Live Each Day: The Life and Legacy of Bill Hayward
by Dennis Clark
EDPM 664 Historiography (Spring 1992) Professor C. H. Edson University of Oregon June 7, 1992
Hayward, a superb athlete in the late 1800’s. became a leading American track and field coach during the first half of this century. Some newspaper writers claimed he was an all-rounded athlete of the caliber of Jim Thorpe or as a track and field coach for nearly five decades, he developed world record holders, meet champions and many Olympic athletes and champions. Hayward was also a fine trainer. He prepared two Rose Bowl teams at the University of Oregon and was known for devising ingenious devices to assist competitive athletes. He invented the use of inflatable devices to cushion injuries. Hayward promised he'd write an autobiography about his rich and active life. He never did. He reportedly took voluminous notes and kept scrapbooks about events in his life, but only a few of these items survive. Because he refused in-depth interviews, much of the existing information about his life comes from second or third-hand sources. In 1941 Sally Mitchell, a graduate student and reporter for the University of Oregon's newspaper, wrote a biography of Hayward as her master's thesis. Mitchell interviewed both Hayward and his wife several times. Her work, while still the most complete single source on his life, was done in a Journalistic manner. It reports information but does not attempt to dig into what the data mean. The purpose of this paper is to analyze and interpret the life of Bill Hayward. As Geraldine Clifford, the educational biographer of Edward Thorndike suggests: "We need biography that satisfies the researcher's demand for information and the artists demand for illumination. In pursuit of illumination, I have tried to discover the the ideas that influenced Hayward beliefs, the philosophy that of life and sports he espoused in his actions, and the legacy he left behind for this area. This is not an easy task. Hayward protected his views from the public and often answered questions in catchy one-liners playing the comic or unsophisticated individual. But his actions, his occasional reflective public moments, and his photo collection provide important evidence in a quest for deeper understanding. I feel that Hayward both reflected and helped to shape his times. This analysis will examine his life from different perspectives including his family background, competitive athletic career, professional coaching, sports training activities involvement in the Olympics, personal life and hobbies and the legacy he left to this area of western Oregon. It will also propose a solution to the question, what happened to Hayward's autobiography?
"I want to keep my private life, private.” This Hayward told many newspaper and magazine writers. His coaching career was in the public eye but for the most part, specific details about his family background, early childhood, and competitive athletic accomplishments remain obscured or unconfirmed. The few exact details that are known Hayward provided directly, or indirectly himself.
Bill Hayward was born William Louis Heyward in Detroit Michigan, on July 2 1868, was the son of French Canadian Catholics. Mr and Mrs. Thomas Heyward. Bill changed the spelling of his last name after moving west in the late 1890s. His family included an older brother and three sisters. Bi11 was a middle-child in a family of extremely robust persons who always enjoyed good health. He recalled very few details about his childhood in Detroit. When discussing this period with Mitchell, Bill remembered getting "a great bang out of robbing birds nests and helping himself to other people's apples. At approximately ten years of age, his parents went to Peru to manage a rubber plantation, leaving the five children to be raised by their Grandparents. Hayward did not like to talk about this time. grandparents or his childhood and the only other reference he made of his parents is that his mother lived to be 50 and his father to 88. Hayward's grandparents, who lived into their nineties, raised the children in Toronto. Canada had been an independent nation for only about ten years when the family moved there. Toronto was a rapidly growing commercial centered on the St. Lawrence River, it’s population jumping from 49,000 in 1870 to 69,000 five years later. Young Bill, enjoyed sports of all kinds and his marks in school suffered because of his concentration on athletics. He excelled at track and field, lacrosse, wrestling, boxing, ice hockey, and rowing. One athletic season blended smoothly into the next. Even at an early age he was interested in body mechanics. Mitchel relates this story about Hayward,”One summer when he was about 17 as nearly as he can remember he went down to the dock one Sunday to fish and noticed a crowd of spectators watching the attempts of various young men to budge a huge 1500-pound anchor which was leaning against a wall. The hook was lying up, so Bi11 leaned against the building, taking the horn of the anchor against his back took hold of the stock, got beneath it and moved it 12’” of ground. His ability to understand spatial relationships and body movement was a ski11 Hayward developed throughout his life.
