1949: Following in the footsteps of fellow Badgers Chuck Fenske and Walter Mehl, the University of Wisconsin’s Don Gehrmann wins the Wanamaker Mile.
1950: Perhaps the wackiest Millrose Games on record. A controversial dead-heat Wanamaker Mile is won – or is it? – by Don Gehrmann of Wisconsin in 4:09.3, with Fred Wilt of the N.Y. Athletic Club named runner-up in the same exact time. Following a reversal of the decision and a protest of the reversal, the outcome of the race isn’t decided until a vote at the national Amateur Athletics Union convention in Washington, D.C., 10 months later. Delegates, few of whom had seen the race, voted 304-108 to maintain Gehrmann as the winner.
1951: The Rev. Bob Richards, vaulting 15 feet, 1 inch, earned his fifth-consecutive pole vault victory and second-straight Outstanding Performer award. But how much longer could he stay at the top?
1952: Five Millrose winners from 1952 would go on to become Olympic Champions later in the year: Lindy Remigino (100m), Harrison Dillard (110m hurdles), George Rhoden (400m), Horace Ashenfelter (3000m steeplechase) and Bob Richards (pole vault). Two Millrose runners-up win silver in Helsinki: Charles Moore (400m hurdles) and Mal Whitfield (800m). Winner of the Millrose 880-Yard Run is Roscoe Lee Browne, soon to become an award-winning actor.
Don Gehrmann, left, and Fred Wilt hit the tape together in 4:09.3 in the 1950 Wanamaker, sometimes known as the "Marathon Mile" because it took 10 months to decide the winner.
1953: Heinz Ulzheimer of Germany, a former Russian prisoner of war who was third in the 1952 Olympic 800 meters, easily wins the 880-Yard Run.
1954: After serving as a tail gunner in the Korean War, “Marvelous Mal” Whitfield notches the first double since Charley Hornbostel in 1935 when he wins both the 600 and 880.
1955: Wes Santee, America’s top miler, sets a World Indoor Record of 4:03.8 in Boston the week before, but is upset here by Gunnar Nielsen of Denmark, who runs 4:03.6. Nonetheless, Santee is credited with an en-route World Indoor Record at 1500 meters. Fans were riveted by the near-fisticuffs between Santee and Freddy Dwyer as they crossed the finish line, with Santee furious that Dwyer had passed him while running on the infield. Dwyer was disqualified. Spectators were so riveted by the contretemps that most of them missed seeing Nielsen cross the line faster than any man in history.
1956: Dave Sime wins the 60-Yard Dash after almost having to pay his own way to the meet when organizers said he was welcome to run but they couldn’t pay expenses for such an unknown sprinter. A few days after that assessment, Sime won the 70-, 80- and 100-Yard sprints at a meet in Washington, D.C., setting records all along the way and beating an Olympic champion. Millrose organizers changed their minds.
1957: Marking the 50th anniversary edition of the Millrose Games, two-time Olympic gold medalist Bob Richards wins the pole vault for the 11th consecutive year.
