John Preston Halstead (August 15, 1886 - November 15, 1951) was an American athlete. At the Olympic trials held at

Franklin Field Franklin Field is a sports stadium in Philadelphia, United States, at the eastern edge of the University of Pennsylvania's campus. It is the home stadium for the Penn Relays, and the University of Pennsylvania's stadium for football, track and fi ...

, Philadelphia, in June 1908, he established the North American record for the 1500 meters of 4:01.2, besting the then Olympic record of 4:05.4. At the summer Olympics held in London in July 1908, owing to the British system of a blind draw for the preliminary heats, he was paired in the 2nd heat with America's other best miler,

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 ...

. Nauseated by an upset stomach just before the heat, Halstead was unable to produce his customary final sprint and lost the heat by a yard to Sheppard in a time of 4:05, thus disqualifying him from the finals. Sheppard went on to win the gold in a time of 4:03.4. Halstead upheld the American team's reputation for good sportsmanship by never uttering a word of complaint about the British system of a blind draw. In the

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

, held a week later, Halstead won his first round heat with a time of 2:01.4. He was placed sixth in the final. He graduated from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

in the same year with a degree in

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...

. During the latter part of 1908 and 1909, he was one of the engineers who worked on the construction of the Pennsylvania Railroad Station in New York City. He held the rank of major in World War I and was the commanding officer of the Field Training Battalion at the Field Artillery Officers' Central Training School,

Camp Zachary Taylor Camp Zachary Taylor was a military training camp in Louisville, Kentucky. It opened in 1917, to train soldiers for U.S. involvement in World War I, and was closed three years later. It was initially commanded by Guy Carleton and after the war it ...

, Louisville, Kentucky. He was married on August 17, 1922, to Frances Lewis Underwood, at

Hutchinson, Kansas Hutchinson is the largest city and county seat in Reno County, Kansas, United States, and located on the Arkansas River. It has been home to salt mines since 1887, thus its nickname of "Salt City", but locals call it "Hutch". As of the 2020 cen ...

. He died on November 15, 1951, in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

. His ashes are buried in the

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(New York) Cemetery.

References

Sources

* * * * Halstead, John P. (1999) The Life and Ancestry of John Preston Halstead 1886-1951. Orchard Park, NY {{DEFAULTSORT:Halstead, John 1886 births 1951 deaths Athletes (track and field) at the 1908 Summer Olympics Cornell University College of Engineering alumni Olympic track and field athletes for the United States American male middle-distance runners 20th-century American people