The athletic atmosphere of Toronto during his teenage years probably stimulated Hayward's interest in competitive sports. In addition to a popular baseball team the city had its first local sports hero Ned Hanlan, a crack oarsman who won over 150 major sculling contests during his career, including the World's Rowing Championship at Henley in 1880. His athletic exploits so captivated the citizens of Toronto that they built Hanlan a home and erected a statue in his honor in Exhibition Park. Hayward may have sought to emulate Hanlan, as he claimed to be unbeatable at single sculls in the 1890s. Sculls were long (3 feet), narrow (6-7 inches) boats that normally raced in pairs down a three- mile course. Although Hayward never mentioned Hanlan by name, it seems possible that Hanlan's exploits stimulated the younger man to seek success in rowing. During the same timeframe Toronto established its first professional fire-fighting unit. City fire departments generated considerable civic pride and athletic interest in the nineteenth century, as demonstrated by surviving photographs. "Hose-team" competitions or races were held between different community 's fire departments. Hayward maintained a relationship with these units throughout his life. An old newspaper photo of the Vancouver B.C. fire department's championship team of 1889 shows a "W. L. Heyward" fifth from the right. The caption reads: "Here you see the team that took their hose reel to Tacoma and came back with a world's championship for speed. Later in his life Hayward had a long-term association with the Eugene Fire Department helping to train their units for hose-team competitions. He told a newspaper reporter in the 1940s that he invented a coupler that cinched up with the pressure of the water, allowing for a speedy connection of the hose. Competition was at the center of Hayward's early life.
Going on the Road
About the age of nineteen, Hayward left Toronto to continue his interest in competitive sports, and also earn a living. He accomplished both of these objectives by joining a traveling athletic troupe for The Caledonian Games, introduced to America during the mid-1800’s by group of Scots who settled in Boston and New York City area, the games combined athletic and social events. Music, dancing, eating, and track and field events filled a day of ethnic celebration. When Hayward joined the circuit, Caledonian clubs existed throughout New England southeastern Canada, New York, Pennsylvania and the upper Mid-West, some groups and were found as far away as Virginia and California. “Large crowds, as many as 25,000 in New York City, attended the games and festivities. The Caledonian Games are credited with introducing track and field competition to the United States, as well as the sports of curling and golf.”
Hayward said that when he joined the troupe, the competitive season began in Rochester N. Y. wound up in Halifax, Canada. A normal day of athletic competition might included 20 to 24 different events. Hayward reported that he once entered 22 events during one meet, winning the 75-yard dash, the 135-yard the 300-yard, the 400-yard, and 600-yard races. Participants won cash prizes. In addition to the racing stakes a contestant or his backers, might pick up additional money by betting on the outcome of each event like a horse race. Hayward claimed he won up to $4,000 in a single of competition. After day the Caledonian Games tour athletes split up, returning home They could or heading west to barnstorm from town to town, earning more money by racing and wagering with local athletes. The key was appear beatable in the trial races to stimulate the betting but then sweep away the local star in the final event for the real money. Hayward told many stories about tricking his opponents. In one such incident. he hid a pair of spiked running shoes until the last moment. The enjoyment of a friendly bet and the value of out-foxing the opposition were constants throughout Hayward's life. The friends Hayward made during his days on the road from approximately 1887 to 1898, played important roles later in his coaching career. The most influential were Walter Christie and Lawson Robertson, barnstorming competitors who also became collegiate track and field coaches. But Hayward's life on the road extended beyond track and field. He was involved in other sports as well.
Boxing and Clubs
Hayward often told stories about the 1890’s that involved famous boxers he had known and clubs. The clubs were Indian Clubs, used in a gymnastic performance, and a baseball bat he once used as a club. In these episodes, the boxers and. clubs became intertwined.
