An Open Letter to Bill Cosby

Bill Cosby
P.O. Box 4049
Santa Monica, CA 90411
USA

The Brokaw Company
9255 Sunset Boulevard
Suite 804
Los Angeles, CA 90069
USA

Dear Mr. Cosby,

Let me start by saying that I have always been, and always will be, a huge fan of yours. I believe you belong on the short list of the greatest Americans of this generation or any other.

A few years ago I was asked who my childhood hero was. I couldn’t think of one. I didn’t worship any one athlete or actor or celebrity. The people I really looked up to were in my family, my neighborhood and my school. This is, of course, how it should be for our children.

But as I revisited the idea from time to time, I realized there was one celebrity I respected more than any other, one William H. Cosby, Jr. He had always been there; comedy routines and albums, the Fat Albert cartoon, Captain Kangaroo, The Cosby Show, and so on. The latter was without a doubt the most important cultural happening of the 1980s.

The Cosby Show, coming along in my junior high and high school years, had a huge impact on my life in particular. There were the situations and jokes that everyone in my school found hilarious and repeated until we were sick of them (which took a very long time). One of my high school classmates even got dubbed “Bud”. It gently portrayed the American family life we all wanted—not one without struggle or conflict, but one with clear ideas of right and wrong, and one where everyone cared for each other.

Two episodes in particular were important to me, “Back to the Track, Jack” and “Off to the Races”, which showed Cliff getting back into shape to run masters 4x400 relays and relive his college exploits. They helped shape the impression that track and field is A Big Deal, and encouraged me to join my high school team. The day I began to run was the day my life changed. I continued on my college team and beyond, and I coached track and worked as an official, and now announce meets and write about track and field. It is my passion, probably running over into an obsession. I owe this in part to you, and your portrayal of it as a highly competitive but still friendly affair.

Track is not my job, though. For pay, I am an educator. And it is in that way that I really appreciate what you have done for America. Your work has always sought to educate in some way as well as entertain. Fat Albert always had a lesson. Picture Pages on Captain Kangaroo was explicitly educational. Other work, like The Cosby Show, often illustrated how we should treat each other.

A generally unknown piece, Bill Cosby on Prejudice, was part of my 8th grade English curriculum and I have never forgotten it. The message that hatred inevitably leads to isolation has stayed with me, encouraging me not to return hatred when it is directed towards me. That is at times a very difficult task, but it's the lesson of the 20th century.

In two weeks I will finally get to attend the Penn Relays, an event I’ve always wanted to go to since seeing it on your show twenty-five years ago. I’m going with my old high school coach, Bob Hayton, a man who has spent the last forty years teaching and inspiring and generally making life better for the youth of Toledo’s rough neighborhoods. I know that he is at least as big a fan of yours as I am.

I also know that everyone wants some of your time and attention. Despite that, I’d like to ask if we could meet you sometime during the Penn Relays weekend. If I met The Cos at the Penn Relays with my high school coach, it would be the greatest moment of my life. I’ll still tell my wife it was our wedding day, because she’s Italian and I’d like to keep on living. But I’d know what it really was.

Sincerely,

Jesse Squire, aka “The Track & Field Superfan”

Track on Old Sitcoms

Tomorrow is the Bislett Games from Oslo, the third stop on the IAAF's Diamond League tour.  Tape-delay coverage begins at 8:00 PM on Universal Sports, should you be fortunate enough to have that channel available to you.

Right before the show begins, though, you'll have an opportunity to see more track. At 7:30, TV Land will show the episode of Sanford and Son in which Fred signs up for the decathlon in the Senior Olympics.

I've always liked Sanford and Son. While All in the Family was probably the greatest American sitcom ever made, it loses something in the translation. It's still funny, but it was very related to the time in which it was made. Sanford and Son, on the other hand, is a double anachronism: not only is it more than thirty-five years old, it was out of step with its time even back then. Fred, Grady, Bubba and especially Aunt Esther all didn't belong in the 70s, so it's a great show to watch in reruns.

