Arthur Francis Duffey (June 14, 1879 – January 23, 1955) was an American track and field athlete who competed at the

1900 Summer Olympics The 1900 Summer Olympics (), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad () and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 14 May to 28 October 1900. No opening or closin ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Biography

Duffey won four consecutive 100 yards British

AAA Championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the offi ...

titles in

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15 ...

. 1901, 1902 and 1903. In 1902, whilst a student at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

, Duffey ran a world record of 9.6 seconds for the 100 yards. Although equaled in 1906 by Dan Kelly, it would be 27 years before it was finally bettered, by

Eddie Tolan Thomas Edward Tolan (September 29, 1908 – January 30, 1967), nicknamed the "Midnight Express", was an American track and field athlete who competed in sprints. He set world records in the 100-yard dash and 100 meters event and Olympic recor ...

. In 1905 it was rumored that he was to marry the actress

Mabel Hite Mabel Hite (May 30, 1883 – October 22, 1912) was a vaudeville comedian and Musical theatre, musical comedy actress. Life and career Hite was born in Ashland, Kentucky, on May 30, 1883, the daughter of Lewis and Elsie Hite. Her family relocate ...

and, as she was a divorcee, he would meet

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X (; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...

in order to attain special dispensation to wed. The rumor proved false. Duffey finally married in 1911, to long-time friend Helen Louise Daley. In 1905 he confessed that he had been accepting sponsor money since 1898, and the AAU ordered all of his records expunged. In 1908 he attempted to form the National Protective Athletic Association (NPAA) to challenge the AAU. Around this time Duffey was also involved in promoting professional athletes on the east coast racing circuit. One of those he worked with was the future

Mercersburg Academy Mercersburg Academy (formerly Marshall College and Mercersburg College) is an independent college-preparatory boarding and day high school in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Founded in 1893, the school enrolls approximately 4 ...

coach

Jimmy Curran James Michael Curran (January 7, 1880 – February 7, 1963) was an athletics coach who trained and coached five Olympics, Olympic gold medalists. From 1900-1902, he fought with the Highland Light Infantry in the Second Boer War, serving much of t ...

. After retiring from athletics he became a sports writer for ''

The Boston Post ''The Boston Post'' was a daily newspaper in New England for over a hundred years before its final shutdown in 1956. The ''Post'' was founded in November 1831 by two prominent Boston businessmen, Charles G. Greene and William Beals. Edwin Groz ...

''. He also coached the

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

and

Boston College High School Boston College High School (also known as BC High) is an all-male, Society of Jesus, Jesuit, Catholic Church, Catholic College-preparatory school, college-preparatory day school in the Columbia Point, Boston, Columbia Point neighborhood of Dorche ...

track teams. He died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

.Track Trailblazer Dies, ''Portsmouth Herald'', January 25, 1955

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* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Duffey, Arthur 1879 births 1955 deaths Athletes (track and field) at the 1900 Summer Olympics Georgetown Hoyas men's track and field athletes Northeastern Huskies baseball coaches Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Worcester Academy alumni American male sprinters USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners The Boston Post people People from Roxbury, Boston Track and field athletes from Boston 19th-century American sportsmen Sportswriters from Massachusetts 20th-century American writers New Zealand Athletics Championships winners Boston College Eagles track and field coaches

Biography

References

Further reading

External links