The Boston Athletic Association Indoor Games was an indoor track meet organized by the Boston Athletic Association that was held annually in Boston from 1890 to 1971.
History Early years The first Boston Athletic Association Indoor Games were held on February 15, 1890, at Mechanics Hall. 701 athletes entered the games, a number that "exceed[ed] that at any indoor meeting known in the history of amateur athletics", according to the New York Times. 4,000 spectators attended the games, which was described by the Times as a "society event". Harvard scored the most points of any team. Winners of the first B.A.A. games were:
Event Name Club40-yard dashA. H. GreenHarvard880-yard runF. R. PetersBoston Athletic Association220-yard runT. J. McNeilTrimount Athletic ClubMile walkJ. B. KeatingPastime Athletic Club440-yard dashK. BrownHarvardMile runG. CollamoreHarvard220 yard hurdlesJ. C. LallyPastime Athletic ClubHigh jumpG. R. Fearing Jr.HarvardShot put (16 pounds)J. S. MitchelNew Jersey Athletic ClubWeight throw (56 pounds)G. CoughlanTritan Athletic ClubTug of warPastime Athletic Club
In 1891, the B.A.A. Games were moved to the South Armory. The event was attended by a capacity crowd, including Governor William E. Russell and his staff. Once again, Harvard won the most events, capturing the 75-yard dash (S. V. R. Thayer Jr.), 1000-yard run (Arthur Blake), mile run (H. C. Larkin), high jump (George R. Fearing Jr.), and quarter mile race (E. S. Mullin). Fearing set the men's high jump indoor world record with a mark of 1.89.
The event returned to Mechanics Hall in 1892, and Harvard once finished in first place, winning five of the twelve events. Edward Bloss, who competed for both Harvard and the B. A. A., set a world record in the 40 yard dash. Michael Sweeney broke the world record for the indoor running high jump at the 1894 games, which also saw Bernard Doherty break the world record in the standing broad jump.
The 1896 games saw two world-record holders compete. Thomas Conneff, who held the amateur record for the fastest mile, finished third in the mile handicap behind James N. Pringle of Dartmouth, who had a 70-yard start and Gerrish Newell of Harvard, who had a 60-yard start. Charles Kirkpatrick, who held the amateur record for the fastest mile, had his shorts come loose during a heat race and did not make it to the final race in the 600 yard run.
In 1900, Dr. B. J. Mulligan of the Knickerbocker Athletic Club broke the world record in the triple jump by two inches. In 1902, world champion sprinter Arthur Duffey was upset in the 40-yard dash by Harvard freshman Francis Scheuber.
In 1912, Samuel Lawrence broke Michael Sweeney's 18-year old high jump indoor world record. Those games also saw three track records broken (George Bonhag in the three mile run, Oscar Hedlund in the mile invitational, and John Paul Jones in the mile handicap).
In 1913, black sprinter Howard Drew announced he would not compete in the B. A. A. Games because the organization had drawn a color line. George B. Billings, chairman of the Boston Athletic Association's athletic committee, stated that no such line existed and there were "other reasons" why Drew was not permitted to enter. He cited John Taylor and A. M. Bowser as black athletes who had previously competed in the games.
At the 1915 games, the Boston Athletic Association team of Fred Burns, Stephen Rose, David Caldwell, and Thomas Halpin broke the world's record in the 4 × 1500 metres relay in a race against the New York Athletic Club.
Move to Boston Arena In 1921, the Boston Athletic Association Indoor Games were moved from Mechanics Hall to the new Boston Arena. That year's event featured many athletes from the previous year's Olympics, including Richmond Landon, Earl Thomson, Jackson Scholz, John Murphy, Frank Loomis, Earl Eby, and Loren Murchison. Walter Camp refereed the schoolboy 50 yard sprint. The event's feature race was the Hunter Mile, which was won by the "Flying Parson" Harold Cutbill.
In 1926, Norwegian Charles Hoff set the men's pole vault indoor world record at .
The 1929 B.A.A. Games saw the U.S. debut of Canadians Percy Williams and Jimmy Ball. Williams, who was competing in his first ever indoor event, won the 40-yard dash invitational.
The 1931 games were the first to have an event for women – an invitational 40-yard dash headlined by Stella Walsh. Walsh and Mary Carew won the semifinal heat races and in the finale, Walsh defeated Carew by a stride.
Two world records were broken during the 1932 B.A.A. Games. High jumper George Spitz set a world record with a mark of and Leo Sexton broke the indoor shot put record at .
Move to Boston Garden In 1933, the B.A.A. moved the games to the larger Boston Garden. According to Victor O. Jones of The Boston Globe, Boston Arena manager and B.A.A. member George V. Brown was reportedly happy with the move because the event did not bring much of a profit for the arena. 10,000 spectators attended that year's games, which saw Emmett Toppino win the 50-yard dash, Joe McCluskey win the two miles, Bernie McCafferty win the 600 yard run, George Spitz win the high jump, Keith Brown win the pole vault, and Carl Coan win the feature mile race.