His experiences on the track barnstorming circuit put him in contact with other sports personalities who were on the road. He once toured with "Gentleman" Jim Corbett, before he soundly beat John L. Sullivan in a twenty-one round match in 1892 — to win the first heavy-weight championship bout that used gloves and the first to follow the Marquis of Queensbury Rules. A photo of Hayward in 1890 shows a muscular young man of about six feet in height, weighing 190 pounds, dressed in a gymnastic/circus performing outfit surrounded by tables of funny looking pins and a hand-held barbell. The strange pins called Indian Clubs, were part of the act that Hayward performed with Corbett's road-show. Indian Club swinging as the sport was called was not simply vaudevil le entertainment. It was rather a complicated physical exercise and competitive gymnastic event. George Roth, gold medal winner in the event at the 1932 Olympics, describes competitive club swinging: “Indian clubs look a little like bowling pins, but they are skinny and have long necks with a small, round knob at the top end.” What you do is twirl them around your body in front, in back, and on the sides without letting them touch each other. The period of Hayward competitive athletic career from the mid-1880s to the turn of the century was a time in which the philosophy of social Darwinism flourished. Advocates of this concept translated Darwin's idea of survival of the fittest species into social terms. As C- H. Edson explains: “The architects of social Darwinism. among the Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) and William Graham Sumner (1840-1910) reasoned that life was a competitive struggle and that only the strongest those who had the resources to sustain survival - - could survive. In turn, the pressures of survival stimulated the strongest to develop adaptive skills benefit human evolution.” Hayward was never known to mention social Darwinism, Spencer or Sumner, or to talk in philosophical terms. However, his early life clearly demonstrates the importance he put on competing, the value he placed on winning through one 's own capabilities, and his desire to find an edge that would insure his survival as an athlete. The pressures to develop these adaptive skills would be more graphically illustrated when he later turned his efforts to coaching and athletic training.
Coaching
Despite being a great competitive athlete. Hayward is best remembered as a collegiate track and field coach and His transition from competing to coaching was gradual. In the late 1890s and early century twentieth century, students most often hired coaches on a limited contract to train athletes for a particular competitive season. Early coaches called trainers might have little college-specific loyalty; indeed, Hayward said he coached one track team in person and another by mail during the same season. When Hayward entered the profession, competitive athletics had not been incorporated into the formal structure of higher education. Coaching was a logical extension of Hayward's participation in the Caledonian Games and barnstorming experiences, and colleges were seeking trainers who possessed competency in winning. Through his earlier competitive experiences Hayward knew that holding an advantage over an opponent meant knowing more about the technique of each event, getting a quicker start, making a better sequenced jump, staying in better physical condition, avoiding injuries, or having the best race strategy. The smallest technical element could make the difference between winning and losing. Attending to these elements became trademarks of Hayward's coaching and training strategies.
The friends Hayward made during his days on the road, assisted his entry into the coaching profession. Walter Christie and Lawson Robertson, steeped in the same competitive track circuit and lifetime associates of Hayward, played important roles in shaping his career. Christie and offered Hayward his first position, as an assistant track field coach first at Princeton in 1898. When Christie in accepted a new position at the University of California 1899 he sent Hayward ahead to take charge of the track team, while he closed out his affairs in the east. In 1901 Hayward became a head coach at Pacific University in Forest year Grove, Oregon. He coached two years at Pacific and one year tiny Albany College, located 40 miles north of Eugene.
At the turn of the century the conference system of intercollegiate competition was not solidified. Colleges competed primarily against opponents physically located near their campus. The story goes that Hayward's track team at Albany College gave the larger more prestigious University of Oregon such a drubbing in 1903 that the students sought to hire Hayward. Virgil Earl, then the student manager, obtained Hayward's services for $145 that first season.
