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Show Uinfah's George Gcalloweay podxeted ive stfafe crowns in the 1 930 's A five-time state champion from Uintah High School and a Utah State Agricultural College (USU) track star in the 1930's by the name of George Galloway, 67, returned to his old stomping grounds in Vernal this week for one of his longest visits in the Uintah Basin in over 40 years. George Galloway captured the mile and the 880 yard run in 1931 and he t ', J - J A i. tA :':"'A X- ' : n- 1 x - i " ;-: . . . V ' r . , t 1- - ' i i UINTAH'S FIVE-TIME state champion, George Galloway, returned to his old stomping grounds, Vernal, this week for a visit. placed first in the mile in 1932. He garnered the first place crown in the mile and the 880 in 1933. Galloway also pocketed fourth place in the mile in 1930 as a freshman. The Uintah Utes' George Galloway won five first place track crowns in his four years as a student at Uintah High School. "I had a lead of about 50 to 70 yards in the mile in 1933. My time of 4:32.2 was pretty close to the state record of 4:32, but I didn't know it at the time. I beat Osward Gallacher of Murray and Rands Wiley of Tooele. I won the mile in 1932 with a time of 4:35 and nabbed the crown as a sophomore in 1931 with a mark of 4:39.9. My winning times in the 880 yard run were 1:59 in 1933 and 2:02 in 1931," stated George Galloway. High school athletes in the 1980's have comfortable buses which take them to their contests. However George'Gallbway had to find his own way out to the state track meet in 1932 so that he could defend his state championship in the mile. "I got a ride out to the state meet with Jensen, the mailman. Most of Vernal was out to greet us when we captured third place in the state tournament in 1931. I placed first in the mile in 1931 and it became a habit after that. I was a darkhorse that year. They didn't know much about me," stated Galloway. Uintah placed third in the 1931 state meet with a total of 19 points. Galloway also captured first place in the mile and the 880 yard run at the BYU Invitational in 1931, 1932 and 1933. He captured the 440 yard run at the BYU meet as a freshman in 1930. He set the all-time junior high record in the 880 yard run at 2:03. George Galloway didn't just run the mile, 880 and 440. He also competed in marathon runs and he was quite successful suc-cessful in the events. He won the City Creek run in April of 1932 and won the City Marathon in Salt Lake City in November of 1932. Galloway won the 2.3 mileCity Creek run in a time of 11:46.1. Rands Wiley of Tooele placed second. Galloway won the Deseret News City Marathon in a time of 12:10. A portion of the story follows as it was printed in the Salt Lake Tribune on November 25, 1932. "It was Galloway vs. Wiley again, Thursday. These two youngsters George Galloway of Uintah High School and Rands Wiley of Tooele, rivals of two years' standing in prep circles, finished first and second, respectively, in the annual Thanksgiving day run of the Intermountain AAU...The time of Galloway was 12:10 which, of course, will be a record. Wiley finished about 20 yards behind the winner." Vernal's George Galloway won the Deseret News Marathon as a senior in 1932 and then in 1933 he won the crown again as a freshman at Utah State Agricultural College, which is known now as Utah State University in Logan: A portion of the article, which was printed in one of the Salt Lake City newspapers in 1933 follows. "George Galloway captured the Deseret News marathon race for the second straight year yesterday when he outdistanced the finest field of harriers to ever enter the Turkey day event. The young Aggie freshmen ace proved himself the finest cross country ace in the three local colleges by winning from the best runners from the three schools as well as other outstanding performers in the mountain region. Galloway's time for the event was 17 minutes and 41 seconds, the best time made in the last three years. ..The champ, who hails from Uintah, was pushed to the tape by BYU runner, Max Andrews, staging a great spurt around the oval at the "U" to finish just two yards back of the two-time winner." Galloway also won some cross country meets at Utah State Univer sity. He won a race at Utah State with a time of 10:56. Louis Roberts, another Uintah High School graduate, placed second following Galloway by four seconds. Galloway defeated the Aggies' captian, Glen Pyper, in a cross country run at Utah State as a freshmen in 1933. He passed Pyper on the last lap and won the race with a time of 10:38. Vernal's Galloway held the record in the mile run at Utah State University for 36 years with a time of 4:26.9. in 1935 in an interschool meet. The record was broken in 1971. In 1937 Galloway had the fastest time in the half mile of any runner on the west coast. "Now 1:52.3 isn't really very fast for the half mile, but in those days the world record was only 1:49.9," stated Galloway. George Galloway was edged by a hair in his bid for a first place in the 880 yard run in the 1934 conference meet. "A runner from Brigham Young University beat me out in a photo finish. Hib hand hit the tape first even though it appeared I was ahead of him in