Oldest Record in the Book: Clark Holds Record Since 1939

This is the 14th in a series of stories about the oldest records at Harding University. Today's record is from the men's track and field program, which began at Harding in 1936. The program lasted only until 1939, when Harding shuttered its intercollegiate program until its restart in 1957.

Harding moved from Morrilton, Arkansas, to Searcy in 1934. For the first two years, Harding did not have an on-campus track and resisted requests to start a track team. In 1936, with the school more established, Harding built a track and started a track team.

One of its first stars was sprinter R.T. Clark, who came to Harding from Union City, Tennessee. Clark had a passion for running. According to Clark, he made his first track shoes from his mother's old high-heeled shoes with the heel broken off and nails driven through the shoe sole to simulate track spikes.

Clark immediately took a leadership role with the track team. The Bison, Harding's school newspaper, described him as the team's coach, a role that school president Dr. George Benson made official in 1939, Clark's senior season.

During his four-year career, Harding ran just three or four track meets each season. Clark was always near the top in the 100-yard dash, the 220-yard dash and the long jump. The Bison included results for all but the last meet of Clark's career, the 1939 Memphis Cotton Carnival.

In the 220-yard dash, the fastest time listed for Clark was 22.0 seconds. The next time Clark's accomplishments appear in Harding's athletic files is in 1965, when the records listed for the media brochure that season list the record for the 220 as: R.T. Clark, 21.7 (straight), 1939. It is the oldest record in the book and a bit shrouded in mystery. All of Clark's recorded times came on oval tracks, but my best guess is that Clarks' 21.7 (straight) came at the Memphis Cotton Carnival meet. Efforts to confirm this time through newspaper archives have been unsuccessful.

After graduating from Harding, Clark earned a doctorate in respiratory physiology and worked with the United States space program. He returned to the Harding in 1962 and began coaching the cross-country team in 1963, leading the team to conference championships in 1963 and 1964 and a track championship in 1965. Clark died in 1966 during a summer workout with the team.

Other notes about the oldest Harding men's track and field records:

Clark ran the 100-yard dash in 9.8 seconds, just behind the school record of 9.7 set by Jim Isom in 1969.
The fastest 220-yard dash time on a curved track was 21.8, set by Dwight Robb (1966), Ricky Taylor (1966) and Daryl Bassett (1976).
The oldest metric outdoor track record is Jim Crawford's 3:44.60 in the 1,500 meters in 1968.
The oldest outdoor field event record is David Martin's 24 feet, 2½ inch long jump in 1968. R.T. Clark had a long jump of 23 feet, 4 inches in 1939, which still ranks fifth at Harding.
Harding's oldest indoor track record is Crawford's 4:01.02 mile in 1968.
Harding's oldest indoor field event record is Jim Duncan's 55 foot, 1 inch shot put in 1970.

Print Friendly Version