1979: Jumbo Elliott, the legendary Villanova coach, wisely refused to allow his two stars, Don Paige and Mark Belger, to compete against each other when they were college teammates. Belger graduated in 1978, leaving the way open for a 1000-Meter Run duel that would live up to its billing: Belger had won 19 straight indoor races, while Paige was the race’s two-time defending champion. With 3.5 laps remaining, Belger surges into the lead, but Paige sprints by him just before the gun, pulling away for a World Indoor Record. Two years later, Paige would win the rematch, again in a World Indoor Record.
1980: Returning for the first time since 1974, when she won the 1000 at the stunning age of 15, the captivating Mary Decker is here this time for the 1500 meters. Blistering the quarter-mile in 60.8 – faster than the men in the earlier Wanamaker Mile – Decker wins by 80 yards, smashes the World Indoor Record in 4:00.8 and becomes one of the most popular athletes in Millrose history. Decker’s run overshadows an earlier World Indoor Record by Stephanie Hightower in the 60-Yard Hurdles, making this a long-awaited Ladies Night at the Garden.
Future Hall of Famer Stephanie Hightower in 1985.
1981: Suleiman Nyambui and Alberto Salazar go head-to-head at 5000 meters in a duel for the ages, with Nyambui taking the lead from Salazar two laps from the end of the 34-lap race and setting a World Indoor Record of 13:20.4 with his victory. Salazar, whose fast early pace set up the scorching finish, smashes the American record by 18 seconds with his 13:22.6 as runner-up.
1982: In the Diamond Jubilee edition, Mary Decker Tabb wows the crowd again, this time setting a World Indoor Record in the Mile (4:21.47).
1983: After missing the 1982 race with a stress fracture and Achilles problems, the popular Eamonn Coghlan easily wins his fifth Wanamaker Mile.
1984: In his sixth and final jump of the night, Carl Lewis shatters his own World Indoor Record in the long jump by 9.5 inches when he uncorks a monster leap of 28 feet, 10.25 inches, still considered one of the best long jumps in history, indoors or out. Luckily, the meet director had noticed just before the competition began that the runway was only 27 feet long, six feet shorter than regulation. Had he not, Lewis would have jumped right over the pit onto the track.
1985: After her heartbreaking Olympics in 1984, where she fell after getting tangled with barefoot Zola Budd, Mary Decker returns to the Garden to run away with the Mile in 4:22.01. Afterward, she tells the media she had been attacked the previous Saturday while out for a run near her home by a man who jumped off a bicycle and wrestled her to the ground.
1986: A powerful lineup of three World Record pole vaulters has to deal with confusion. After photographers interfere with the approaches of Billy Olson and Joe Dial, they are each given an extra attempt. Sergey Bubka is unhappy about the chaotic conditions and withdraws from the meet midway, only to be persuaded to return an hour later, in part after officials agree to wipe out one of his misses. Olson eventually wins with the Garden’s first 19-foot vault.
1987: In one of the most emotional moments in Millrose history, Eamonn Coghlan wins his seventh Wanamaker Mile.
