Henry "Harry" Schaaf was an American

track and field athlete Track and field is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of ...

, a member of the

Irish American Athletic Club The Irish American Athletic Club was an amateur athletic organization, based in Queens, New York, at the beginning of the 20th century. Early years Established on January 30, 1898, originally as the "Greater New York Irish Athletic Association", ...

, and a

Police Officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

in the

New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

. He served as a patrolman from 1912 until his retirement in 1943. On April 9, 1911, Schaaf was a member of the

4x440 yard relay team that broke the world record at Celtic Park,

Queens, New York Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long I ...

, and set the first

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

- recognized world's record for 4x440 yard or 4x400 meter relay race, with a time of 3 minutes and 18.2 seconds. The other members of the world's record setting team were;

Harry Gissing Harry E. Gissing (December 3, 1890 - November 29, 1963) was an American track and field athlete, a member of the New York Athletic Club, Mohawk Athletic Club, and the Irish American Athletic Club. In 1911, he was part of a world's record setting ...

Mel Sheppard Melvin Whinfield "Peerless Mel" Sheppard (September 5, 1883 – January 4, 1942) was an American athlete, member of the Irish American Athletic Club, and winner of four gold medals and one silver medal at the 1908 Summer Olympic ...

and

James Rosenberger James Maher Rosenberger (April 6, 1887 – January 1, 1946) was an American track and field athlete and a member of the Irish American Athletic Club. He was born in New York City and died in Brooklyn, New York. In 1909, at the Amateur Athletic ...

.Annual Track & Field Dinner Journal

, 1911.

Notes

External links

Archives of Irish America - NYUWinged Fist Organization
Year of birth missing Year of death missing American male sprinters World record setters in athletics (track and field) New York City Police Department officers Track and field athletes from New York City {{US-sprint-athletics-bio-stub