From the outside lane: Issues of 'race' in South African athletics in the twentieth century

Patterns of Prejudice

Volumn 38, Issue 3, 2004, Pages 233-251

  Merrett, Christopher ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL   (South Africa)

Author keywords

Apartheid; Athletics; Group areas; Mines; Racism; Running; Segregation; Social control; South Africa; Sports boycott

Indexed keywords

EID: 4444311566     PISSN: 0031322X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/0031322042000250448     Document Type: Article

References (97)

1. I. G. Emery, Springboks of the Olympiad (Johannesburg: APB 1956), 25-6.
2. The ethnic terminology used in this article is South African. 'Black' means all persons who are not White, namely 'African', 'Asian' or 'Coloured' (mixed race). It is no longer necessary to apologize for the use of these categories as the democratically elected South African government uses them for its own purposes.
3. K. Strachan and M. Snell, 'Post carts in southern Natal and East Griqualand', Natalia, vol. 31, 2001, 30-3.
4. See, for example, 'Blacks on sidewalks', Natal Witness (Pietermaritzburg), 14 November 1904, 6.
5. M. Leach and G. Wilkins, Olympic Dream: The South African Connection (London: Penguin 1992), 23; R. W. J. Opperman and L. Laubscher, Africa's First Olympians: The Story of the Olympic Movement in South Africa, 1907-1987 (Johannesburg: SANOC 1987), 2; A. Grundlingh, Fighting Their Own War: South African Blacks and the First World War (Johannesburg: Ravan 1987), 108-9; A. Grundlingh, 'The impact of the First World War on South African Blacks', in M. E. Page (ed.), Africa and the First World War (London: Macmillan 1987), 61, 75.
6. M. Leach and G. Wilkins, Olympic Dream: The South African Connection (London: Penguin 1992), 23; R. W. J. Opperman and L. Laubscher, Africa's First Olympians: The Story of the Olympic Movement in South Africa, 1907-1987 (Johannesburg: SANOC 1987), 2; A. Grundlingh, Fighting Their Own War: South African Blacks and the First World War (Johannesburg: Ravan 1987), 108-9; A. Grundlingh, 'The impact of the First World War on South African Blacks', in M. E. Page (ed.), Africa and the First World War (London: Macmillan 1987), 61, 75.
7. M. Leach and G. Wilkins, Olympic Dream: The South African Connection (London: Penguin 1992), 23; R. W. J. Opperman and L. Laubscher, Africa's First Olympians: The Story of the Olympic Movement in South Africa, 1907-1987 (Johannesburg: SANOC 1987), 2; A. Grundlingh, Fighting Their Own War: South African Blacks and the First World War (Johannesburg: Ravan 1987), 108-9; A. Grundlingh, 'The impact of the First World War on South African Blacks', in M. E. Page (ed.), Africa and the First World War (London: Macmillan 1987), 61, 75.
8. M. Leach and G. Wilkins, Olympic Dream: The South African Connection (London: Penguin 1992), 23; R. W. J. Opperman and L. Laubscher, Africa's First Olympians: The Story of the Olympic Movement in South Africa, 1907-1987 (Johannesburg: SANOC 1987), 2; A. Grundlingh, Fighting Their Own War: South African Blacks and the First World War (Johannesburg: Ravan 1987), 108-9; A. Grundlingh, 'The impact of the First World War on South African Blacks', in M. E. Page (ed.), Africa and the First World War (London: Macmillan 1987), 61, 75.
9. R. E. Phillips, The Bantu Are Coming (Alice, Eastern Cape: Lovedale Press 1936), 139.
10. T. Couzens, 'Moralizing leisure time: the transatlantic connection and black Johannesburg 1918-1936', in S. Marks and R. Rathbone (eds), Industrialisation and Social Change in South Africa: African Class Formation, Culture, and Consciousness, 1870-1930 (Harlow: Longman 1982), 318, 319; A. G. Cobley, The Rules of the Game: Struggles in Black Recreation and Social Welfare Policy in South Africa (Westport, CT: Greenwood 1997), 30-1, 34-5.
11. T. Couzens, 'Moralizing leisure time: the transatlantic connection and black Johannesburg 1918-1936', in S. Marks and R. Rathbone (eds), Industrialisation and Social Change in South Africa: African Class Formation, Culture, and Consciousness, 1870-1930 (Harlow: Longman 1982), 318, 319; A. G. Cobley, The Rules of the Game: Struggles in Black Recreation and Social Welfare Policy in South Africa (Westport, CT: Greenwood 1997), 30-1, 34-5.