It was probably not a hard sell Hayward. He had already developed an attraction for the state. He said: “I came to Oregon for a vacation and I caught what they call the Oregon spirit It's not a serious disease but it's contagious, so they kept me here. I liked everything in the state and everything I like is in the state, so I stayed.” Hayward stayed at the University of Oregon for 44 years During that time he coached four world and six United States record holders, four NCAA champions, and nine Olympians. His track teams won two Northern Division titles (1920, 1934 and two Pacific Coast Conference championships (1924, 1934) finished in the top ten at the National Collegiate Athletic (34) Association meet seven times between 1930 and 1941. His coaching career at Oregon is noted for several distinct characteristics. His star athletes record holders and Olympians, covered the full range of track and field events: sprinting (Dan Kelly), distance running (Ralph Hill Steers), hurdling jumping (Mack Robinson), high jumping (Les Moeller) javelin throwing (Boyd Brown), discus throwing (Ed Moeller) and pole vaulting (George Varoff). Hayward was proficient in coaching every event based on the results of his athletes. His teams, although frequently lacking in depth were noted for their competitive spirit. He motivated his athletes to perform above expectations. And he did not play favorites. In 1947 a month before his death, he was asked who were the finest athletes he had coached in his career. In a deep gravelly voice he replied, "I don't figure it that way, figure on improvement .” He then described an athlete who had little natural speed, but worked hard and developed into a conference champion by his senior year when.
When Hayward became a collegiate coach, the coach athlete relationship was different than it is today. Coaches at the turn of the century were often athletes only a year or two removed from college competition themselves. They were expected to teach the secrets of the trade to the slightly younger college students. Perhaps this frequent closeness in age accounts for the reason why Hayward felt "old" when he arrived at the University of Oregon at age 34. The relationship appears to be more like mentor and student rather than master coach and apprentice. There are several examples in Hayward's career that may support the idea that he viewed his coaching role as that of a friend and mentor. First he took his star sprinter- - jumper Dan Kelly to the London Olympics in 1908 on his own money. Second, while the players respected Hayward they gave him many nicknames that showed familiarity. His most famous nickname however, came from John McEwan the University of Oregon football coach from 1926 to 1929. McEwan was the first to tag Hayward a Colonel. "I call him Colonel," said McEwan, for he is my ideal of how a good Colonel should look. Reflecting back on this event Hayward characterized the nickname as more of a joke on their southern hosts during a football trip. Third, there is a photograph of Les Steers trying to become the first athlete to clear the high jump bar at 7-feet. Toward the rear of the picture Hayward is seen lifting his foot in mock attempt to roll over the bar. He seems more cheerleader than a directive coach. Last, while Hayward is boastful about his exploits as a competitor he modestly reacts to his accomplishments as a coach. “The boys did it all,” he'd say. This modesty extended to his association with the Olympics.
Olympics
Hayward's other major coaching accomplishment was as an assistant track coach on six American olympic teams 1908, 1912, 1920, 1924, 1928, and 1932. In 1916, he was offered the position of head track coach for German track team, but this possibility was lost with the outbreak of World War I. Additionally, he attended the 1936 olympics in Berlin, but a recent heart attack prevented his active participation as a coach.
He shared these olympic experiences with his old friend Lawson Robertson. fellows assistant track coach in 1912 and 1920 and then head track and field coach for the next four Olympiads. Robertson who competed against Hayward in the 1890s, had a parallel coaching career. He was the head track coach at Pennsylvania University from 1916 to 1947 and then helped operate the famous Penn Relay Carnival. 1930s, Hayward put together a high school track and field meet organized along the same model as the Penn relays. Pictures of Robertson and other famous track athletes abound in Hayward's photo albums. Photography was a life long hobby of Hayward and nearly all of the pictures in the two surviving albums are related to sports. In one black cardboard album, "My Memory Book there are nearly 200 photos related to the Olympics. Most depict individual athletes, group portraits or events at the games. Some of the most interesting ones are from the 1912 Stockholm Olympics featuring five pictures of Jim Thorpe and several of the royal family. King Gustav presented Thorpe with two gold medals pronouncing him the athlete in the world. Thorpe reportedly replied, “Thanks, king, you're not so bad yourself." It is not known if Hayward may have witnessed this famous exchange, but it is possible. Hayward, as a member of the coaching staff, actually instructed Thorpe. Thorpe was an repeat a movement instinctive athlete known to be able repeat a movement after seeing it demonstrated only once or twice. Hayward possibly shared some of his techniques with the most outstanding athlete of the first half of the twentieth century. Hayward's three decade association with the Olympics suggests that he agreed with, if not promoted, the ideals of the people who created the modern Olympics. Pierre Fredy, Baron of Coubertin, the driving force in reviving the Olympics in the late 1890s, believed in fusing academic training with moral and physical education. Olympic athletes was to be done at the major colleges and universities around the world - - in what Coubertin called a “great pedagogical reform”. Hayward often talked about preparing a specific athlete for the next olympiad. "The Olympiad is a very impressive event, he said, "and it is a wonderful sight to see the world's best athletes compete against each other. This statement echoes Herbert Spencer's idea that through competition the virtuous their position demonstrate superior abilities and legitimized their positions as examples of human progress. A gold medal and garland wreath to the winner. For a coach, nothing could more be rewarding than to prepare an athlete for such success.
