Press Box
With baseball, softball, and track seasons just around the corner, I thought it would be a good time to share with the local athletes a story that ran in the Wheeling New Register in 1984, prior to the annual Memorial Day Elby’s Wheeling Distance Race. The article was written by the News Register Sports Editor, Bill Van Horne.
I recall the story being told many times, mainly because one of the runners in the story was my uncle from Cameron. My Uncle Wilford “Seaberry” Buzzard, married to by Dad’s sister, Mary “Dolly Parsons” Buzzard, was quite the guy. He followed local sports for many years and was an avid Cameron high school fan, having two sons, Dave, who played for the Dragons basketball team in the late 1950’s, and Colin, who played in the early 1960’s. Colin was a big part of Cameron’s success in 1963, when the Dragons had an undefeated regular season, only to lose to Paden City in the regionals at St. Marys. Colin also played football for the Dragons
Seaberry and family lived at the top of North Avenue early on and later bought and moved to a house about a third of the way towards the bottom. As I recall North Ave. is a very steep hill, nearly a half mile from top to bottom. Uncle Wilford, as we knew him, enjoyed walking and jogging and nearly everyday he would take a trip downtown and then hike back up the hill, sometimes walking and other times slowly jogging. He was a tough old bird (no pun intended), as I can attest to by arm wrestling with him when he was in his upper 70’s. He kept a set of weights in his little cellar/work shop under his house, and when he wasn’t busy working or helping my aunt, he enjoyed staying in the best physical condition he could.
Back in those days there were no astro turf tracks to condition on and exercise equipment, more often than not was found in the hay field, if you know what I mean! A good cardio workout was mostly the result of having to walk most everywhere you went. Cars were at a premium. If you had one in the family, you were lucky and often considered well-to-do. In those days, running around town or running to the store meant just that.
Let’s get to the story! As Bill Van Horne Wrote. When the throng gathers at the starting (and finish) line of the Elby’s Distance Race on Fourteeth St, Wheeling, next Saturday morning, I wouldn’t be surprised if Wilford “Seaberry” Buzzard is hanging around there somewhere.
Now 74 years old, this life-long resident of Cameron won’t be runnin’. He’ll be talkin’.
Back on Memorial Day in 1934, “Seaberry” ran in the only Cameron-to-Moundsville race ever contested. It wasn’t a true marathon for the distance from the National Bank Building in Cameron to the football field in Moundsville was “only” 22 miles.
However, it must have seemed a lot longer than that to the 10 young men who went the route back in ’34 for they had no knowledge of the training methods which runners are so familiar with today and they weren’t really physically equipped for such a long race, athletic though they were:
The temperature was 90 degrees and none of the contestants had shoes truely suitable for the occasion. A couple ran in sneakers; some wore work shoes; and one wore baseball spikes. They were in for a tough time.
But the prize was supposed to be $1,000 and a loving cup and the runnerup was to get $500. At least what was advertised.
“Seaberry” was unemployed and admits that he would have been “willing to do most anything to make some money.”
Joe Klem, a veteran cross-country runner from Moundsville, was one of the favorites but he collapsed after Buzzard passed him a little more than halfway through the race and had to be taken to the hospital. “Seaberry” was in the lead when he reached Moundsville but was passed late in the race by 21-year old Marion “Bus” Taylor, who was smart enough to cool down with a wet sponge.
Taylor won, with Buzzard second and Moundsville policeman George Hinerman, who obviously did not have flat feet, third.
Buzzard, a pretty tough bird, had fought cramps through much of the race and collapsed after crossing the finish line. Hinerman had a knee joint out of place and there were other casualties.
“Seaberry” was consoled by the thought that he had won $500. He received a shirt, cufflinks and pen and pencil set for his efforts but neither he nor young Taylor ever got any money.
Incidentally, the winning time was three hours and four minutes.
This marks the fiftieth anniversary of that Cameron-to-Moundsville race. A lot of people may have forgotten about it over the last half century but not “Seaberry” Buzzard. By Bill Van Horne!
That must have been some race taking into consideration not only the lack of proper equipment, and training, but also the amount of hills and turns in the race. The Elby’s Distance Race also covered a lot of hills, but it was just 12.4 miles. I remember it well as I was a runner in the race on five ocassions including .the 1984 race. Bill Van Horne was right, “Seaberry” was there. He greeted me at the finish line and admired my new Nike running shoes. I wondered what he could have done with a new pair of those.
As we head into track season let’s be thankful we have top quality sporting facilities, good conditioning equipment, weight rooms, astro turf eight lane tracks, the best shoes money can buy for whatever sport we compete in, and the best uniforms and safety equipment. We have trainers, at each high school sporting event, in case of an injury, and easy access to the local emergency rooms if needed. Good Luck to all area athletes during spring sports season.