EVANSTON REVISITED --- A RECOLLECTION OF THE 1948 U.S. OLYMPIC TRIALS
(Editor's note: By the summer of 1948, World War Two had been over for three years. Sports fans eagerly anticipated the resumption of the Olympic Games in London, July 29-Aug. 14.
The U.S. Olympic Men's Track and Field Trials were to take place July 9-10 in Evanston, Ill. The 200 or so entries were an eclectic blend of competitors like ex-G.I.'s Harrison Dillard, a hurdler, and long jumper
Willie Steele --- who'd lost their chance at glory when the war forced the cancellation of the 1940 and
1944 Olympics --- and first-time Trials qualifiers George Stanich, a high jumper, and shot putter Jim
Fuchs. Neither Stanich nor Fuchs had been old enough for wartime military service.
For many of the veterans, the 1948 Games would be their final chance at the Olympics. For those competing in their first Trials, the future seemed bright and endless, as it always does for youth.
The Trials attracted worldwide media attention. United Press dispatched Central Division sports editor Ed Sainsbury to the event, along with James Buchanan of the Chicago office and 25-year-old Kurt Freudenthal, sports editor of UP's Indianapolis bureau. A lifelong track fan who'd attended the Berlin Olympics as a 13-year-old, Freudenthal had arrived in the U.S. from Germany on New Year's Day 1939. After serving in the U.S. Army on Guadalcanal, Freudenthal had started what would develop into a 33-year career at UP --- later United Press International.
During the plane trip from Indianapolis' Weir Cook Field to Chicago's Midway, Freudenthal looked forward to covering the most significant track meet in the U.S. since the Los Angeles Olympics 16 years earlier.
Fifty years later --- and after several trips to libraries in Chicago and Indianapolis to help recharge his memory --- Freudenthal provides this reminiscence of one of the most memorable track and field trials in American history.)
-USATF press box crew member and Weekly Notes contributor Kurt Freudenthal married Barbara Aronson of Fredericksburg, Va., Saturday (April 5) in Indianapolis. The marriage is the second for Freudenthal, a widower. A long-time Indiana sports editor for United Press International, Freudenthal retired in 1987 from the Indianapolis Star.