The 1921 NCAA Track and Field Championships was the first NCAA track and field championship

NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship

The NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship is an annual collegiate outdoor track and field competition for men organised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. It has three divisions: Division I, II, and III. Athlete's individual performances earn points for their institution and...

. The event was held at Stagg Field

Stagg Field

Amos Alonzo Stagg Field is the name of two different football fields for the University of Chicago. The earliest Stagg Field is probably best remembered for its role in a landmark scientific achievement by Enrico Fermi during the Manhattan Project. The site of the first nuclear reaction received...

 in Chicago, Illinois in June 1921. The University of Illinois won the team title.

Overview

The 1921 NCAA Track and Field Championships were held at Stagg Field in Chicago on June 17 and 18, 1921. The University of Illinois won the team championship with 20¼ points. Notre Dame finished in second place.

Gus Pope

Gus Pope

Augustus Russell "Gus" Pope was an American athlete who competed mainly in the discus throw.He was born in Seattle, Washington....

 of the University of Washington

University of Washington

University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...

 was the individual points leader with 10 points earned through first-place finishes in both the shot put and the discus.

Team scoring

1. Illinois

Illinois Fighting Illini

The Fighting Illini are the intercollegiate athletic teams of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The University offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports....

 - 20¼

2. Notre Dame

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Notre Dame's nickname is inherited from Irish immigrant soldiers who fought in the Civil War with the Union's Irish Brigade, , recollected among other places in the poetry of Joyce Kilmer who served with one of the Irish Brigade regiments during World War I...

 - 16¾

3. Iowa

Iowa Hawkeyes

The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletics teams that represent the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 24 sports, 11 for men and 13 for women. The teams participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and are members of the...

 - 14

4. Washington

Washington Huskies

Washington Huskies is the nickname of the University of Washington's athletic teams. The school is a member of the Pacific-12 Conference. The athletic program is made up of 9 men's sports and 10 women's sports Washington Huskies is the nickname of the University of Washington's athletic teams. The...

 - 12¼

5. Wisconsin

Wisconsin Badgers

The Wisconsin Badgers are the collegiate athletic teams from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. This NCAA Division I athletic program has teams in football, basketball, ice hockey, volleyball, soccer, cross country, tennis, swimming, wrestling, track and field, rowing, golf, and softball...

 - 10

6. Nebraska

Nebraska Cornhuskers

The Nebraska Cornhuskers is the name given to several sports teams of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference...

 - 8

7. Grinnell

Grinnell College

Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, U.S. known for its strong tradition of social activism. It was founded in 1846, when a group of pioneer New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College....

 - 7

8. Northwestern

Northwestern Wildcats

The Northwestern Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Northwestern University, a founding member of the Big Ten Conference and the only private university in the conference. Northwestern has eight men's and eleven women's Division I sports teams. The mascot is Willie the Wildcat...

 - 6

8. Ohio State

Ohio State Buckeyes

The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of The Ohio State University, named after the state tree, the Buckeye. The Buckeyes participate in the NCAA's Division I in all sports and the Big Ten Conference in most sports...

 - 6

10. Ames College (now Iowa State University

Iowa State University

Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...

) - 5½

Track events

100-yard dash

1. Leonard Paulu

Leonard Paulu

Leonard Theodore Paulu was an American sprinter for Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa. Despite losing an eye and suffering serious injuries to his right leg and hip while serving in World War I, he won the 100 yard dash competition at the first two NCAA track and field championships in 1921 and...

, Grinnell – 10 seconds

2. Hayes, Notre Dame

3. Smith, Nebraska

4. Wilson, Iowa

5. Hurley, Washington

120-yard high hurdles

1. Earl Thomson

Earl Thomson

Earl John "Tommy" Thompson was Canadian athlete, a specialist in the high hurdles....

, Dartmouth - 14.4 seconds (tied his own world record)

2. Crawford

3. Anderson, Minnesota

4. Wynn, Notre Dame

5. Couglan, University of the South

220-yard dash

1. Eric Wilson

Eric Wilson (athlete)

Eric Colquhoun Wilson was an American track and field athlete. He won the first NCAA championship in the 220-yard dash in 1921 and competed for the United States in the 1924 Summer Olympics. He was the sports information director at the University of Iowa from 1923 to 1968.-Biography:Wilson was...

, Iowa - 22.6 seconds

2. Smith, Nebraska

3. Leonard Paulu, Grinnell

4. Hayes, Notre Dame

5. Jing, Ohio


220-yard low hurdles

1. Gus Desch

August Desch

August "Gus" George Desch was an American track and field athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metre hurdles.He was born in Newark, New Jersey and died in Evanston, Illinois....

