Historical Profile: Ed Cook Volume 1, The High School Years

Ed was perhaps the greatest Ohio high school track and field athlete of the era before the beginning of the state championships.  He held two national high school, five state records, seven COIAL (Central Ohio Interscholastic Athletic League) records and many of Chillicothe's school records.  Additionally, during his collegiate career he added a gold medal in the pole vault at the 1908 London Olympic Games. All this in an era when meets were frequently run on the horse tracks at fairgrounds. 

Pole vault was contested without fiberglass poles, plant boxes or mats. Poles of his era had a medal spike that had to be planted into the ground and his pole was made of spruce. By the time of his Olympics in 1908 the more "advanced" poles were made of bamboo.  Some venues had sand instead of landing mats but others simply had dirt.

Even the 1908 Olympic venue only offered sand for the landing. The same went for high jump. The events were also different before they were standardized at the state level. The COIAL league at different times ran the 40y dash, 50y dash and 60y dash as well as standard running events.  The league also offered eleven different field events including high kick, standing high jump, standing long jump, hop skip and jump, the hammer throw and the baseball throw as well as standard events. Perhaps the most unusual events were the three different bicycle competitions. They ran the 880y, mile and two mile events.  

Ed's freshman season at Chillicothe, he was overshadowed by Isaac Cook who dominated Chillicothe track and field.  Isaac was his older brother and went on to run for Ohio State after graduation. Isaac placed in four events at the 1903 COIAL Championships, winning the long jump. 

Even as a freshman, though, he was an outstanding pole vaulter, clearing 9-02 to break the league record. The COIAL Championships were held in Hillsboro at the fairgrounds and were won by the home team.  The COIAL meet was the only meet on record for the 1903 season.

At the 1904 COIAL Championships, Ed repeated as the pole vault champ with a league record, clearing 10-0. He added another league record winning the long jump with a jump of 19-10 and was also runner-up in the high jump.  He scored half of Chillicothe's 26 points leading them to a second place finish behind home team Washington Court House. In other meets in 1904 he won five events and finished second in two additional events at a dual meet with Greenfield High School and won all three events he entered in a home meet verses Lancaster High School.  Chillicothe ran their home meets at the Chillicothe Fairgrounds.  

Ed really began to gain national recognition during the 1905 season.  Chillicothe started off the season with a dual meet against powerhouse, Dayton Steele High School.  He won seven events and posted some very impressive marks. He next headed up to Ann Arbor for the Michigan Interscholastic Meet without the company of his teammates. 

This was one of the premier high school events in the country. Cook entered five events but was unable to run in the 220y dash as the pole vault competition was in progress.  The highlight of the meet was his long jump of 22-07.5 which was a "world prep record" in the event. Ed also won the pole vault at 10-06 and tied for first in the high jump at 5-09, later clearing 5-10 in the jump off.  He added a fourth place finish in the 100y dash to round out the meet.

The COIAL Championships returned to Washington Court House for the 1905 season and Cook nearly won the meet by himself scoring 27 points. He won the pole vault, high jump, long jump, 100y dash, 220y dash and was on the half mile relay team.  In addition to five league records in his individual events he also set the state record in the high jump clearing 6-0. In June, he ran at the CGAC Carnival in Cincinnati's East End Park. This event was open to all amateurs and had athletes from three states including college athletes from Ohio State and Indiana University.  He won the long jump, high jump, 100y dash and was runner up in the pole vault. In the long jump he went 23-03 to better his national record.  

Edward Cook during the 1905 Season.  Photo from The Spokane Press June 10, 1905.

His senior season started off the same way that his junior season ended, with a lot of winning.  Chillicothe's season opened with a dual meet against Washington Court House at a neutral location in Circleville.  Ed won six events. Chillicothe next ran at home against an All-Star team from Columbus. The star athlete from North High was unfortunately injured and did not compete.  Ed won six events and the results of the 100y dash were very interesting.

They originally reported that Ed ran a 9.6 in the event but it was later revised to a 9.8. Two separate issues came into play, first it was contested that he beat the gun by a hair at the start although the track official did not stop the race and secondly, the field was re-measured at 104 yards.  The following day the official decided to modify the results to a 9.8. It is unclear if this result was accepted as a state and national record or not. They did have two official timers clocking the race and both had the same result.

The next Chillicothe meet was somewhat unusual in that they competed against the team from Ohio Wesleyan University. The Chillicothe boys held their own against OWU narrowly losing 47-49.  A disputed 100y dash race could have made the difference with spectators claiming Allyn from OWU jumped the gun by five meters. It was reported later that OWU's Coach Bingham, who served as the starter, was dismissed from his coaching position after the meet.

Ed won the high jump, long jump, pole vault and ran the 220y dash in 21.6 breaking the state record. This year, traveling with his teammates, he again ran at the Michigan Interscholastic Meet in Ann Arbor.  He was once again outstanding in the long jump setting a new national record of 23-05.5. Ed was second in the high jump but it took another national record to beat him. Pinky Patterson of Detroit University went 6-01.25 while Cook cleared 6-0. He also won the 100y dash in 10.0 and the pole vault with a vault of 11-0. He also anchored this 880y relay team to a third place finish. In addition to setting meet records in the 100y dash, pole vault and long jump, each of these events also set Michigan state records. 

The COIAL Championship were held in Chillicothe in 1906 and the home team won over a very strong Washington Court House Team 50-37. Ed won seven events and took second in one. In what appears to be his first hurdles race he won the 120y low hurdles in a time of 12.4. He finished his career with sixteen COIAL league titles and seven league records.

During the summer Ed ran at the CGAC Carnival in Cincinnati's East End Park. This was open to all amateur athletes. He won four events and was second in the 220y hurdles after falling on the final hurdle.  At the Central AAU meet in Chicago, Ed ran against some of the top athletes in the country including college athletes. He entered only two events, the high jump and the long jump but won them both and set the Central AAU Championship record in the long jump with a jump of 23-02.75.

Ed was heavily recruited by the likes of Ohio State University, the University of Michigan, Chicago University and Cornell University to name a few.  In the end he chose Cornell for both athletic and academic reasons.   

During his high school career  he held national high school records in the 100y dash, the long jump and possibly the 220y dash.  He held the state record in the 100y dash, 220y dash, long jump, high jump and pole vault.  

High School PRs:  50y Dash: 5.0; 100y Dash:  9.8 (100m conversion of 10.72), 220y Dash:  21.6 (200m conversion of 21.47), 120yLH: 12.4, Pole Vault:  11-0, Long Jump: 23-05.5 and High Jump: 6-0.25.