Thomas Patrick Morrissey (2 September 1888 - 1 October 1968) was an American long-distance runner who won the

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 ...

in 1908.

Career

Tom Morrissey was born to Irish immigrants in 1888 at Yonkers, New York. His mother opened a boarding house after his father, a horse shoer, died a young man, leaving eight children, and Morrissey left school after the eighth grade. Morrissey was a member of the Mercury Athletic Club that was established at Yonkers by

Sammy Mellor Samuel Alexander Mellor, Jr. (December 19, 1879 – November 5, 1948) was an American long-distance runner who won the 1902 Boston Marathon and competed in the marathon at the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, Missouri. Early life Mellor w ...

. He entered the Boston Marathon four times between 1906 and 1909. In 1906 he finished in third place, but the next year finished only seventeenth. Later that year (1907) he won the national indoor 25-mile championship in New York and then placed tenth at the inaugural

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 ...

. He had trained by running ten to fifteen miles every second day, walking on the other days. Every three weeks he ran a twenty-miler. On March 24, 1908 he won an indoor 25-mile race in Brooklyn, New York "by a mile." One month after his Brooklyn race he entered the Boston Marathon for the third time. He was only in ninth place passing through the five-mile point at South Framingham, but worked his way through the field until he passed the leader,

Robert Fowler Robert Fowler may refer to: * Robert Fowler (archbishop of Dublin) (1724–1801), bishop in the Church of Ireland * Robert Fowler (artist) (1853–1926), English artist * Robert Fowler (athlete) (1882–1957), American marathoner * Robert Fowler (Au ...

, two miles from the finish line. His time was 2:25:43.2, the second fastest time ever on the course at that time after

Tom Longboat Thomas Charles Longboat (4 July 18869 January 1949, Iroquois name: Cogwagee) was an Onondaga distance runner from the Six Nations Reserve near Brantford, Ontario and, for much of his career, the dominant long-distance runner. He was known as the ...

's record the previous year. On the basis of his performance at the Boston Marathon, Morrissey was selected to represent the United States at the

1908 Olympic Games The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...

in London, where he entered the

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

, but did not finish the event on a hot and humid day. In 1909 he entered the Boston Marathon for a final time, but began to walk at the Wellesley Hills (about the 13-mile point) on another hot and humid day, and dropped out of that race. Morrissey then joined the professional ranks, and on May 6 participated in a Marathon Derby at the

Polo Grounds The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 through 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built fo ...

in New York City featuring twelve prominent marathoners including

, Dorando Pietri,

John Svanberg Johan Frithiof Isidor "John" Svanberg (1 May 1881 – 11 September 1957) was a Swedish runner. He competed in the 5 miles and marathon at the 1906 Intercalated Games and 1908 Summer Olympics and won two silver and one bronze medals. In 1908 ...

, Felix Carvajal,

Fred Appleby Frederick Appleby (30 October 1879 – 7 April 1956) was a British long-distance runner. In 1902 Appleby set a world record for 15 miles and twice defeated the leading distance runner of the time, Alfred Shrubb. Appleby competed in the 1908 Summer ...

, Fred Simpson, and

Henri St. Yves Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry. People with this given name ; French noblemen :'' See the 'List of rulers named Henry' for Kings of France named Henri.'' * Henri I de Mont ...

, who won the race. Morrissey collapsed after seventeen and a half miles and had to be carried from the field. He continued to enter professional races over the next two years without any notable successes. In later life he joined the Yonkers Police force, and worked his way up to the rank of captain. He died in 1968 at the age of eighty at Yonkers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morrissey, Thomas 1888 births 1968 deaths Athletes (track and field) at the 1908 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes for the United States American male marathon runners Boston Marathon male winners