Forrest Beaty moved up to the 440 as a freshman at Berkeley because of a badly torn hamstring he suffered in his final high school race in 1962. Much of the time he ran with his thigh bandaged. If he hadn't torn that hamstring, I'm convinced he would have been an Olympic medalist in the 100 and probably a gold medalist in 200 in 1964--and he would have been only 19 years old.
For those at Castefootball who are not acquainted with the prep phenom Forrest Beaty he was a legend in Southern California in the early 60s. People who were not track fans went to watch him run and break records. In 1960 as a 15-year-old sophomore from Hoover High in Glendale he won the CIF Southern Section title in the 220. The next year, 1961, he came into national prominence, running several 100-yard-dashes in 9.5 and several sub 21 flat 220s. Yes, these were hand timed but they were run on dirt tracks. Conventional wisdom says add two tenths to 100 yard or 100 meter times to convert to full automatic timing. However, what is left out of the equation is the great advantage of running on the new artificial track surfaces, which I think gives a 2 tenths advantage in the 100 and 4-5 tenths in 200 or 220. Something else to note: Beaty ran most of his 220s on the straightaway and only a few on the turn. This can also be misleading when comparing with today because when the 220 was run on the turn back then it was a full turn and significantly slower than the partial turn that is run today.
In the CIF Southern Section finals in 1961 Ralph Turner, a senior at Burroughs High in Burbank and another blazing white sprinter, ran 20.5, the fastest time ever run by a prep. It was good for only second place. Forrest Beaty ran a mind-boggling 20.2, a national high school record and a mere two-tenths shy of the world record. Beaty was 16 years old. In the California state championship Beaty won the 100 in 9.5 and Turner was second in 9.6. The 220 was run into a strong headwind and the solidly built Beaty powered into the wind and won easily. The tall, lanky Turner was nosed out for second. Turner's high school career was over but Beatty, the fastest prep in the nation, had another year left.
Beaty got off to a fast start in 1962. By mid-March he had already run the 100 in 9.5 and the 220 in 20.6--the best times in the nation. Then, on the last day of the month, Beaty ran the 100 in 9.4 to tie the national prep record set by Jesse Owens in 1933 and tied by Jim Jackson in 1954. When Owens set the record he was nearly 20 years old, and Jackson a month shy of 19 when he tied it. Beaty was 17 1/2. In meet after meet during the spring of 1962 Beaty continued to blister tracks and smoke all competition. His relay legs were beyond belief. Once, on a lark, he ran the 440 and recorded a 47.3, the third-fastest time in the nation. Under less than ideal conditions he won the CIF Southern Section in 9.5 and 20.4. In the California state championship in the 100 he got off to a terrible start and was in dead last. He won pulling away in 9.5. Most observers thought a good start would have given him a 9.3.
Thousands of spectators now waited eagerly for the 220 final. The field included several runners who had broken 21 flat. "This kid Beaty just might break the world record" was the comment heard throughout the stands. When the starter fired his gun, everyone was on his feet, and nearly everyone held a stopwatch. At 70 or 80 yards Beaty began pulling away from the field. At 110 yards he was at least six or seven yards ahead and still accelerating. Forrest Beaty was demolishing one of the finest 220 fields in state history. Then it happened. His hamstring ripped. Richard Stebbins, from Fremont High in the heart of South-Central Los Angeles, went on to win in 20.9. Knowing how powerful Beaty was in the second half of the 220, everyone thought he would have beaten Stebbins by 10 yards or more and run a world-record sub-20 flat. What were called "track nuts" back then--guys who attended all the major meets, timing and recording every race, and many of them coaches and former athletes--agreed that Beaty, but for the hamstring tear, would have run 19.7 or 19.8.
