When all the world is young, lad, And all the trees are green; And every goose a swan, lad, And every lass a queen." - Charles Kingsley
For many of us track started shortly after football ended. Some of us ran for track clubs and this involved training two nights a week and Saturday mornings. That we were dedicated might be an understatement. I remember showing up for a workout on Christmas Eve and being indignant that our facility was locked up for the holidays. We ran outside in rain and snow. Our philosophy was as long as we kept moving we wouldn’t get seriously cold and being wet didn’t really matter. After Christmas indoor training would begin in the halls of P.C.S.S. and continue until such time as the outdoor track was usable. The highlight of the indoor season was always competing on the boards of the wooden track set up over the ice at Maple Leaf Gardens.
In one way or another track and field provided many of the finest recollections I have about P.C.S.S. Undeniably competition and performance were at the core of all that we did. However, it was the peripheral high jinks and camaraderie that made for some of the best memories. No one who has ever been part of a first class high school sports program could ever deny its value as an educational experience.
I am able to state with complete certainty the sports team with the highest winning percentage in all of Port Credit’s history has been the Port Credit Pistons. If you have never heard of them you’re not alone but their picture can be found in the 1970 yearbook. This team only competed once but they won a decisive victory. They awarded themselves a victory parade along the main street running through downtown Streetsville. It was complete with a top down convertible, honking horns and the proud display of the prize they had won. This trophy is still believed to reside in a corner of the P.C.S.S. trophy case. Most of the members of the Pistons were also members of the track team. Here is what happened.
The time frame is late September or early October of 1969. Somehow word has reached a group of Port Credit’s finest that a soap box derby was to take place in Streetsville during the afternoon of the approaching Saturday. For reasons long forgotten this group of worthies felt they could enter the race and compete for the trophy that was up for grabs. The fact that they had nothing like a soap box racing car was only a minor detail. Upon arriving in Streetsville a shopping cart was borrowed from a local supermarket to serve as the team’s racing vehicle. A driver was selected and the other members of the team spread out over the route of the race course to provide push power propulsion. From starting line to finish line the outcome of the contest was never in doubt. As quickly as possible the team collected their prize, returned the shopping cart and got out of town albeit with a certain fanfare. Race officials changed the rules for future races to disallow the use of shopping carts.
One erstwhile member of the track team would be called an ultra –distance runner today. During our era he was considered eccentric or just plain nuts. He had no speed at all but endless desire and endurance. His feet paid the price for the tremendous number of training miles he put in. He ran so much that his toenails began to fall out. This did not deter him in the least. He looked upon each lost toenail as another level reached. So that we could all share in his accomplishments he would proudly thumbtack each detached toenail to the track & field bulletin board just inside the south entrance to the school. I had a great deal of sympathy for this person. He trained so hard and so long yet even the two mile or 3000 metre races were too short for him to have any success. He began running marathons long before marathon running became popular.
If you look closely at the track team photos taken around 1970 you will see a number of members wearing short sleeved v-necked blue shirts. There is a crest on the left side and if you look closer still (maybe with a magnifying glass) in the centre of the crest there appears to be a toilet. Yes, you are correct, it is a flush toilet. This is the proud emblem of a club within a club. The Ralf Club was started to acknowledge members of the track team who revisited lunch after a particularly hard race or a grueling workout. I believe Dave Howes came up with the name. Needless to say it was a badge of honour worn proudly by club members. The club’s most prized possession was the tin bucket that had been painted Port Credit blue with a yellow bulls eye inside. It would magically show up whenever a team member appeared ready to apply for membership or reaffirm an existing membership. Sadly, like so many artifacts of historical importance it seems to have gone missing and its whereabouts is unknown.
The things I have written about here are the lore and traditions of a track team that existed nearly half a century ago. I don’t know if the teams of today have anything comparable.
Ironically as times, performances and individual races fade from memory it is this odd ball stuff that remains. These things are retained because they were the best of times and their recollections can still provide a chuckle. Hopefully today’s runners, jumpers and throwers enjoy the moment just as much as we did. Carpe Diem lads and lasses carpe diem. If there is ever any desire to revive traditions of the past I would happily provide a blue tin bucket.
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