Cal Track and Field: Happy 84th Birthday to U.S. 4-Minute Pioneer Don Bowden

Former Cal runner was the first American to break 4 minutes in 1957

A total of 561 Americans have broken the once-hallowed 4-minute barrier for the mile run, and the first of those celebrates his birthday today.

Don Bowden, who made history as the first U.S. runner to eclipse the barrier in 1957 while a student at Cal, turns 84 today.

Bowden’s time of 3:58.7 on June 1 of that year at Stockton -- after taking an economics final exam earlier in the day -- remained the American record for nearly three years. Oregon’s Dyrol Burleson broke the mark by one-tenth of a second on April 23, 1960 in Eugene.

The Pac-12 Conference honored the 1956 Olympian this spring by naming him to its Hall of Honor, although induction ceremonies at the Pac-12 basketball tournament in Las Vegas were derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bowden, who actually was an 800-meter specialist, never ran that fast again, but he opened the doors for American middle-distance runners.

The most recent U.S. athlete to crack 4 minutes for the first time is Mason Ferlic, a former NCAA steeplechase champion from Michigan, who ran 3:58.87 on July 25 — barely two weeks ago. That made him the 561st American to break 4, according to Track and Field News.

Bowden was Cal’s only sub-4 runner for 22 years until Andy Clifford ran 3:59.49 on July 8, 1979 in Gateshead, England to become the 99th American under 4 minutes. Cal’s record book credits Clifford with a collegiate best of 3:59.59, set that same year.

High school track fans will remember Clifford for being barely edged at the finish line in the 1974 California state meet mile race by Rich Kimball, who made history as the first runner to sweep the mile and 2 mile at the event.

The next two Cal runners to break 4 minutes did so as post-collegiate athletes: Richie Boulet, representing New Balance, ran 3:58.62 on May 11, 1997 in Portland. Bolota Asmerom, still Cal’s school recordholder in the 5,000 meters, ran 3:59.86 on June 8, 2002 in an invitational meet at Stanford.

David Torrence finally took down Bowden’s school record in the mile nearly 50 years after it was set. Torrence ran 3:58.62 at Berkeley on April 28, 2007 with Bowden in attendance.

Torrence went on to represent Peru in the 2016 Olympics after gaining citizenship shortly before the Rio Games. He set a Peruvian national record 3:53.21 in the mile on June 1, 2017.

Tragically, Torrence was found dead at age 31 in a Scottsdale, Arizona, swimming pool less than three months later. His death was ruled accidental.

Michael Coe broke Torrence’s Cal mark, running 3:56.18 in Berkeley on April 25, 2009 to set a Cal record that still stands.

Mark Matusak ran 3:58.36 on Feb. 13, 2010 in Seattle to set a Cal indoor mile record that remains on the books.

Other Cal runners to break 4 minutes:

— Steve Sodaro, 3:59.52 on April 24, 2010 at Berkeley

— Thomas Joyce, Cal’s record holder in the 1,500 and 3,000, ran 3:58.69 in Berkeley on April 25, 2016

— Garrett Corcoran clocked 3:59.71 indoors at Seattle on Feb. 27, 2016, the most recent Golden Bear to break 4 minutes.

Alas, Jay Marden, who came from a respected running family in Fremont, barely missed joining the club, running 4:00.1 in 1986.

On Track and Field’s all-time list of American 4-minute milers are a few notable breakthroughs:

— Jim Ryun, who went on to twice set the world record at the distance, became the first high schooler to break 4 minutes, running 3:59.0 on June 5, 1964 at Compton, California.

— Steve Prefontaine, who became a legendary distance runner and cultural icon at Oregon before dying in a car crash in 1975, ran his first 4-minute mile at Eugene on June 5, 1970, clocking 3:57.4.

— Steve Scott ran 3:59.7 indoors on June 15, 1977 in Los Angeles and went on to set three American records at the distance. Scott ran sub-4 miles 136 times — more than any other runner — and held the American record for more than a quarter-century.

— Alan Webb, who broke 4 minutes indoors as a Virginia high schooler in 2001, broke Scott’s 25-year-old American record with a time of 3:46.91 on July 21, 2007 in Belgium. Webb’s national record still stands.

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*** Bowden talked earlier this summer about his breakthrough race:

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Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo

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