Training
In addition to coaching, Hayward acted as the athletic trainer for several sports (besides track) while at the in University of Oregon. In fact, he was ahead of his time devising equipment that allowed athletes to compete while injured or those physically handicapped. He advocated preventative training measures, such as stretching, and a holistic approach to athletic preparation, promoting year round training and using dance to develop coordination. A good trainer was especially important in the early days of intercollegiate sports: due to the scarcity of athletes, the great number of injuries, and the inadequacy of equipment. Hayward took special pride in training Oregon 's 1916 and 1921 Rose Bowl teams which had small traveling squads. This required most football players to participate in the entire game. Having a healthy team on the field at the end of a game might provide the edge for victory Hayward fashioned devices to assist competitive athletes in a small "makeshift cubbyhole in the basement of Mc Arthur Court: making braces and pads from basic materials like leather, sponge rubber, and aluminum. He created the devices with the aid of a hammer, metal scissors, and in this manner he:
•Made a special shoe for a football player without toes on one foot. “Iron foot” Mullen set a record in 1908 when he kicked four field goals (including one of 52 yards) to beat Idaho
•Constructed a foam-rubber padded iron chestplate for Mike Mikulak, an Oregon all-American fullback, to protect his “pidgeon breast” from injury.
*Devised a rubber and foam doughnut to protect the badly injured knee of a football player named Latourette, that allowed him to continue to play in an important game.
*Fashioned an artificial thumb for Boyd Brown, which allowed him to throw the javelin and set Northwest and Coast Conference records.
Hayward's interest in manufacturing scientific devices is consistent with the social Darwinian concept of adaptive skills. Through the creation of these devices the strongest individuals demonstrate their superior adaptive qualities. Indeed, the survival of the human species depend upon individuals who are capable of adapting and excelling, which is a natural part of selection and progress. Similar efforts to use adaptive measures are apparent in Hayward personal life and hobbies.
Private life
"I liked Oregon because everything I like to do can be done here. Track athletics, fishing, and photography are my hobbies and Oregon is the place for all three. Why do you realize I'm getting paid for just following my hobbies And what more can a man ask?" After being on the road during most of his young adulthood Hayward found the Central Willamette Valley to be an ideal place to settle down.
He never liked to talk about his personal life. When he first lived in Eugene after 1903 he was married and had a son. There is no reference to them after this time. Hayward remarried in the winter of 1921. His second wife was Bertina Alicia Orton and the wedding ceremony was held in Kelso, Washington. The nuptials went unannounced and the Portland Telegraph of February 10th noted that the marriage was a "big surprise.” They had no children from this marriage Although Bertina was thirty years younger than Hayward the marriage worked well. Biographer Mitchell reports that Mrs Hayward devoted her life to her husband. It is known that she kept the clippings related to Hayward 's career and assisted with the photo albums
Personal Philosophy
Hayward had a public career, but he tried to keep his thoughts private. He either did not think deeply about things or preferred not to share these thoughts with others. Dean Leyhtau, of the University of Oregon's Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, reflecting on this aspect of Hayward's personality shortly after his death said:
“No one ever knew what Bill thought He professed to think certain things, to agree to concede to use hackneyed phrases. pretended to believe many things, to use the thought processes of others. But he did this for certain effects, certain results. What he really thought, what words and phrases he used to himself, what his mental patterns we no one ever knew At times, he was an exceedingly fine actor.”
