak were Spitz and Cornelius Johnson; Spitz held the indoor world record of 6 ft 8 12 in (2.04 m), while Johnson was a consistent competitor with excellent head-to-head records against both Spitz and Marty.[20][21][22] Johnson won the 1933 AAU title with a jump of 6 ft 7 in (2.00 m), ahead of Marty, who shared second place with Spitz.[9]

Marty competed indoors for the first time in the winter of 1934; until then, he'd been purely an outdoor jumper.[23] At the New York Athletic Club's indoor games on February 17 he jumped 6 ft 8 34 in (2.05 m) to set a new indoor world record and defeat previous record holder Spitz, who was second.[24] In the AAU indoor meet later that winter Marty cleared 6 ft 7 12 in (2.01 m) and shared the championship with Spitz.[25] Marty's 1934 outdoor shape was also record-breaking; on April 7 he jumped 6 ft 9 12 in (2.07 m) in a dual meet between Fresno State and Sacramento Junior College, but the jump couldn't be recognized as a new record as no AAU officials were present to ratify it.[19][26] Three weeks later he cleared 6 ft 9 18 in (2.06 m) in a dual meet against Stanford, his second official outdoor world mark.[19]

Marty was then briefly sidelined by a bruised knee but returned in time for the NCAA championships in Los Angeles, where he tied for first with Spitz at 6 ft 6 34 in (2.00 m).[22][27][28] Marty also tied for first, with Johnson, at the 1934 AAU outdoor meet; the two cleared 6 ft 8 58 in (2.04 m) for a new meeting record.[9]

A hernia kept Marty out of action for most of 1935, and he was expected to retire;[29][30] however, after a successful operation he attempted a comeback in 1936.[31][32] He almost managed to regain his 1934 form, clearing 6 ft 8 34 in (2.05 m) in May 1936 and even exceeding his world record in training.[7][30] He was favored to qualify for the United States' 1936 Olympic team,[21] but at the Olympic Trials he only cleared 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m), again placing shared fourth and missing out.[33][34] The top two - Johnson and Dave Albritton - both sailed over 6 ft 9 34 in (2.07 m), breaking Marty's world record.[33][34] The American team of Johnson, Albritton and Delos Thurber went on to sweep the Olympic medals.[33]

Technique

Marty used the high jump technique known as the Western roll, pioneered in the early 1910s by George Horine and Edward Beeson.[35] At the time, there were two main jumping styles; Marty (and other west coast jumpers, like Johnson) used the roll, whereas east coast jumpers (such as Spitz) mostly used the Eastern cut-off or other developments of the old scissors jump.[11][35]

References

  1. "Walter Marty" (PDF). Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
  2. "Prep Athlete Soars to New High Jump Record". The Milwaukee Sentinel. March 23, 1930. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
  3. "Men, High Jump: All Years". Track and Field Statistics. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  4. http://lynbrooksports.prepcaltrack.com/ATHLETICS/TRACK/stateres.htm#1929
  5. "Olympic Club of San Francisco Enters Stout Team in A.A.U. Here". Lincoln Evening Journal. June 23, 1931. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  6. "U.S. Scores Win Over British At Soldier Field". Decatur Herald. August 28, 1930. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  7. "Walter Marty". Track and Field Statistics. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  8. "Local Athletes Bid To Relays at Taft". Berkeley Daily Gazette. May 2, 1932. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  9. 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. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  10. "Yankee Track Stars to Perform in Africa". Reading Eagle. July 8, 1931. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
  11. Jukola, Martti (1935). Huippu-urheilun historia (in Finnish). Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö.
  12. "Americans Win African Track, Field Carnival". Daily Illini. August 15, 1931. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  13. "Jumping Feats of George Spitz Given Recognition". The Deseret News. January 6, 1932. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  14. "Fresno State Captures Far Western Meet". Nevada State Journal. May 8, 1932. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  15. "Cougars' Stars in Crucial Tests". Spokane Daily Chronicle. July 2, 1932. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  16. "Favorites in Olympic Track and Field Tests". Reading Eagle. July 14, 1932. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
  17. Hymans, Richard. "The History of the United States Olympic Trials - Track & Field" (PDF). Track & Field News. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
  18. Newland, Russell J. (Associated Press) (May 15, 1933). "Young Marty King in Jump". The Milwaukee Journal. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  19. Baldini, Giovanni; Castellini, Ottavio; Martini, Marco. "Il "ventrale" bellezza di un gesto che fu arte prima di essere sport" (in Italian and English). International Association of Athletics Federations. p. 38. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  20. Kuechle, Oliver E. (February 8, 1935). "Marty or Spitz Can't Beat Johnson". The Milwaukee Journal. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  21. LeCron, Leslie M. (August 1936). "Who's Who In The Olympics". Boys' Life. p. 29. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  22. Kuechle, Oliver E. (June 26, 1934). "The Jumps". The Milwaukee Journal. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  23. "California High Jumper East to Duel George Spitz". Reading Eagle. January 30, 1934. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  24. "Two Records Are Broken at Garden Races". The Milwaukee Journal. February 18, 1934. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  25. "USA Indoor Track & Field Champions". USA Track & Field. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  26. "Walter Marty Leaps to New Unofficial High Jump Mark". Chicago Daily Tribune. April 8, 1934. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  27. "Injury May Keep Marty From Meet". Berkeley Daily Gazette. June 5, 1934. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
  28. Hill, E. Garry. "A History of the NCAA Championships" (PDF). Track & Field News. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  29. Newland, Russ J. (August 22, 1935). "Scouting Western Sports". Reno Evening Gazette. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
  30. "Track, Field Stars Gather in California". Prescott Evening Courier. May 16, 1936. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
  31. Gould, Alan (March 23, 1936). "High Hopes for Olympic Crown". Prescott Evening Courier. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
  32. Johns, Walter (April 8, 1936). "Olympic Roll Call". Retrieved August 4, 2013.
  33. Hymans, Richard. "The History of the United States Olympic Trials - Track & Field" (PDF). Track & Field News. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
  34. "Uncle Sam's Crew Bound for Berlin". Lawrence Journal-World. July 13, 1936. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
  35. Wells, W. A. (March 1, 1934). "Western Track Fans Gloat At 'Roll' Triumph". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
Records
Preceded by
Harold Osborn
World record holder in men's high jump
13 May 1933 – 12 July 1936
Succeeded by
Cornelius Johnson
Dave Albritton
Preceded by
George Spitz
World indoor record holder in men's high jump
17 February 1934 – 22 February 1936
Succeeded by
Ed Burke
Cornelius Johnson
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