Tom Byers - The Story

 
Thanks for posting this, maybe he is the most successful post HS Ohio HS miler. He sure ran in famous races.
He was second in the 1973 Ohio HS 880. Was he in the mile? Only one guy scored in both.
 
I think I remember him telling me once that he really didn't like the mile that much in high school. I know he said that in high school he loved the half.
 
Thanks for the info.
I wonder if he ran the mile the week before at the regionals.
The State mile results in 1973 are not up to par with most years, so I doubt he would have been intimidated, but on
the other hand, it's surprising almost no one doubled.
 
I've seen on Newspaperarchive.com (I have a subscription) several articles indicating that while Byers was tied with the best time in the state in the mile (4:18.1) going into the district, he "failed" to qualify for Columbus in the mile @ district. A visit to the Columbus Public Library would more than likely yield the district results.
 
Thanks for posting this, maybe he is the most successful post HS Ohio HS miler. He sure ran in famous races.
He was second in the 1973 Ohio HS 880. Was he in the mile? Only one guy scored in both.
Hey billcarson...Tom Byers most deservedly should be considered one of America's great milers of the past. However, with all due respect to Tom, he isn't Ohio's most successful post HS miler. That title would go to Rob Myers. Rob made multiple World teams. He placed third in the Olympic Trials 1500. He was ranked in the year-end top ten for 1500 by T&F News six straight years. Tom had a faster mile PR than Rob, but Rob had a faster 1500 PR.

I would also say that when Colby Alexander and Sam Prakel finish their stellar career's, they most likely will also be in the discussion for most successful post HS Ohio miler.
 
Thanks for the info.
I wonder if he ran the mile the week before at the regionals.
The State mile results in 1973 are not up to par with most years, so I doubt he would have been intimidated, but on
the other hand, it's surprising almost no one doubled.
I’ll save everyone a trip to Columbus proper. The Dispatch’s full-text archives are available online up to 1985 w/ a Columbus Public Library card. I applied for one online, and they mailed it to me. I did the same for the Cleveland Public Library to gain access to the Plain Dealer’s online archives which are complete to 1991.

Byers won the mile at the ‘73 AAA Upper Arlington Sectional with a time of 4:25.6. He was 2nd in the 880 in 1:57.7.

At the AAA Central District meet held at Whitehall, Byers won the 880 in 1:54.7 but only placed 3rd in the mile at 4:29.7. Brad Fawley of Westerville won the mile in a meet record 4:21.3. 2nd place was 4:25.6. Only the top two finishers from the Central District meet qualified to the state meet.
 
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I’ll save everyone a trip to Columbus proper. The Dispatch’s full-text archives are available online up to 1985 w/ a Columbus Public Library card. I applied for one online, and they mailed it to me. I did the same for the Cleveland Public Library to gain access to the Plain Dealer’s online archives which are complete to 1991.

Byers won the mile at the ‘73 AAA Upper Arlington Sectional with a time of 4:25.6. He was 2nd in the 880 in 1:57.7.

At the AAA Whitehall District meet, Byers won the 880 in 1:54.7 but only placed 3rd in the mile at 4:29.7. Brad Fawley of Westerville won the mile in a meet record 4:21.3. 2nd place was 4:25.6. Only the top two finishers from the Central District meet qualified to the state meet.
Outstanding!, and thank you for the heads-up on applying for those library cards. I'll have to do likewise.
 
Hey billcarson...Tom Byers most deservedly should be considered one of America's great milers of the past. However, with all due respect to Tom, he isn't Ohio's most successful post HS miler. That title would go to Rob Myers. Rob made multiple World teams. He placed third in the Olympic Trials 1500. He was ranked in the year-end top ten for 1500 by T&F News six straight years. Tom had a faster mile PR than Rob, but Rob had a faster 1500 PR.

I would also say that when Colby Alexander and Sam Prakel finish their stellar career's, they most likely will also be in the discussion for most successful post HS Ohio miler.
 
Well, I checked the September 1982 issue of Track & Field News for the results of the Koblenz meet where Byers ran his mile PR. He placed 6th in that race with his 3:50.84 PR, and that made him the #4 American all-time at that moment. Unfortunately, no 1500m enroute times appear to have been recorded :(
 
I’ll save everyone a trip to Columbus proper. The Dispatch’s full-text archives are available online up to 1985 w/ a Columbus Public Library card. I applied for one online, and they mailed it to me. I did the same for the Cleveland Public Library to gain access to the Plain Dealer’s online archives which are complete to 1991.

