Roughly the same spot, roughly fifty years apart. The first set, I’m almost certain, is from this meet in the spring of 1916 (Rice left the Southwest Conference in 1916 and rejoined it in 1918, by the way, which is why it’s a TIAA meet):
The images were made from some of the glass plate negatives that Tommy Lavergne gave me a couple of years ago:
The second set is also undated but must have been taken in the late 1960s, maybe for the media guide:
Bonus: Who knows where this is?
I think I do. It is the ceiling skylight in one of the newer wings of Abercrombie. Newer being a relative term; the fill-in wings were constructed in the 80s, if I recall correctly.
Per Stephen Fox’s campus guide, the courtyards between the rear wings were filled in in 1981.
Correct, as usual, Professor Johnson.
I think the relay team picture shows Denny Dickey with the baton. Bill Askey is on the far left. And, Chip Grandjean is beside Askey. Not sure who the others are, but I would guess these are members of the mile relay team, or maybe 1600 meters by that time.
One guy in the top picture is starting with a REAL handicap.
I should have said this was about 1970. (Is the fellow next to Grandjean Steve Straub?)
Yes, it’s Steve Straub.
Yeah, you don’t see that every day.
Maybe not. This is probably a longer race, not a sprint, in which case even starting behind in lane 1 could be more advantageous than starting in lane 5 or 6.
That’s Bobby May holding the stopwatch in the first of the modern photos.