Who was James P. Henigan. He was my grandfather. My mother's father. I never knew him as a child. I knew he won the Boston Marathon. I also was told he was in the Olympics but it was never elaborated upon. In my little bit of research that I have done I found out that he had quite a history regarding the Boston Marathon, the Olympic Games and a running career that spanned 28 years. All that transpired during his life time is lost between the headlines of some news clippings. The fact that he served in World War I, Ran through the roaring 20's, suffered through the great depression with the rest of the world and watched his son's go off to World War II are all the events that bore on his life. All through that he managed to win 700 prizes during his running career as stated in the New York Times, February 28, 1950. He was gone long before I arrived on this scene in 1962. All the fragments of his life I picked up through my youth did not amount to much. Perhaps if my parent's had lived longer and I was able to discuss mature issues with them I might have learned more about his life. All during my running career as a youth this mysterious figure loomed. I don't know what relationship my mom had with her dad, but she was my most ardent fan. She never missed a race barring her frail health. In her weakness she was always able to cheer me on as I would emerge from the woods in a cross country race. Come on Peter!!! As a youth I always thought I would run Boston. However life threw me a few curves and I veered off course. Thirty years later that desire has surfaced once again. As a boy I dreamed of being an Olympian and winning the Boston Marathon like my grandfather. Today I strive to the finish.
Full name: James P. "Jimmy" Henigan
Nickname: Smiling Jimmy
Height: 5'6" (168 cm)
Weight: 119 lbs (54 kg)
Born: April 25, 1892 in Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Died: February 27, 1950 in Chesterfield, South Carolina, United States
Affiliations: Dorchester Club
Country: United States
Sport: Athletics
He had ran Boston at 20 times. Here some of the recorded finishes that I could find:
1928- finished 2nd-time 2:41:01
1930- finished 8th-time 2:46:38
1931- finished 1st-time 2:46:45
1932- finished 2nd-time 2:34:32
1933- finished 18th-time 2:49:01
1935- finished 11th-time 2:48:43
1936- finished 18th-time 2:50:37
I gleaned the results from http://www.coolrunning.com/boston/results1.htm. Thanks cool running.
From the the BAA website they give short accounts of past races. Please see below:
1928
Aggressive racing by DeMar once again resulted in back-to-back victories and his sixth win as the field grew to 254 runners. DeMar took over in Natick, 10 miles into the race, with Philadelphia's Bill Wilson nagging at his heels until 18.5 miles. DeMar slowly pulled away, and crossed the line in 2:38:07, while celebrated miler Joey Ray finished third.
From the running cool Boston Marathon race result it state Jim finisshed second. However it appears he finished between DeMar and Ray.
1931
The Medford, Mass. milkman, Jimmy Henigan, got his long-awaited victory in his 10th Boston attempt with a time of 2:46:45. Henigan, one of the nation's leading cross-country and 10-mile runners, had finished second in 1928 but had dropped out in eight of his nine previous attempts. Hennigan dueled with Canada's Dave Komonen, before taking control on the Newton hills, and racing uncontested over the final miles.
1932
Paul de Bruyn, a 24-year-old former sailor in the German Navy, outraced defending champion Jimmy Henigan over the two-mile stretch on Beacon Street to win in 2:33:35. The 39-year-old Henigan, who crossed the line just 56 seconds behind de Bruyn, followed the record-setting pace of Canada's John McLeod. Blisters caused McLeod to falter entering Cleveland Circle, and set the stage for the de Bruyn-Henigan stretch run.
The number of participants in the Boston Marathon over the years have grown significantly. From 18 in 1897 to 25,283 in 2008. Boston has become the premier marathon event.
Time Magazine has an archived article dated Monday, Apr. 27, 1931 in which gives account of the 1931 Boston Marathon. See article here.
Jim Henigan also partcipated in three Olympic Games.
1924 Paris Olympics
Results for 1924 Olympic Athletics - Individual Cross Country from Wiki
Athletics at the 1924 Summer Olympics – Men's team cross country from Wiki
The men's individual 10,000 meter cross country event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1924 Summer Olympics. It was the third and last appearance of this event. The competition was held on Saturday, July 12, 1924.
Thirty-eight runners from ten nations competed.
Due to the hot weather conditions (over 40°C) only fifteen starters were able to finish the race.
Jimmy Henigan finished 11th overall with a time of 38:00:00 flat. The USA team captured the silver. Jimmy finished fourth for the USA team behind his teammate August Fager missing the silver by just 20 seconds.
1928 Amsterdam Olympics
1928 Amsterdam Summer Games: Men's Marathon
1932 Los Aneles Olympics
1932 Los Angeles Summer Games: Men's Marathon
The New York Times newspaper article on Jimmy Henigan's Life