There are same factors that may explain why Hayward did not reveal him ideas more to others. First his personnel record indicates that Hayward never obtained a bachelors degree or ever attended college. A rumor suggests he once tried summer school at the University of California upon the urging of Oregon 's president Prince Lucian Campbell. But Hayward found fishing a much more attractive summertime activity. Hayward may have been uncomfortable arguing or discussing philosophical points of view with his more educated associates at the university Second, his earlier barnstorming experiences may have influenced his behavior. It was necessary to quickly meet and establish rapport with people in order to hustle-up some competition for foot racing and betting. Hayward was a master at developing a warm ( relationship with people in a very short period of time He did this through storytelling and reflecting ideas back to people. He often said one of his hobbies was studying people. To talk politics or philosophy might have the opposite effect. Hayward might have protected his ideas out of educational insecurity or simply habit.
Alternatively, it may be that the Bill Hayward presented was the real Hayward. He was a man of action rather than reflection. Portions of Mitchell's description of meeting Hayward for the first time illustrative this idea:
“I fixed my attention on one figure the centerpiece of the group I had been told that he was the greatest performer of them all He stood the like a ringmaster in a ten-ring circus, waving his arms and shouting orders. Presently Colonel Bill started walking toward his office I watch his even pace which of his friends aptly described as smooth as glass. As he approached I was able to make out his physical features more clearly. Now I saw his large, well-built frame his arms swinging easily at his sides. He was quite near now and I could distinguish his mass of wavy, grey hair, streaked with black. I noticed his rough weather -tanned skin with its deep lines. His shirt open at the neck revealed the same tanned skin the same tanned skin, the same rugged glow of health. Hayward carried a fishing pole in his car at all times so that would be able to stop and fish whenever the impulse struck, this happened often.”
He seems to have lived one day at a time, as the inscription on a photo to a friend suggests.
Hobbies
Fishing and photography occupied much of Hayward's time. He also like to hunt, attend boxing matches and drive classy automobiles. Hayward named his first car, a brilliant baby-blue Ford Bluebird, purchased during a time when Fords were all painted black. He loved to fish. A California acquaintance of Hayward wrote: he knows every good fishing hole in the country and I gather he even calls the fish by their first names. He specialized in fly casting on the MoKenzie River, where he maintained a “summer home" at Vida. In reality, the Vida. home was more his primary residence and he drove to Eugene to conduct business affairs. There is philosophical consistency even in his hobby of fishing. A front page photo in the Morning Oregonian of June 23, 1926 shows Hayward and three fishing buddies holding two long lines of trout. The caption reads: “The 40 trout, all of the eastern brook variety, were hooked in exactly three hours of fishing. Their average length was 11 inches and average weight 2 1/2 pounds.” Here fishing is seen as a competition and a sporting victory that could be quantified. "I like fishing because I like to outguess the fish,” he said. Likewise, Hayward prided himself on his fishing equipment. Mitchell reports that Bill likes to buy the best equipment on the market. He has approximately $2500 worth of fishing tackle including 35 or 40 different types of rods. reels, and lines. This is another example of the social Darwinian belief in adaptive measures. Through the use of the best equipment Hayward could demonstrate his superior traits as an individual Man over fish. It is not surprising that Hayward did not like to eat fish.
Photography was another lifelong avocation. Mitchel reports seeing four or five "commodious trucks" full of pictures and says he owned several expensive cameras, including two movie cameras which he uses to take technicolor pictures of his athletes in action photos. The two surviving albums at the University of Oregon reflect Hayward's interests; photos of athletes. sports meets. football players. baseball games. Olympics activities, fishing and hunting and tourism (most often associated with sporting events. Also Hayward or his wife carefully mounted the pictures in the albums. one of which is hand-made with a soft leather cover. Hayward's distinctive handwriting denotes the names of athletes times and dates of the events. Interestingly, photos of possible family, friends, and fishing outings contain no inscriptions. A panoramic view of a stadium or the sequence in the execution of a specific track event, like high jump, is achieved by pasting consecutive photos together. Hayward told Mitchell, “A story in pictures leaves nothing untold”. If this is so, Hayward's photos reflect or support what is known about him from other sources of information.
