Back in the Day: The Penn Relays were a marathon of fun

This past Saturday, I did something that I have not done in two years. Even though it had been my practice, on the last Saturday of April, since my high school days, I returned to the Penn Relays Carnival, an event that had not been held since 2019 due to the COVID Pandemic. I did not expect this year’s Penn Relays to be comparable to those of the past. After all, in many venues, we find people reluctant to return to their previous way of doing things. So, as I prepared for my trip to Franklin Field, not knowing what to expect, I thought about the fond moments that I spent participating in Penn Relays activities in the past. So, to you Penn Relays enthusiasts, put aside these 2022 Penn Relays and join me in resurrecting memories of Penn Relays activities from back in the day.

Thoughts of past Penn Relays always take me back to my college days. Everyone wanted a friend who lived in the Philadelphia area hoping to find a place to stay. Thus, on the Friday afternoon of a Penn Relay weekend, students would travel to Philadelphia using any means necessary. The use of “the thumb” was a popular way to get to Philadelphia. Not everyone was fortunate enough to “hook up” with a friend who could provide a place to stay. While more than sixty years have passed, I still recall cases where one person rented a hotel room and ten or more people slept in the room. One of the most popular “low end” hotels where people stayed was the Essex Hotel, then located at 13th and Filbert Streets.

I also recall circumstances where people slept in their automobiles. They did not seem to mind as the time spent at the Penn Relays and the time spent partying, left little time for sleep. For some, it was not the track and field games that drew them to the Penn Relays but rather the partying associated with the event and that partying actually started on Friday evening. There were both house parties and cabarets. The Imperial Ballroom located at 60th and Walnut Streets was one of the major places to party. Times Auditorium located at Broad and Spruce Streets was another popular place to party before the major Saturday relay events. Just the thought of people coming together for the Penn Relays in the past caused me to think about the camaraderie that still exists among many today. These lasting relationships initiated with the Penn Relays, back in the day.

Thoughts about the Penn Relays, at this stage of my life, always take me back to my friend and Kappa fraternity Brother, Gus Dingle. “My crew” looked forward to the gathering held at his West Philadelphia home on the Friday of the Penn Relay Weekend. That yearly event should go down in the Penn Relays archives as it was “the bomb” for us “old-heads.” These Friday night gatherings were the result of close friends going to the Penn Relays each year and deciding to get together to cement the connections they shared during the Penn Relays in a social environment. They were childhood friends, college classmates, co-workers, members of Greek-letter organizations and several track runners.

Admittedly, the years have had an impact on how this group behaves today. One of the obvious changes in the gatherings is the decline in the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Clearly, the drinking that took place at Gus Dingle’s home in recent years was not what it used to be. Keep in mind that medications and the drugs that we seniors must take do not permit the unlimited drinks that we once consumed. Many participants still consumed the delicious food, including the roasted stuffed pig that stretched the length of the table. In later years, the discussions among those that came together for fun focused more on who knows a good cardiac specialist or orthopedic surgeon; discussions about females that were primarily in the past diminished or totally disappeared. If I can use a football metaphor, many had reached the fourth quarter of their lives, and some had managed to be blessed with being in the overtime of their lives.

Much of the conversation at Gus Dingle’s home was about track and field as many of those in attendance previously ran in the Penn Relays during their high school or college years. Sometimes, someone commented on how they passed up getting a new Easter outfit in order to get a new Penn Relays outfit. In the past, everyone attended the relays “dressed to kill.”

Back in the day, Morgan State College, now Morgan University was a major “player” in the relay events, in particular, the mile relay. Morgan University’s competition with Villanova University from the late 50s and early 60s invariably always came up in conversations. You would hear Morgan University’s runners such as Paul Winder, Tommy Anderson, Robert “Rob-Roy” Ridley, III, Lou and Hosea Smith, Ronald Merriweather, Cy Killer, Nick Ellis, Bob Barksdale and Morgan’s great hurdler, Josh Culbreath. Many of these men are no longer with us but their memories remain.

I know that my Penn Relay days of the past are gone; never to return; but, what fun; what memories! Perhaps next year, the Penn Relay Carnival will have returned close to its former glory. But, whether it is next year or years to come, if the Relays fail to meet expectations, at least I have the satisfaction of being able to enjoy this event by reaching back to the days and times that I enjoyed the Penn Relays, as many of us once did, back in the day.