The June 18, 1962, issue of Sports Illustrated had an article by Jack Nicklaus advising right-handed golfers how to hit a left-handed shot. Also: full-page ads promoting whiskey and cigarettes (Marlboro and Viceroy) and a blooming sprinter from Northern California in “Faces in the Crowd.”
Here’s how Irene is described in the current issue of Sports Illustrated.
How did Irene do? She took fifth in the 100-yard dash (in 10.9) behind Olympic legend Wilma Rudolph (10.7), Willye White (10.8), Janell Smith (10.9) and Edith McGuire (10.9). She also was third in the 100-meter dash in 11.9 — a race won by Wilma in 11.4.
Jack Nicklaus doesn’t have much of a game anymore, but Irene does. And she may have set a record even Jack would appreciate — a third appearance in FITC.
In March 2014, SI again featured Irene in “Faces.” But not just a short squib.
Here’s Irene’s profile from 2014.
Forgetting that I had nominated her five years ago, I submitted her name again in early April, writing about her “exploits at the World Masters Athletics Indoor Championships in Torun, Poland, where she set W85 age-group world records at 60 meters, 200 meters and 4×200 relay.”
So I was delighted to learn she’s in “Faces in the Crowd” yet again.
She’s in the current issue — which notes her selection of 1962 but not 2014. (Glad I didn’t mention that.)
Can’t wait for 2024, when I’ll nominate her again for W90 WRs.
Irene was in her late 20s when she first made “Faces in the Crowd.”
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