University of Oregon archivist Keith Richard once tried to convince a television network to show selected photos from Hayward's albums as lead-ins to their coverage of the Olympic Games. The network was not interested. While the legacy of Hayward's life has yet to be realized by a larger world audience, the same is not true for the local area.
Legacy
Hayward left both a tangible and intangible inheritance. The track complex at the University of oregon is named in his honor. He was given many awards toward the end of his life: being recognized as the dean of American track coaches, being named First Citizen of Eugene, and having Governor John Hall proclaim an official Bill Hayward Day for the state of Oregon in 1947. Hayward also left a bust of himself sculpted by Rex Sorenson in 1934. It was initially intended to be cast in bronze, but due to the lack of money during the Depression the project was not completed at that time. In the early 1980s, the University of Oregon 's archivist raised funds from Hayward's former athletes to finished the bronzing of the bust Hayward 's countenance now awaits its new home in the recently completed building complex, funded by Bill Bowerman at the north end of the Hayward Field. Hayward also left an intentional reminder of his coaching career, the Hayward relays. It was his hope that this meet would attract the top high school track competitors from the whole northwest. However, the relays lost their regional appeal when Washington State prohibited their schools from sending athletes to compete out-of-state. Bill Bowerman, Hayward's successor as track coach, continued this meet for Oregon prep athletes into the late 1950’s.
Two other legacies are less concrete Hayward had an affect upon the University of Oregon's image of itself. The track program that Hayward developed at Oregon was continued by Bowerman (1948-1972) a student of Hayward in the 1930s, and then Bill Dellinger (1973-present) a star athlete of Bowerman in the late 1950s. The University of Oregon is often identified as a preeminent school for track and field athletes. This notion is reinforced by the ability of the school, and its supporters to attract major national meets to Hayward Field including the National Collegiate Athletic Association Championships, Amateur Athletic Congress meets, and especially the Olympic Trials Intercollegiate athletics can provide a rallying element for the decentralized portions of the university. William Boyd, former president of the University of Oregon noted, in a 1980 speech, that athletics help to furnish a binding force that yields a sense of community. Track has provided a positive rallying point for the University of Oregon for nearly a century. Hayward also served as the epicenter for moving his ideas of running and training out into the surrounding community. This was accomplished through the agency of Bowerman. The rapid growth of interest in track and recreational running in the metropolitan area occurred during the height of his coaching era the 1960s. Hayward's pupil not only coached track and field but wrote extensively about running and training. His most influential work was Jogging (1967) a small volume written with cardiologist Waldo Harris. This pamphlet-sized book converted the ideas Bower man had learned from Hayward and others into principles for recreational runners Jogging sold over a million copies and helped spark the national jogging craze of the late 1960s and 1970s. This notoriety supported Eugene's claim as the track capital of the nation.
Bowerman was the perfect individual to carry on Hayward 's track ideals. He shared many of his mentor's characteristics: being a motivator of athletes, a good technical coach, and an equipment innovator Bowerman pioneered the use of sequence cameras pole vault extensions and rubber asphalt track surfaces He experimented with lighter clothing and better athletic shoes. His sole experiments led to the now famous waffled-soled track shoe that helped found and fuel the growth of Nike Shoe company, and provided another strong running connection for the Eugene area. Reading about Bowerman's garage experiments to make a better running shoe is highly reminiscent of Hayward tinkering in the basement of McArthur Court It carries on that social Darwinian perspective that Hayward demonstrated throughout his life.
While there remains several unanswered questions about Hayward's life none is more intriguing than what happened to the autobiography he had often promised the public.
