A bit of history from 1963

[souleman]

This article was written July 3, 1964. I think it was in Time Magazine. Thanks.........Mike

Springtime is full of transitory delights: the rookie who bats .400 in May and learns all about curves in June, the horse that wins six straight in California but turns out to be allergic to bluegrass in Kentucky. Fred Hansen's destiny seems more secure, if for no other reason than the fact that it has taken him years to get much of anywhere at all. A virtual unknown when he showed up for the big spring meets, Pole Vaulter Hansen, 23, startled track experts by leaping 17 ft. 1 in. in Houston last month, breaking John Pennel's world record by ¼ in. Week after in San Diego, Hansen did it again, soaring over the bar at 17 ft. 2 in., and beating Pennel himself. Last week he handily won the A.A.U. championships at Rutgers with a 17-ft. vault, then barely missed at a towering 17 ft. 6¾ in.
Trouble with Glass. Hansen has been vaulting ever since he was a sixth grader in Cuero, Texas. "It's always fascinated me," he says, "because it isn't something that everybody can do. I fixed me up an old cane pole and started working out. At first, I only did distance jumping, to see how far I could go from one spot to another, using the pole to boost me along. Then my father built me a regular pit out of sand, and I was hooked." In high school, Hansen jumped 13 ft. 6 in. with a Swedish steel pole, went on to 14 ft. in his sophomore year at Rice University. After that he joined the parade to the catapult-like fiber glass pole and ran into trouble. "It took me forever to get used to it," he says. "I didn't really learn to bend the pole until this year." In mid-May at Modesto, Calif., he hit 16 ft. 4½ in.â€â€

[master]

Fun read! Thanks Mike for posting it.

- master

[lonestar]

I know his high school coach! Leonard ______(can't recall his last name) is a regular at a favorite San Marcos hangout, and he's told me stories about Fred Hansen learning to vault in Cuero, Texas. I believe Leonard also was head coach over former Texas A&M Aggie and 18'+ vaulter Randy Hall. Leonard, a Southwest Texas (Texas State) alum, served as Athletic Director and Head Football Coach over a few State Champion football teams too before retiring to his farm. Great guy who still gets around pretty good for his age and after a stroke.