This particular episode isn't the height of Redd Foxx's comedic abilities, but the scene where Grady bosses Fred around as his coach is some great physical humor. It's worth your thirty minutes.


Of course, the best treatment of track and field on old sitcoms comes to us in two parts from The Cosby Show.  In "Back to the Track, Jack" (1985), Cliff agrees to run in a masters' track meet to settle a decades-old dispute from a college mile relay race.  Trying to get back into shape leads to top-notch Bill Cosby old-man physical humor.  Another rematch is set in "Off to the Races" (1986), this time in the Penn Relays, in which both character Cliff Huxtable and actor Bill Cosby are caught by surprise when the opposing team is anchored by a ringer.  Both episodes feature Olympic medalist Josh Culbreath as Cliff's college rival, and and Larry "The Mighty Burner" James as a relay runner.

Another Cool Photo

I'm very much into the ancient-as-hell photos and seeing what track & field used to be like. Track historian and Penn Relays historian Dennis Johnson dug this one up:

This is John Daly of the Irish-American AC, competing on the I-AAC's home grounds at Celtic Park, New York City, in a two-mile steeple. I'm not certain of the meet, but this is from 1910-12.

Daly was the steeplechase silver medalist in the St. Louis Olympics of 1904.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

To go with your pint of Guinness and stobhach gaelach, a YouTube video of one of the greatest performances of all time: Eamonn Coghlan's 3:49 mile on a 160y board track.

TV/Web Listings

Tuesday, February 26
WGN, 4:30-5:00 p.m.
The Cosby Show: "Back to the Track, Jack" (guest stars Josh Culbreath and Larry James)

Wednesday, February 27
Showtime Family Zone, 8:35 a.m.
1972 Munich Olympic Games

ESPN Classic, 1:00-1:30 p.m.
Cheap Seats: 1978 Superstars (featuring Dwight Stones)

Thursday, February 28
ESPN Classic, 3:30-4:00 p.m.
Cheap Seats: 1978 World's Strongest Man (featuring Brian Oldfield)

Sunday, March 2
TV Land, 10:30-11:00 p.m.
Sanford & Son: "The Olympics" (Fred becomes a decathlete)

Friday, March 7
WCSN, time TBA
World Indoor Championships

Saturday, March 8
WCSN, time TBA
World Indoor Championships

Sunday, March 9
Big Ten Network, 8:00 p.m.
Big Ten Men's Championship

WCSN, time TBA
World Indoor Championships

Monday, March 10
Big Ten Network, 9:00 p.m.
Big Ten Women's Championship

Thursday, March 20
ESPN2, 4:00-5:30 p.m.
NCAA Indoor Championships

Saturday, April 26
ESPN, 2:00-4:00 PM
Penn Relays

Sunday, May 18
ESPN2, 10:00-midnight
Adidas Track Classic

Saturday, May 31
ESPN2, 8:00-10:00 PM
Reebok Grand Prix

Sunday, June 1
CBS, 1:30-2:30 PM
Reebok Grand Prix

Sunday, June 8
NBC, 4:00-6:00 PM
Prefontaine Classic

Saturday, June 28
USA, 12:00-1:00 a.m.
NBC, 8:00-9:00 p.m.
US Olympic Trials

Sunday, June 29
NBC, 7:00-8:00 p.m.
US Olympic Trials

Monday, June 30
USA, 11:00 p.m.-1:00 a.m.
US Olympic Trials

Thursday, July 3
USA, 11:00 p.m.-1:00 a.m.
US Olympic Trials

Friday, July 4
USA, 11:00 p.m.-1:00 a.m.
US Olympic Trials

Saturday, July 5
NBC, 5:00-6:00 p.m.
US Olympic Trials

Sunday, July 6
NBC, 7:00-9:00 p.m.
US Olympic Trials

SuperMilers on YouTube

The classic film is now in five parts on YouTube (but for how long?). Enjoy it while you can.

Track Etymology Debate

Over at the Track & Field News forums, a discussion has arisen about the origin of the term "thinclads". It's a passe term, but considering what people like Isinbayeva are wearing these days it might be more descriptive than ever.