The Greatest Athlete the World Has Ever Seen

  I'm taking a break from my usual legislative column/post that I write this time of year to provide my opinion on another subject - competition. Many people remember where they were and what they were doing when very emotional or traumatic events occurred in their lives. For example - the day Elvis Presley died, the day John F. Kennedy was shot, the day terrorists crashed planes into the twin towers of New York City, and the day of the Murrah Building bombing in OKC resonate in the memories of many Americans. In addition these events, one more stands out for me - occurring in 1973. My mind floats back to that time...  I remember exactly what I was doing, where I was, and the discussion that followed.
   On June 9, 1973, I witnessed the greatest athlete the world has ever seen... not Jan-Michael Vincent in the movie "The World's greatest Athlete", not Michael Jordan, or even Jim Thorpe. Many sports experts and fans (including me) believe the greatest athlete of all time was Secretariat, the thoroughbred racehorse who won the triple-crown (Preakness, Kentucky Derby, and Belmont Stakes) in 1973. I watched the Belmont race on T.V. at 5:30 PM, Saturday, June 9, 1973, and watched it maybe 100 times since, on YouTube. I get misty-eyed every time I see it, not because I really liked Secretariat, the thoroughbred racehorse, but because I knew I was witnessing competition history. I've only become choked-up watching one other race of which I'll speak about a little later, but first:
   Secretariat was a thoroughbred who only competed for one season (1973) and only won 21 races, while losing several. In June of 1973, I was 16 and getting ready to start my junior year of high school - and had already watched Secretariat come from behind to win both the Preakness and the Kentucky Derby. The last leg of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes, would be run that evening, and I wanted to hopefully see a Triple Crown winner, which Secretariat would be if he won the last race. I really doubted that he could do it, because it's very difficult to beat the same great athlete (Sham, in this case) three times in a row. Sham had already beaten Secretariat in the Woods Memorial just before the Kentucky Derby - but Secretariat turned the tables on him at Churchill Downs, winning by 2 and a half lengths. Sham had run the second fastest time ever recorded though, as he and Secretariat were the only two horses ever to run the Derby in under 2 minutes. Secretariat went on to establish another record in the Preakness two weeks later, barely beating Sham again by 2 and a half lengths. Two weeks after the slim victory at the Preakness came the Belmont Stakes. By now, since Secretariat had two close wins over Sham, I believed it was time the tables were turned, and Sham would win the Belmont. I hope anyone reading this post has now had time to watch the film of "the greatest athlete the world has ever seen" run in what I believe was the "greatest horse race" of all time.
   A description of my view of the race: Secretariat burst from the gate, not dead last as usual, but abreast of the other 4 horses, with Sham leading. Secretariat quickly moved to the rail and began to move up on Sham. After the first quarter it became a 2-horse race, but that would not last long, as Secretariat began to pull away. It was at this time that I began to cry, not sobbing - but my throat began to get tight and I could feel the tears welling in my eyes. My dad, who was blind, was listening to the race as well, and he would ask me questions as the competition progressed. When I get choked up, I can't speak, so when he asked me how Sham looked at this time, I could not answer. Laffit Pincay, aboard Sham, probably began to cry as well, as Secretariat had begun to pull away. In the words of Tom Callahan of the Washington Post (1993) who interviewed two other jockeys in the race: From 10 lengths astern, Braulio Baeza on Twice a Prince and Angel Cordero on My Gallant could actually see Sham's heart breaking. They glanced at each other in unjaded astonishment. Sham's legs were splaying apart. He was swimming instead of running. He was crying out in frustration. When seeing the "500 lb. gorilla" (a track coach's term) climb aboard Sham, Baeza declared "I'm gonna get second, man!" to which Cordero replied "You gotta beat me!" as they picked up their whips. Twice a Prince did get second - 31 lengths behind the winner. Sham came home dead last, 45 lengths to oblivion. He never raced again. When Secretariat entered the stretch alone, and kept coming and coming - and he was still alone - the country wept for joy without knowing why.
   When Secretariat died in 1989 at the age of nineteen, the world sent flowers by the truckload. He was given the most honored burial plot of all among such thoroughbreds as Omaha and Bold Ruler. When Sham died four years later on April 3, 1993, the world didn't even notice. What did Sham represent? Nothing to speak of, really, maybe the putt that lipped out, the fly ball caught on the warning track, the touchdown drive that died at the 1, the girl who said "I don't".
   This one race affected me more deeply than any other event up to this time, and I often thought of it during my days coaching track at Duncan High School. In the word's of one fan "Secretariat was the racehorse made by God". He was perfection. I wept again in 1989 when Secretariat died. When he was autopsied following his death, his heart was estimated to weigh 22 lbs, almost 3 times the weight of the average thoroughbred' heart at 8.5 lbs.. In my opinion, it was the key to his athletic success "he was all heart". It was something I told my track athletes just before a big race - "remember, the one with the most heart will win". I will always think of Secretariat until the day I leave this world, and cry each time I do...
   I've postponed writing about our Blanchard Lions Baseball team, primarily because I did not want to "jinx" it (remember the Sports Illustrated cover jinx?). As they enter the playoffs though, I just can't help myself. Our Lions are currently 31 wins against 4 losses on the season, with 23 of those wins by "run-rule" (leading by 8 runs after 5 innings). Our Lions are ranked #31 in the nation by MaxPreps and beat the Owasso Rams, 7 - 1, which is currently ranked 7th in the nation. Only time will tell if this Blanchard team is among the school's all-time best, as the playoffs are just beginning, and the cream will rise to the top - just as Secretariat did in 1973.