In the 1920's and 1930's, there were many false starts to building a track & field program at John Carroll University.

But following World War II, John Carroll retained Eugene Oberst as its Athletic Director, fueling optimism that track & field would become a reality in the Heights.

Oberst was hardly an ordinary athletic administrator.

He was an Olympian.


The First Medalist

Oberst first gained notoriety as one of the "Seven Mules", the nickname given to the offensive line that blocked for the legendary "Four Horseman" at Notre Dame. Oberst was the starting right tackle in the early 1920's for the Fighting Irish.

During his time at Notre Dame, he would find fame due to happenstance. The story goes that Oberst, who stood six-foot-five, wandered by a track & field practice being conducted by Knute Rockne - the same Knute Rockne that was also the Notre Dame football coach. A javelin landed nearby, at which point Oberst picked it up and threw it far beyond the original thrower. Rockne put Oberst on the track roster soon after, and in 1921, was the NCAA javelin champion.

Oberst would eventually make the Olympic team, and at the Paris games of 1924, his throw of 58.35 meters won him the bronze medal, behind the defending Olympic champion, Jonni Myyrä of Finland (62.96 m) and Gunnar Lindström of Sweden (60.92 m). Oberst was the first American to win an Olympic medal in the javelin throw.


 "When Will John Carroll have track?"

Despite the presence of Oberst, however, the idea of a track & field program did not gain the expected momentum.

1946 would come and go without a team, as would 1947. 

the 1948 season seemed to be heading the same way, and Carroll News columnist Chris Hawkins could hold his pen no longer.

"Judging by the performances of two of Carroll's cindermen at the recent K. of C. Track Meet (23-year old army veteran and sophomore Ray Vavruska and freshman Owen Donahue), one might rightly surmise that ye olde Alma Mammy has the nucleus of a good track team ... not a world beater, but one that could compete on a par with the best in the Ohio Conference, with the exception of Harrison-Dillard College, that is," wrote Hawkins in the April 2, 1948, issue. "Among the 2000-odd students now at Carroll, at least 35 are known to have won their track spurs in high school ... and at least another 35 might easily be found to add to the material out of which Carroll could mold a team. Earlier in the year, Mr. Gene Oberst, Athletic Director, stated that Carroll would not, or rather, could not enter a team in the intercollegiate track field because the University has no facilities or equipment for a spike squad. Recently, overtures were again made to the Administration to see if work could or would begin to build a track and pits. The answer left the Athletic Department with two alternatives ... either Carroll abandons any thought of having track or the Department builds the track and supplies the equipment themselves."

"Last year the same hue and cry was raised until the statement was made that track would be attempted in 1948," continued Hawkins. "Now the same statement is being made for next year ... or the next ... or the next! At present the Athletic Department is as much in the dark about track as is the student body ... Somebody holds the answer. Who? Who? said the little brown owl. The student body understands that it impossible for a cinder squad to practice without the proper facilities, but they also understand that Carroll has the potential for a good team . . . It is too late to build a team for this year, but it is not too late to give the student body a definite answer to the question ... When Will Carroll have track? Cross country competition starts in the fall ... it's not too late for that."

Perhaps Hawkins' words had the intended effect. Just two weeks later, in the April 16 issue of the Carroll News, the headlined blared on the sports page "Blue And Gold Fields Track Team". Bill Fogarty's article began with a declaration.

"Carroll is to make a belated entrance into the intercollegiate track field this spring, although the schedule will be small and the number of events limited, since Athletic Director Gene Oberst issued a call for candidates last Monday."

Subsequent issues of the Carroll News detailed the construction of a cinder track, complete with high jump and pole vault pits.


Building The Program

Oberst, had overseen the partial squads of 1947 and 1948, handed the program over to Richard "Dick" Tupta in 1949, and the team competed for the first time in the Ohio Conference Championships. That first squad turned in a record of 2-3.

Donahue continued to be the standout on the squad in his junior and senior years, but others began to swell the ranks, including a sprinter from the football team named Don Shula who was on the roster in 1950 and 1951.

Oberst coached the squad in 1951, followed by Fred George, who was the basketball coach, in 1952. What cemented the permanency of the program was joining the Presidents' Athletic Conference in 1954. Since the conference sponsored the sport for a championship, John Carroll was able to put together a complete schedule with the goal of winning a crown.

What cemented the program's legitimacy was hiring Don Stupica as track coach in 1967. Prior to Stupica's arrival, JCU had fared no better than third place at the league championship meet in any season. Coinciding with Stupica's arrival and the opening of Wasmer Field in 1968, the Blue Streaks captured their first PAC title in 1969.