Byers won the mile at the ‘73 AAA Upper Arlington Sectional with a time of 4:25.6. He was 2nd in the 880 in 1:57.7.

At the AAA Central District meet held at Whitehall, Byers won the 880 in 1:54.7 but only placed 3rd in the mile at 4:29.7. Brad Fawley of Westerville won the mile in a meet record 4:21.3. 2nd place was 4:25.6. Only the top two finishers from the Central District meet qualified to the state meet.
Mr. Slippery, Ran across this. I'm "Brad Fawley of Westerville." That race was exactly 50 years ago and I remember it like it was yesterday. Byers was a great runner in HS. I think we went head to head in the mile twice (once indoor and once outdoor) and split the wins. After HS, his success was undeniable. He had great natural speed and talent. A powerful runner.
 
Mr. Slippery, Ran across this. I'm "Brad Fawley of Westerville." That race was exactly 50 years ago and I remember it like it was yesterday. Byers was a great runner in HS. I think we went head to head in the mile twice (once indoor and once outdoor) and split the wins. After HS, his success was undeniable. He had great natural speed and talent. A powerful runner.
Brad, you wouldn't by chance have run for Marietta College? If so, there were some legendary stories being told to our group of athletes in the mid-eighties about your time with the Pioneers!:)
 
Yikes! Legendary stories can go a couple of ways, including South... But yes one and the same. Went to Marietta 1973-1977. Where were you then?
 
Yikes! Legendary stories can go a couple of ways, including South... But yes one and the same. Went to Marietta 1973-1977. Where were you then?
No, mid-eighties (81-85). But Coach Whetzel shared an office with my coaches, and Tim Barnum still ran local races occasionally. So of course stories got passed on.
 
Mr. Byers STILL holds both the all-time best for both an Ohio-based athlete and the Ohio all-comers soil record for the mile according to my current research:

Ohio-based Athlete
3:50.84 (6th place) - Tom BYERS (Athletics West / Ohio State / Columbus North ('74)) Age: 27 International - Das Stadion Oberwerth, Koblenz, GER 25 Aug 1982
Ohio All-Comer's Soil Record
3:57.15 (1st place) - Tom BYERS (Athletics West / Ohio State / Columbus North ('74)) Age: 28 Jesse Owens Classic - Ohio Stadium, Columbus, OH 8 May 1983

I personally witnessed his 3:57.15. Completely solo run in order to be the first to go sub-4:00 on Ohio soil. Very impressive, and still the record. It was a chilly day, too.
 
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No, mid-eighties (81-85). But Coach Whetzel shared an office with my coaches, and Tim Barnum still ran local races occasionally. So of course stories got passed on.
I lost track of Tim. Any chance you know where he is" And, WOW was a very good coach and a good guy. Famously, the first two weeks of cross country practice involved a lot of backwards running, culminating in a four mile time trial. Two backwards and two frontwards. Barnum had the record -- something under 14 minutes running backwards! You might laugh, but none of us ever had an injury and I attribute a lot of that to backwards running -- which I still do today at 68! Some of what I experienced in those days is captured in the novel I wrote about running. It is called The Frontrunner and is being published next April 2023. If interested, you can find out more about it here. https://www.bradfawley.com/
 
I lost track of Tim. Any chance you know where he is" And, WOW was a very good coach and a good guy. Famously, the first two weeks of cross country practice involved a lot of backwards running, culminating in a four mile time trial. Two backwards and two frontwards. Barnum had the record -- something under 14 minutes running backwards! You might laugh, but none of us ever had an injury and I attribute a lot of that to backwards running -- which I still do today at 68! Some of what I experienced in those days is captured in the novel I wrote about running. It is called The Frontrunner and is being published next April 2023. If interested, you can find out more about it here. https://www.bradfawley.com/
Sorry, no to Tim's whereabouts. I remember him mentioning running backwards. Coach Whetzel was the golf coach of all things when I was there - We had NO idea he had been the XC coach (and a successful one) until roughly our junior/senior year. He just wasn't the kind of guy to talk about himself.
 
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