12. R. E. Phillips, The Bantu in the City: A Study of Cultural Adjustment on the Witwatersrand (Alice, Eastern Cape: Lovedale Press 1938), xxi, 308, 353, 362.
13. E. Jokl, 'Physical education, sport and recreation', in E. Hellmann and L. Abrahams (eds), Handbook on Race Relations in South Africa (Cape Town: Oxford University Press 1949), 449-53.
14. R. Archer and A. Bouillon, The South African Game: Sport and Racism (London: Zed Books 1982), 139, 169.
15. The survey, conducted by the South African Institute of Race Relations, was reported in Jokl, 448, 453-63.
16. M. Horrell, South Africa and the Olympic Games (Johannesburg: South African Institute of Race Relations 1968), 10-11.
17. A Survey of Race Relations in South Africa (Johannesburg: South African Institute of Race Relations 1956-7), 220 (this annual publication is hereafter referred to as SRR).
18. D. Brutus, 'Sports test for South Africa', Africa South, vol. 3, no. 4, 1959, 37.
19. J. Brickhill, Race against Race: South Africa's 'Multi-national' Sport Fraud (London: International Defence and Aid Fund 1976), 56.
20. I b i d.
21. From 1962 onwards the SA Atletiek Jaarboek (South African Athletics Annual, hereafter SAAJ) integrated the achievements of 'non-White' athletes into its annual records, but indicated the names of those athletes with an asterisk. This convention was only dropped in 1975.
22. 'Group areas' were a fundamental statutory plank of apartheid in urban South Africa that divided residential and commercial space along racial lines.
23. SRR, 1958-9, 297; SRR, 1959-60, 263.
24. SRR, 1958-9, 297; SRR, 1959-60, 263.
25. Letter from G. K. Rangasamy (SASA) to Avery Brundage (IOC), 24 July 1960: Brutus Papers, Borthwick Institute, University of York, UK.
26. D. Brutus, 'Childhood reminiscences', in P. Wästberg (ed.), The Writer in Modern Africa (Uppsala: Scandinavian Institute of African Studies 1968), 98. Brutus was the leading anti-apartheid campaigner in the area of sport in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He was banned for his activities and then imprisoned on Robben Island for breaking his ban and attempting to leave the country to attend an IOC meeting in Germany. On his release in 1966 he was granted an exit visa and went into exile in Britain and then the United States.
27. SAAJ, vol. 11 (Cape Town: South African Association of Track and Field Statisticians 1962).
28. SRR, 1962, 215-16; Archer and Bouillon, 279-80; Brickhill, 44-5; M. Draper, Sport and Race in South Africa (Johannesburg: South African Institute of Race Relations 1963), 13.
29. SRR, 1962, 215-16; Archer and Bouillon, 279-80; Brickhill, 44-5; M. Draper, Sport and Race in South Africa (Johannesburg: South African Institute of Race Relations 1963), 13.
30. SRR, 1962, 215-16; Archer and Bouillon, 279-80; Brickhill, 44-5; M. Draper, Sport and Race in South Africa (Johannesburg: South African Institute of Race Relations 1963), 13.
31. SRR, 1962, 215-16; Archer and Bouillon, 279-80; Brickhill, 44-5; M. Draper, Sport and Race in South Africa (Johannesburg: South African Institute of Race Relations 1963), 13.
32. SRR, 1963, 294.
33. R. Lapchick, The Politics of Race and International Sport: The Case of South Africa (Westport, CT: Greenwood 1975), 133; Horrell, South Africa and the Olympic Games, 14; SAAJ, vol. 12, 1963, 42.
34. R. Lapchick, The Politics of Race and International Sport: The Case of South Africa (Westport, CT: Greenwood 1975), 133; Horrell, South Africa and the Olympic Games, 14; SAAJ, vol. 12, 1963, 42.
35. R. Lapchick, The Politics of Race and International Sport: The Case of South Africa (Westport, CT: Greenwood 1975), 133; Horrell, South Africa and the Olympic Games, 14; SAAJ, vol. 12, 1963, 42.
36. N. Babenia with I. Edwards, Memoirs of a Saboteur. Reflections on My Political Activity in India and South Africa (Bellville, Western Cape: Mayibuye 1995), 131.
