Samuel Alexander Mellor, Jr. (December 19, 1879 – November 5, 1948)
was an American long-distance runner who won the 1902
Boston Marathon
The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by several cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was i ...
and competed in the
marathon at the 1904 Summer Olympics in
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
.
Early life
Mellor was born in
Yonkers, New York
Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as enu ...
.
He attended School Two and trained in
Dunwoodie at Buckwheat Track.
His first race was a 6-mile event on January 22, 1898, in
Mount Vernon, New York
Mount Vernon is a city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, immediately to the north of the Borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx. As of t ...
, which he won.
On July 4, 1901, Mellor won the 25-mile marathon at the
Pan-American Exposition
The Pan-American Exposition was a World's Fair held in Buffalo, New York, United States, from May 1 through November 2, 1901. The fair occupied of land on the western edge of what is now Delaware Park, extending from Delaware Avenue to Elmwood A ...
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 3:16:39.4 performance in temperatures reaching 104 °F earned him an unofficial
national championship
A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...
and his first national victory.
Boston Marathon
Mellor has been described as "one of the early stars" of the Boston Marathon.
He finished in the top 10 six out of nine years between 1901 and 1909.
In the 1901 Boston Marathon, Mellor finished third behind Canadians
John Caffery and William "Bill" Davis.
One year later, he was victorious in the event's sixth edition with a time of 2:43:15.4 in race conditions that featured strong winds and blowing dust.
In 1903, Mellor would finish nearly six minutes behind
John Lordan, the 1902 runner-up, after losing the lead and walking down
Heartbreak Hill.
During the 1904 Boston Marathon, he would lose the lead at mile 20 and go on to finish in sixth place.
Mellor dropped out of the race at
Chestnut Hill in 1905 after setting a record pace early on.
Mellor was among the leaders in 1906 prior to being overtaken by
David Kneeland and falling back.
The next year he dropped out at Wellesley after colliding with a bicycle. He finished in 8th-place in 1908, 5th in 1909 ("the Inferno"), and 34th in the 1910 race.
Ten years after he won the event, Mellor was slated to compete in the 1912 Boston Marathon, which served as the
United States Olympic Trials The United States Olympic Trials are competitions held in certain sports to select the United States' participants in those sports at the Olympic Games. These events include:
* United States Olympic Trials (curling)
* United States Olympic Trials (d ...
for the
1912 Summer Olympics
The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...
in
Stockholm, Sweden
Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropoli ...
,
but he did not enter the race.
Olympian
An announcement in the August 6, 1904, issue of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' indicated that the Metropolitan Association of the
Amateur Athletic Union
The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...
would hold a "special five-mile race" at Celtic Park on August 13, 1904, with the eight top finishers receiving a paid trip to compete in the marathon at the Olympic Games in St. Louis on August 30, 1904.
Mellor, listed as representing the
Mohawk Athletic Club, was named as one of 19 "probable competitors" in the event.
As a member of the
1904 United States Olympic Team,
he was a favorite to win the marathon.
According to ''The Olympic Marathon'' by David Martin and Roger Gynn, Mellor was in third at the 3-mile mark, in second at the 6-mile mark, and leading just past the halfway point.
Shortly thereafter, he developed a
stitch or severe cramps and was overtaken by the eventual gold medalist, American
Thomas Hicks.
At about 14.5 miles or 2 hours and 4 minutes into the race, Mellor retired from the race.
Other accomplishments
In 1904 at the
Canadian Marathon of
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...
(actually 19 miles and 168 yards long), Mellor was paced to a course record by a
horse and buggy
]
A horse and buggy (in American English) or horse and carriage (in British English and American English) refers to a light, simple, two-person carriage of the late 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, drawn usually by one or sometimes by two ho ...
.
He also won a 10-mile race by six inches on
Young’s Million Dollar Pier in
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497. , in 1905; he claimed this was his most difficulty victory.
By the spring of 1909, Mellor held the
American record in the twenty-mile. Among his other victories are the
Newark Marathon (1907), the
Bronx Marathon (1909), the Mercury Athletic Club 25-mile race (1909), and the
Empire City Marathon
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
(1909).
In 1909, Mellor won an "amateur marathon" in
Troy, New York
Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany a ...
, on April 28, 1909, and finished third at the Bronx Amateur Marathon on May 8.
Mellor helped establish the
Yonkers Marathon
The Yonkers Marathon, is a marathon race held annually in Yonkers, New York. Founded in 1907, it is the second oldest marathon in the United States, after the Boston Marathon. It is held on the third Sunday in October. In addition to the mar ...
with Edward Wetmore Kinsley in 1907, and finished second in the event's second running.
Mellor also founded the 3.5-mile
Yonkers Schoolboys Race with help from Kinsley in 1908.
At various times throughout his running career, Mellor represented the
Mohawk Athletic Club, the
National Athletic Club, the
Hollywood Inn Athletic Association (also referred to as the Hollywood Inn Athletic Club), the
Yonkers Harriers, and the
Mercury Club
The Mercury Club was a Nightclub, Night club that first opened on Dundas Street, near Bay Street, in Toronto, and then moved to 221 Victoria St. Harry Eckler of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame was one of the owners of the Mercury Club, along w ...
.
Having competed in 29 marathons, Mellor retired from racing in 1909,
but in the following year ran his tenth Boston Marathon in a time of 3:08.
Eva Florence Mellor was Sammy Mellor's wife.
They had four children. He was unrelated to Charles "Chuck" Mellor, the winner of the 1925 Boston Marathon and an Olympian in 1920 and 1924.
Notes
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mellor, Sammy
1879 births
1948 deaths
Athletes (track and field) at the 1904 Summer Olympics
American male marathon runners
Olympic track and field athletes of the United States
People from Yonkers, New York
Boston Marathon male winners