[4] The meet director for most of that time was National Track and Field Hall of Fame member Tom Moore,[5] a former elite hurdler from the University of California.
But Moore did almost everything else to make the meet what it became, from adjusting the lights toward the track (rather than just the football field) to obtaining sponsorship from S&W Foods that brought notoriety to the otherwise sleepy Central Valley town.
"Dutch" Warmerdam set a world record in the pole vault, but only after the standards were repaired at the college welding shop.
Double Olympic Gold medalist, Bob Richards negotiated a $75 cash bonus if he broke the meet record.
They became ecstatic when a then unknown Jim Beatty improved his personal best by seven seconds to set the American record at 3:58.0.
[9] And the strong winds at Modesto made the discus throw a record setting event.