1st annual Houston Marathon Coverage

Curious as to what the coverage was of the 1st ever Houston Marathon was back in December 1972 when the town had two (2) newspapers - Houston Chronicle and the Houston Post?

Well, I can share it with you right here! I was in the library Sunday night beginning my effort to build some data on the Houston Marathon like the Chicago Marathon has for its media guide. (One of the first things that I'm trying to do is to confirm all of the wheelchair winners and I've already been in contact with those that would have a knowledge of this and the fact is - nobody is sure when the wheelchair race started.)

The Chronicle's coverage (Section 3, Page 6, December 31, 1972) was a photo and this caption:

Entrants in the first annual Houston Marathon chug down Memorial Drive at the start of a 26-mile, 365-yard course
Danny Greene, 24 years old, won the event in 2:32:33, to lead Cameron Track Club to a 1-2-3 sweep of the race. One minute and 20 seconds behind Greene was teammate Clyde Villenez, Jr., 26. Thirty-one-year-old Wayne Comer of Cameron finished third at 2:38:28 to win the 30 to 39-year-old age group. Two 18-year-old Rice students, John Lodwick and Jeff Wells, hit 2:38:44 to tie for fourth place. Forty-year-old Joe Burns of New York City finished eighth to win the 40 to 49-year-old age group while Galveston's John Fernandez, 51, finished 24th to win the 50 and over age group.

Yes, that was it!

The Houston Post (Page 3B on the same day) was a little bit better including spelling Coach Green's name right:

Danny Green of the Cameron Track Club won the Houston Marathon Saturday afternoon in Memorial Park, covering the 25-mile distance in two hours, 32 minutes and 33 seconds.
Clyde Villemez, Jr., also of Cameron, was second -- about a minute behind Green.
Cameron TC was the team trophy winner with a perfect one-two-three finish. Terlingua Track Club was second.
Wayne Comer, 31, Joe Burns, 43, and John Fernandez, 50, were the age group winners.

1.) Green, Cameron, 2:32:33
2.) Villemes, Cameron, 2:33:53
3.) Comer, Cameron, 2:38:23
4.) Lodwick, Rice, 2:38:44
5.) Wells, Rice, 2:38:44
6.) Harrington, Terlingua, 2:39:34
7.) Roadhead, Unattached, 2:41:47
8.) Burns, United A.A., 2:46:47
9.) DelaCruz, Unattached, 2:48:10
10.) Kraus, UH, 2:49:40
11.) Wismar, Unattached, 2:51:05
12.) Kenyon, Unattached, 2:51:34
13.) Owers, Terlingua, 2:55:03
14.) Kornrowicz, State Col., 2:55:12
15.) Picken, Terlingua, 3:00:03
16.) Brown, Las Vegas, 3:03:40
17.) Davis, Dallas, 3:06:24
18.) McCroy, Sacramento, 3:08:51
19.) Kevlin, Am. Nat.,3:11:39
20.) Taite, Dallas, 3:15:56
21.) Latham, Howard Payne, 3:17:40
22.) Hughes, Unattached, 3:17:51
23.) LaBouve, Unattached, 3:18:31
24.) Fernandez, Am. Nat., 3:18:32
25.) Hockman, Terlingua, 3:19:34

When's the last time that you saw the winner of a major marathon win while wearing a baseball cap the entire way? Well, it wasn't a major marathon then, but that is exactly what 23-year-old Ron Tabb had on when he won the 1978 Houston Marathon in 2:17:11 - breaking Jeff Wells' then-course record of 2:17:45.7 from 1976.

1978 was the first year that the course was not run in Memorial Park. The course description was as follows: "The course will cover 26 miles beginning on Sabine Street near the Fonde Recreation Center and finishing on Walker Street at the Sam Houston Coliseum."

And it was also the year that then 47-year-old Al Lawrence, a 1956 Olympic bronze medalist, finished 41st and ran his first marathon since 1960.