, Notre Dame - 24.8 seconds

2. Kollin, Wisconsin

3. Frazier, Baylor

4. Wallace, Illinois

5. Wynn, Notre Dame


440-yard dash

1. Frank Shea

Frank Shea

Frank J. Shea was an American track and field athlete. While competing for the University of Pittsburgh, he won the 440-yard dash competition at the Amateur Athletic Union championships in 1917, 1919 and 1920 and at the 1918 IC4A meet. He also won the 440-yard dash at the first NCAA track and...

, Pittsburgh - 49 seconds

2. Butler, Michigan

3. Donohoe, Illinois

4. Pratt, Washington

5. Johnson, Wisconsin

Half-mile run

1. Earl Eby

Earl Eby

Earl William Eby was an American athlete who competed mainly in the 800 metres.He competed for the United States in the 1920 Summer Olympics held in Antwerp, Belgium in the 800 metres where he won the silver medal.He was born in Aurora, Illinois and died in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.-References:*...

, Penn - 1:57.4

2. Higgins, Ames

3. Nash, Wisconsin

4. Yates, Illinois

5. Donohoe, Illinois

One-mile run

1. Ray Watson

Ray Watson (athlete)

Ray Bates Watson was an American track and field athlete who competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics, in the 1924 Summer Olympics, and in the 1928 Summer Olympics....

, Kansas Aggies - 4:23.4

2. McGinnis, Illinois

3. Sweitzer, Minnesota

4. Ferguson, Ohio State

5. Graham, Ames

Two-mile run

1. John Romig

John Romig

John Luther "Blondy" Romig was an American track and field athlete. He won collegiate championships in the two-mile race in 1921 and 1922 and finished fourth in the 1924 Summer Olympics in the 5,000 meter race....

, Penn State - 9:31

2. Wharton, Illinois

3. Rathbun, Ames

4. Canton, St. Olafs

5. Finkle, Wisconsin

Field events

Broad jump

1. Gaylord Stinchcomb

Gaylord Stinchcomb

Gaylord Roscoe "Pete" Stinchcomb was an American football player. He played quarterback and halfback at Ohio State University where he was selected as an All-American in 1920. He later played professional football for the Chicago Bears , Columbus Tigers , Cleveland Indians , and Louisville...

, Ohio State - 23 feet, 3⅜ inches

2. Sward, Knox

2. Osborn, Illinois

4. Sundt, Wisconsin

5. Alberts, Illinois

High jump

1. Johnny Murphy

Johnny Murphy

John Joseph Murphy was an All-Star American right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who later became a front office executive in the game.-Formative relief pitcher:...

, Notre Dame - 6 feet, 3 inches

2. Alberts, Illinois

3. Hoffman, Iowa

4. Frankland, Washington

4. Osborne, Illinois


Pole vault

1. Longino Welch

Longino Welch

Longino Welch was an American track and field athlete for Georgia Tech. He won the pole vault competition at the first NCAA track and field championships in 1921 with a jump of 12 feet. Welch graduated from Georgia Tech in 1923 with a degree in electrical engineering. He was inducted into the...

, Georgia Tech - 12 feet

1. Eldon Jenne

Eldon Jenne

Eldon Irl Jenne was an American track and field athlete who competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics and a high school athletic coach.-Athletic career:...

, Washington - 12 feet

1. Lloyd Wilder, Wisconsin - 12 feet

1. R. Gardner, Yale - 12 feet

5. Merrick, Wisconsin

5. Hogan, Notre Dame

Discus throw

1. Gus Pope

Gus Pope

Augustus Russell "Gus" Pope was an American athlete who competed mainly in the discus throw.He was born in Seattle, Washington....

, Washington - 142 feet, 2¼ inches

2. Blackwood, Northwestern

3. Praeger, Kalamazoo

4. Slater, Iowa

5. Weiss, Illinois

Javelin

1. Flint Hanner

Flint Hanner

John Flint Hanner was an American track and field athlete and coach. He won the first NCAA javelin championship in 1921 and later worked as the track coach at Fresno State University for 35 years. He was also one of the founders and the long-time director of the West Coast...

, Stanford - 191 feet, 2-l/4 inches

2. Tuck, Oregon

3. Hoffman, Michigan

4. Mahan, Texas A&M

5. Oberst, Notre Dame


Shot put

1. Gus Pope, Washington - 45 feet, 4½ inches

2. Dale, Nebraska
3. Weiss, Illinois

4. Lindsay, Rice

5. Shaw, Notre Dame

Hammer throw

1. Charles Redmon

Charles Redmon

Charles Redmon was an American track and field athlete for the University of Chicago. He won the hammer throw competition at the first NCAA track and field championships in 1921 with a throw of 133 feet, 9-3/4 inches. He also won the hammer throw in every dual meet for the University of Chicago...

, Chicago - 133 feet 9¾ inches

2. Blackwood, Northwestern

3. Slater, Iowa

4. Skidmore, University of Southern Illinois