The B.A.A. lost nearly 1,000 of its 1,600 members during the Great Depression. After filing for bankruptcy, the Association closed its clubhouse on August 4, 1935, and sold its building's furnishings at auction later that year. A group of former B.A.A. members formed the Unicorn Club to continue the indoor games and the Boston Marathon. On January 3, 1936, the Unicorn Club merged with the old B.A.A. and reorganized as a new Boston Athletic Association. George V. Burns, a member of the Association's Governing Board and the manager of the Boston Garden, allowed the indoor games to be held at the Garden free of charge.
The 1937 games saw three world records broken. George Varoff broke the men's pole vault indoor world record with mark of , Sam Allen broke the record in the 45-yard high hurdles, and Don Lash broke the record for the two-mile indoor run. Cornelius Warmerdam broke Varoff's record at the 1939 meet with a mark of . This record was broken again at the 1941 games, this time by Earle Meadows. At the following year's event, Warmerdam broke the record again with a vault.
Jim Fuchs broke the indoor shot put record at the 1950 B.A.A. Games, which also featured a big upset in the two miles when Curt Stone beat Fred Wilt.
In 1953, Mal Whitfield tied the indoor men's 600 yards world record with a time of 1:10.2.
In the feature race of the 1955 games, Wes Santee broke the world record in the indoor mile with a time of 4:03.8. The record was broken a week later by Gunnar Nielsen at the Wanamaker Mile.
In 1957, Tom Courtney tied the men's 600 yards world record with a time of 1:09.5. In 1959, Bill Dellinger set the two miles indoor record with a time of 8:49.9. The following year, John Thomas tied his world high jump record of .
In 1964, Wendell Mottley set the world indoor record in the 440-yard dash with a time of 48 seconds. In 1967, Willie Davenport tied the world record in the 45-yard hurdles. By this time, the B.A.A. games were the only meet to hold this event.
End In 1970, the Knights of Columbus ended their annual Boston Garden track meet after 44 years due to financial issues. This left the B.A.A. Games as the last major track event in Boston, although, according to the New York Times they also appeared to "be in jeopardy".
The 1971 B.A.A. Games saw an attendance of 9,008, down from 13,645 in 1960. On November 5, 1971, B.A.A. president Will Cloney announced that the games would not take place in 1972 due to increased costs and low ticket sales.
Hunter Mile The Hunter Mile was the feature race of the Boston Athletic Association Indoor Games. It was named after BAA patron George L. Hunter and first contested at the 1911 games. Abel Kiviat was the inaugural winner.
Year Athlete Country TimeRef1911Abel Kiviat4:29.21912Frederick Hedlund4:23.81913Abel Kiviat4:26.41914Abel Kiviat4:28.01915Michael Devaney4:24.21916David Caldwell4:25.21917Michael Devaney4:25.21918Joie Ray4:24.61919Joie Ray4:22.21920Joie Ray4:23.21921Harold Cutbill4:22.61922Joie Ray4:20.41923Joie Ray4:19.01924Joie Ray4:18.01925Joie Ray4:15.21926James Connolly4:22.41927Lloyd Hahn4:20.41928Lloyd Hahn4:22.81929Ray Conger4:21.01930Ray Conger4:22.21931Leo Lermond4:19.21932Leo Lermond4:16.01933Carl Coan4:17.51934Glenn Cunningham4:18.41935Gene Venzke4:17.61936Gene Venzke4:14.41937Glenn Cunningham4:12.31938Glenn Cunningham4:10.01939Glenn Cunningham4:10.81940Charles Fenske4:11.21941Leslie MacMitchell4:10.71942Leslie MacMitchell4:11.81943Frank Dixon4:11.41944Gil Dodds4:09.51945James Rafferty4:14.31946Leslie MacMitchell4:13.61947Gil Dodds4:08.91948Gil Dodds4:08.11949Willem Slijkhuis4:12.41950John Joe Barry4:13.41951Don Gehrmann4:07.91952Don Gehrmann4:08.91953Fred Dwyer4:09.21954Josy Barthel4:07.71955Wes Santee4:03.81956Ron Delany4:06.31957Ron Delany4:07.51958Ron Delany4:05.31959Ron Delany4:04.31960Phil Coleman4:03.81961István Rózsavölgyi4:06.81962John Reilly4:09.61963Vic Zwolak4:09.81964Bob Schul4:08.91965John Davies4:04.01966Josef Odlozil4:05.21967Sam Bair4:04.81968Sam Bair4:01.91969Sam Bair4:04.31970Arthur Dulong4:01.11971Chuck LaBenz4:09.2
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