the picture. I placed second with a time of 1:54.8. Galloway won the 880 in 1937 and placed second in the mile vn 1936 in the state meets with BYU, USU and Utah. He also placed first in the mile relay in 1935. Jesse Owens, who captured four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics in the 100 and 200 meter dashes, long jump and 400-meter relay, and George Galloway took part in the 1937 AAU meet at Stanford University in California. "Owens placed first in the 100 and 220 yard dashes. He used to run against a horse in exhibitions. He was a pretty good starter. He would be about five to ten yards ahead of everyone on the start. He was one of the greatest runners that I have ever seen in short or long distance races. It was a pleasure to be in a meet with him," remarked Galloway. "I hitchhiked to the AAU meet. I placed third in the 880 yard run with a time of 1:52. Tracksters from all over the Western United States took part in the meet." Owens died recently on March 31 of lung cancer at the age of 66 years old. He was the first athlete to be called the "world's fastest human" when he established world records in every sprint from the 60 to 220 yards, the 220-yard 220-yard low hurdles and long jump. When asked to compare the sport of track in the 1930's to the 1980's, George Galloway remarked, "The tracksters today have faster tracks. We had cinder tracks, but today they have plastic and rubberized tracks. They have better training and have a lot better coaching. We used to run together and track is an individual sport. I did most of my training myself and they (USU) said I trained too hard. I would run wind sprints from 15 to 100 " yards, but I wouldn't do that every day. Some days I would do a little distance running when I felt I might be getting a little tight. Everything's changed. I believe with the training today the young people have a lot better chance. They know more about track and know how to eat Some other Uintah High School graduates who were at Utah State University besides George Galloway were Louis Roberts and George Alexander. "Louis Roberts was my buddy. He set the state record in the 2-mile 2-mile at Utah State University. Roberts also placed second in a cross country meet at Utah State. Louis placed third in the mile as a sophomore in 1930 and placed second as a junior in 1931. Roberts was a member of the first place mile relay team in 1931, which consisted of Howard Noel, Lawrence - Colton, Bill Farrar and Louis Roberts." Galloway added, "George Alexander was one of the greatest halfbacks in the country. Dick Romney, the coach at Utah State University, said that George Alexander would have been the best open field runner in the nation." Alexander was a member of the USU freshman football team, but was injured in-jured as a sophomore. Alexander was one of the best runners on the team, but a severe injury in a USU game with Colorado State resulted in no more strenuous games for the time in 1933. Alexander died in 1935 of complications following an injury he gained when he was severely burned from a gasoline explosion while adjusting a chicken brooder at his home. George Galloway graduated from Utah State University in 1951 with a Bachelor of Science degree. He gained his Masters in science in 1954. Galloway taueht at Weber High School in Ogden and in Wy'East and Hood River High School in Oregon. He was an instructor in building, drafting and wood working for 20 years at Hood River High School, and he was in charge of the technical field. Galloway retired in 1978 and now spends his time building cabins. He is the father of five children and lives in Hood River. He also coached for 20 years in Hood River with a majority of his coaching being done with high school track teams. His teams won the district title two years. "Doc" is George Galloway's nickname. The nickname was given to Galloway because he once studied and was within a year of receiving his doctorate degree in industrial education. "Somebody heard aboiit it (his studies) or I slipped one time and told about it and the kids started called me Doc," remarked Galloway. Galloway stated that he was in Vernal about a year ago, but his last visit was about 21 years ago. ' I've visited in Vernal a few times, but the visit this week is the longest stay for me in Vernal in 40 years. I left about 40 years ago, came back for a visit about 20 years later and then was gone from Vernal for another 20 years," said Galloway. Uintah High School's Galloway won - five state championships, three times in the mile and twice in the 880 yard run, but he also won the marathon at Uintah during his four years in high school. Galloway suffered a wound in World War II that resulted in a limp, but he was a track star of considerable note in the 1930's. According to Mrs. Carl (Marvel) Gardiner, her brother, George Galloway still jogs at the age of 67. "He does quite a bit of jogging," remarked Mrs. -Gardiner. i ...... - ' . - . - ' ... fr UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY star, George Galloway, right, edges Ed Hart of Utah at the wire in the mile during a meet with Utah in 1935. Galloway just barely missed taking the conference title in the 880 yard run in 1934. |