San Jose State University

Not one Alumni Dollar. Not one. I am offended. I have always been offended by the decimation of the one time National Champion Track and Field program (in favor of an eternally marginal football program). Yes the program is back, Augie Augabright should be a great coach (he was for the San Jose Cindergals back in the '70's--remember Francie Larrieu, Cindy Poor, Ann Reagan). But it is still the worst funded sports program on campus and is a mere shadow of itself--representative but not competitive. This was a legendary facility in the 60's and 70's. One of the first All Weather "Tartan" tracks ever built. It was known as "Speed City" where world records were set (some in dual meets). Lee Evans, Tommie Smith, John Carlos, Ronnie Ray Smith and Chris Papanicolau were just some of the key figures of Track and Field who trained and even set those records here. And while the track itself seems determined to live, it has had no care and lots of abuse in most of the last 25 years. This photo is facing south. To the right of the track (in the cleared area) once was the bleachers. This was a fully NCAA qualified facility, with curb, multiple field event runways, steeplechase (note the remaining barrier by the tree on the left), but most of those features have been removed or have become overgrown. The steeplechase pit, now removed, was in front of where the silver car is parked. A marker for the respect Track has been shown at my alma mater.

Mixed with the wide white parking lines are the narrow white, original cascading metric finish lines on an imperial track.

Blocks used to come with two pegs that fit into holes like these in the track. Notice the start line is not torn up.

 

This is what is left of the Shot Put rings--now overgrown with the toe boards removed.

This is what is left of the Pole Vault runway (left) and the Long Jump right. The grass in the foreground covers what was the Long Jump pit. The first 18' Pole Vaulter trained here.

There were bubbles like this in the track (I assume these same ones that are still here) way back in the early 70's. So even with problems (I'll guess) during installation, this track has survived the ravages of time well.

 

This is the beginning of the homestretch. The blue line and horizontal white lines on the track are marks for parking cars.

Down the middle of the track, more parking paint marks. That was the javelin runway overgrown to the right. Note another section of torn out surface in lane 9.

On the south end of the backstretch, they have bulldozed a gravel road into the track--in the process dumping rocks on the track and ripping up the outside of the track.




Where else are you going to find a track that still has the 330yIH start lines still marked. Notice the section of missing surface.

At the common finish, the old painted marks for the cascading finish lines are still readable, barely.

The dual finish lines of the 120y and 110m HH. The use of Accutrak was common in those days. Moving the camera was much more common to adapt to these situations.

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