September 9 Birthdays

1858
Walter George, Great Britain, distance runner. Walter George was the pre-eminent amateur miler of his time, lowering the world record from 4:24-1/2 to 4:18-2/5. The professionals of that era were running much faster, though, and after George had set amateur records in the two-mile (9:17 2/5), three-mile (14:39), six-mile (30:21 1/2), ten-mile (51:20), and one-hour run (11 miles 932 yards), he sought new worlds to conquer and turned professional. He was just as dominant as a pro, winning match races and setting a new professional record for the mile of 4:12-3/4 in 1885, faster than any man (amateur or pro) would run for the next three decades. George attributed his success to training built around his "100-Up" exercises. He died on 4 June 1943. Rob Hadgraft has written a new biography on this great Victorian miler, Beer and Brine: The Making of Walter George, Athletics' First Superstar.