His autobiography
People who listened to Hayward's stories often told him he should write an autobiography He agreed and promised that he would do this when he retired. He told reporters and others that he was already working on it but nobody ever saw a manuscript, including his wife. When asked about the autobiography after Hayward's death, Bertina only said that's what he told people. When his office was cleaned out at the university no papers were found It seems more probable that he never started to write his autobiography. Hayward did not enjoy reading or like to write very much. He was most comfortable telling stories to people. Almost everyone that knew him had their favorite tale about the time Bill did this or said that However, this is not to say that Hayward did not orchestrated a writing of his life story Hayward normally refused to grant in-depth interviews sending reporters and writers packing. There is one major exception to this rule. Sally Mitchell wrote a her master 's thesis on the coach The Life Story of Colonel William Hayward in the early 1940s. This was near the end of Hayward's career and she was granted open access to family records and the coach. Mitchell reports interviewing Hayward several times while preparing her paper. She states, "Naturally I got the bulk of my information from Bill Hayward himself. Her thesis repeats most of Hayward's favorite stories and she notes that material was double-checked with Hayward before being included. The work's tone is sympathetic. The fact that Hayward made himself so accessible to this young student, when so many others had failed to gain interviews, creates the possibility that Hayward may have harbored a hidden agenda. Perhaps he could get his life story told without having to go through the uncomfortable task of actually writing it himself. He might again use the thought process of another person, as he did barnstorming to raise the stakes of a race or had utilized as a coach to motivate players to perform at their best. As if to support this proposition, Hayward boldly signs his name across the title page of Mitchell's thesis giving it a visual stamp of approval. If there is an after life then it is possible that Bi11 Hayward is telling the story right now about how he out-foxed the whole country and got his autobiography written without lifting a finger. Darn if that isn't a better yarn than the robber story. Perhaps Hayward's life story has already been told.
July 16, ’47
Mr. L. H. Gregory
Sporting Editor. The Oregonian
S. W. Sixth Ave. and Alder Street
Portland 5, Oregon
Dear Greg:
I have just learned that Bill Hayward is to be retired as trainer and track coach at the University of Oregon. I am happy to learn also that he is to be retained in the active capacity of advisor to his successor or suocessors. I am writing this letter to you, Greg, because I feel sure that you know what B111 meant to us 1n the athletic and character life building side of our college life, what he is going to mean to his successors and many a high school athlete yet to know him as we did and what an important place he holds as today in our memory of those strong and active yesterdays.
Of course, to us, there can never be a suooessor to Bill Haynard. Maybe he rode us a little hard at times, harder than we would have pushed ourselves that was beoause he saw more in us than we could see in ourselves and made us do the thing he knew we could accomplish until we believed as much in ourselves as he believed in us. That not only won track meets, it gave many of us our first real belief in ourselves. Many years have passed since those days, but at no time in all those years has that inheritance from Bill Hayward lost any of its import. For us there never need or can be a successor to BilL Hayward When Bill sits back to dream of the many years he has spent at the University, the teams trained and coached, the many and number of men so great that individual names must only rarely make repeat appearances on the screen of his memory. Yet I am sure there are many times when he wonders where so and so is and what he is doing and he often recalls those days that once meant so much to both of them. I d like Bill. to know that there are thousands of us who DO remember and will keep right on remembering as long as life shall last.
And to you, Greg, I want to say that you and your work has meant much more to athletes in all fields of athletics than you oould possibly know. Remember, I was once a high Boy here in Portland. Would it surprise surprise you if I were to tell you that some of the praise that you so generously spread over me in those days had a material effect on my decision to go on to college? When you expressed the belief that I should go higher in vaulting there was nothing for me to do but to try to prove that you were right. I want to thank you for it now I am certain that there is no one who contributes more in shaping the future lives of young athletes and I want you to receive this acknowledgment from one who can speak from experience
The sentiment expresaed in this letter ls genuine and real and leaves mo feelinr better because of having written it. I've wanted to write it for a long time. I only wish there were more men than there are like you and Bill Hayward to write to in this vein. I am sure that if all the “boys", both old and young, who join me in the appreciation so adequately expressed here, were to write you, you would have little time for other reading.
Sinoerely your friend,
Ralph Sparrow
Copy to Bill Hayward Eugene, oregon
