A. At the 1956 Olympics at Melbourne, Australia, former Kansas State sprinter Thane Baker took third in the 200 meters and second in the 100m before getting a gold medal by running the third leg of the winning 4x100m relay. Baker also was the silver medalist in the 1952 Olympics at 200m.

REMEMBER WHEN - Eastman Crushes 440 WR

Stanford Universitys Cobb Track & Angell Field is loaded with track and field history. Last Tuesday, March 26, marked the 70th anniversary of one of track and fields greatest breakthroughs. On that date in 1932, Angell Field, as it was known then, was the site of a record-breaking 440-yard attempt.

The coach at Stanford was Hall of Famer Dink Templeton, and one of his top runners was long sprinter Ben Eastman, who could run the 440 yards or the 880 yards equally well. Templeton thought the world record of 47.4 for the 440 yards was soft and that Eastman was the runner who could break it.

The record attempt was set for March 26, but on that date Templeton was in the hospital suffering from arthritis. Templeton gave his prerace instructions to Eastman from his hospital bed by a special telephone hookup. Templeton told Eastman to go out fast and hold it all the way. Eastman followed the directions perfectly and roared through the first 220 yards in 21.2, exceptionally fast for that period. Eastman finished the 440 in 46.4, shattering the old world record by a full second and making him the first runner to crack 47 seconds for 440 yards. Later that year at the Olympic Games, Eastman ran 46.4 for the slightly shorter 400 meters but finished second to Bill Carr, who lowered the world record to 46.2.

During his career, Eastman set 14 world records at various distances but his greatest moment probably came at Angell Field on that March day.