Henry "Harry" Schaaf (born 29 November 1886) was an American track and field athlete, a member of the Irish American Athletic Club, and a Police Officer in the New York City Police Department. [1] [2] He served as a patrolman from 1912 until his retirement in 1943. [3]
On April 9, 1911, [4] Schaaf was a member of the Irish American Athletic Club 4x440 yard relay team that broke the world record at Celtic Park, Queens, New York and set the first IAAF- recognized world's record for 4x440 yard or 4x400 meter relay race, with a time of 3 minutes and 18.2 seconds. The other members of the world's record-setting team were Harry Gissing, Mel Sheppard and James Rosenberger. [5]
Melvin Whinfield "Peerless Mel" Sheppard was an American athlete, member of the Irish American Athletic Club, and winner of four gold medals and one silver medal at the 1908 Summer Olympics and 1912 Summer Olympics. Along with Henry Taylor of the United Kingdom, he was the most successful athlete at the 1908 Olympics.
Louis Alfred "Pinky" Clarke was an American chemist and former sprinter and track and field athlete, who won a gold medal in the world record time of 41.0 seconds in the 4 × 100 meter relay race at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Percy Morris Beard was an American college and international track and field athlete who specialized in the high hurdles event, and won an Olympic silver medal. Beard later became a nationally prominent college track and field coach at the University of Florida.
Dennis Allen Mitchell is an American former college and international track and field athlete, who was a member of the gold medal-winning team in the 4 x 100 meters relay race at the 1992 Summer Olympics.
MyerPrinstein was a Polish American track and field athlete who held the world record for the long jump in 1900 and won four gold medals in three Olympic Games for the long jump and triple jump. He was a member of the Irish American Athletic Club in Queens, New York. A 1902 law graduate and track team captain for Syracuse University, after college he became a New York real estate lawyer and businessman while living in Jamaica Plains, Queens. To date, he is the only Olympic track athlete to win both the triple and long jump in the same Olympics, earning the distinction in St. Louis in 1904.
Abel Richard Kiviat was an American track coach, press agent, and highly accomplished middle-distance runner. He won a gold medal in the 3000m team race and a silver medal in the 1500m at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. He was the oldest living American Olympic medalist at the time of his death. He competed for and coached the Irish American Athletic Club, and was later a member of the New York Athletic Club.
Matthew John McGrath was a member of the Irish American Athletic Club, the New York Athletic Club, and the New York City Police Department. At the time of his death at age 64, he attained the rank of Police Inspector, and during his career received the NYPD's Medal of Valor twice. He competed for the U.S. team in the Olympics in 1908, 1912, 1920 and 1924. In his prime, he was known as "one of the world's greatest weight throwers."
Lawson "Robbie" N. Robertson was considered one of the more accomplished American track coaches of the first half of the twentieth century. From 1904-1936, he was with the American team at every Olympics with the exception of 1916 when the Olympics were cancelled due to WWI. He coached Track and Field for the Irish-American Athletic Club in Queens, New York from 1909–16, and then for the University of Pennsylvania from 1916-47. He was U.S. Olympic Assistant Track coach in 1912 and 1920 and was head coach for the American Track and Field Team in four Olympics from 1924-36.
Trenton James Jackson was an American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Redskins. He played college football at the University of Illinois.
The Irish American Athletic Club was an amateur athletic organization, based in Queens, New York, at the beginning of the 20th century.
John Jacob Eller, Jr. was an American track and field athlete, a member of the Irish American Athletic Club and a member of the New York City Police Department from 1905 to 1942. Eller was a five-time Amateur Athletic Union champion in the 220 yard low hurdles between 1907 and 1912. He competed as a member of the U.S. Olympic team in the 1912 Summer Olympics. (John's brother Robert Eller was also an athlete, who competed for Fordham University and the Irish American Athletic Club.
James Maher Rosenberger was an American track and field athlete and a member of the Irish American Athletic Club. He was born in New York City and died in Brooklyn, New York.
Harry E. Gissing was an American track and field athlete, a member of the New York Athletic Club, Mohawk Athletic Club, and the Irish American Athletic Club. In 1911, he was part of a world's record setting team in the 4x400 meter relay race.
Tony Darden is an American former track and field athlete, who competed in the sprints events during his career. He is best known for winning the men's 400-meter dash at the 1979 Pan American Games in San Juan.
Frank J. Shea was an American track and field athlete. While competing for the University of Pittsburgh, he won the 440-yard dash competition at the Amateur Athletic Union championships in 1917, 1919 and 1920 and at the 1918 IC4A meet. He also won the 440-yard dash at the first NCAA track and field championships in 1921 with a time of 49 seconds.
Charles Henry Kilpatrick was an American athlete. His best event was the 880 yard run, in which he became the national champion three times and established a long-lived world record time of 1:53.4.
Michael Sands is a Bahamian former track and field sprinter. During his peak he held the Bahamian records from 100 metres to 400 metres.
London Athletic Club (LAC) is a track and field club based in London, England. It is the oldest independent track and field club in the world and celebrated its first 150 years in 2013. More than sixty athletes connected with the club have since become Olympians and top athletics administrators in Britain. The club is currently based at Barn Elms, in West London.
Randy Jenelle Givens is an American former track and field athlete who competed in sprinting events. She set personal bests of 11.06 seconds for the 100-meter dash and 22.31 seconds for the 200-meter dash. Givens was a 200 m finalist at the 1984 Olympic Games and represented her country at the 1983 World Championships in Athletics. She was the 200 m gold medalist at the 1983 Pan American Games and returned to win a silver medal at the 1987 edition.
Shuttle hurdle relay (SHR) is a type of a relay race in track and field in which participants jump (sprint) over hurdles. The shuttle hurdle relay is contested at the Drake Relays, Desert Conference Relays, Kansas Relays, Mt. SAC Relays, Penn Relays, Texas Relays, Akron Relays, Alabama Relay, Appalachian Conference Relay, Florida Relays (Gainesville), Knoxville Relay, Long Beach Relay, Ohio Relays, Santa Barbara Relay, So Cal Relays, Tennessee Relays, Towson Relays, and Tri-State Relays. The SHR was also included at the 2019 IAAF World Relays and 2021 competition.