Actually, T&FN's break with the Federation occurred some time in the '50s, perhaps even with the founding of the magazine in 1948.
I quote from Dick Bank (the HS guru of his day; not to mention noted curmudgeon) from the 1957 edition of T&FN's "High School Annual," the predecessor to Jack Shepard's "High School Track": ".... the National Interscholastic Federation has overlooked literally dozens of marks over the years that qualify for its lists. In addition, wind-blown marks have been listed as legitimate and even completely erroneous performancde have somehow received the stamp of validity.... I have attempted to record best performances y high school boys regardless of when or where they were made....Marks made in AAU or other outside competition have been included, as have non-winning marks in all types of competition..." etc., etc. Not to blow T&FN's horn too much, because all the groundbreakign stuff was done when I was still in swaddling clothes, but remember that before the Brothers Nelson came along, the sport was void and without form. The keeping of lists (at all levels) and the ratifiication of records was nonexistent or haphazard. Our policies have more than a half century of time-tested logic behind them. e. garry hill/editor, t&fn > From: "Ed Grant" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Reply-To: "Ed Grant" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: Sat, 22 Mar 2003 15:07:55 -0800 > To: "track net" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: t-and-f: On Witherspoon > > Well, when TF News got under way, it recognized the federation > list, but that ended in 1961 when Tommy Carroll of Fordham Prep (later Yale) > broke the 880Y mark at the Eastern championships at randalls Island. The > federation didn't accept the mark because Fordham Prep was not (and is not > still) a member of one of its constituent bodies. T&FNews rightly concluded > that a national record should be open to any HS student and promptly began > its own list.