37. C. Merrett, 'Sport and nationalism in post-liberation South Africa in the 1990s: transcendental euphoria or nation building?', Sport History Review, vol. 34, no. 1, 2003, 35; C. Merrett, '"In nothing else are the deprivers so deprived": South African sport, apartheid and foreign relations, 1945-71', International Journal of the History of Sport, vol. 13, no. 2, 1996, 153.
38. C. Merrett, 'Sport and nationalism in post-liberation South Africa in the 1990s: transcendental euphoria or nation building?', Sport History Review, vol. 34, no. 1, 2003, 35; C. Merrett, '"In nothing else are the deprivers so deprived": South African sport, apartheid and foreign relations, 1945-71', International Journal of the History of Sport, vol. 13, no. 2, 1996, 153.
39. SRR, 1963, 333.
40. The Star (Johannesburg), 17 February 1965.
41. SANROC, memorandum of recent developments in South Africa, 18 April 1967: Brutus Papers, Borthwick Institute, University of York, UK.
42. SRR, 1967, 323; SAAJ, vol. 21, 1973.
43. SRR, 1967, 323; SAAJ, vol. 21, 1973.
44. SRR, 1968, 295, 298, 299, 301.
45. Debates of the House of Assembly, vol. 11, columns 4405-4406, 21 April 1969.
46. SRR, 1969, 2, 248.
47. SANROC pamphlet, 10 January 1969: Brutus Papers, Borthwick Institute, University of York, UK.
48. SRR, 1970, 275-6.
49. M. Horrell, Laws Affecting Race Relations in South Africa (Johannesburg: South African Institute of Race Relations 1978), 379.
50. Press statement by Minister of Sport Frank Waring, 26 May 1970: Department of Sport and Recreation Collection, State Archives, Pretoria, MS 4/5/6; SRR, 1971, 319.
51. Press statement by Minister of Sport Frank Waring, 26 May 1970: Department of Sport and Recreation Collection, State Archives, Pretoria, MS 4/5/6; SRR, 1971, 319.
52. Draper, 11.
53. A. P. Cartwright, The Gold Miners (Cape Town: Purnell 1962), 219, 223.
54. J. Crush, A. Jeeves and D. Yudelman, South Africa's Labor Empire: A History of Black Migrancy to the Gold Mines (Boulder, CO: Westview 1991), 93-4, 183; Draper, 16-17.
55. J. Crush, A. Jeeves and D. Yudelman, South Africa's Labor Empire: A History of Black Migrancy to the Gold Mines (Boulder, CO: Westview 1991), 93-4, 183; Draper, 16-17.
56. T. Dunbar Moodie, 'Mine culture and miners' identity on the South African gold mines', in B. Bozzoli (ed.), Town and Countryside in the Transvaal: Capitalist Penetration and Popular Response (Johannesburg: Ravan 1983), 176-97; Couzens, 321.
57. T. Dunbar Moodie, 'Mine culture and miners' identity on the South African gold mines', in B. Bozzoli (ed.), Town and Countryside in the Transvaal: Capitalist Penetration and Popular Response (Johannesburg: Ravan 1983), 176-97; Couzens, 321.
58. Brickhill, 63, 69.
59. Horrell, Laws Affecting Race Relations, 385; SRR, 1974, 395.
60. Horrell, Laws Affecting Race Relations, 385; SRR, 1974, 395.
61. I. Wilkins and H. Strydom, The Super-Afrikaners (Johannesburg: Ball 1978), 239, 246; C. Legum, A Republic in Trouble: South Africa, 1972-73 (London: Collings 1973), 44.
62. I. Wilkins and H. Strydom, The Super-Afrikaners (Johannesburg: Ball 1978), 239, 246; C. Legum, A Republic in Trouble: South Africa, 1972-73 (London: Collings 1973), 44.
63. SAAJ, vol. 20, 1972. Whether it was because of the excitement of the occasion, or sheer incompetence, officials allowed an additional lap. Krogmann was declared the winner over the correct distance.
64. Brickhill, 36-7.
65. Ibid., 64.
66. SRR, 1973, 367-8.
67. Editorial, SA Atleet/SA Athlete (Pretoria), vol. 2, no. 7, May 1975, 1 (a bilingual athletics journal, hereafter SAA); 'Tartan track for Blacks', SAA, vol. 2, no. 7, May 1975, 8-9.
68. Editorial, SA Atleet/SA Athlete (Pretoria), vol. 2, no. 7, May 1975, 1 (a bilingual athletics journal, hereafter SAA); 'Tartan track for Blacks', SAA, vol. 2, no. 7, May 1975, 8-9.
69. Archer and Bouillon, 245, 248, 277-9; M. Alexander, The Comrades Marathon Story, 3rd edn (Craighall, Johannesburg: Delta 1985), 475-8.
70. Archer and Bouillon, 245, 248, 277-9; M. Alexander, The Comrades Marathon Story, 3rd edn (Craighall, Johannesburg: Delta 1985), 475-8.
71. G. Le Roux, 'A century of South African athletics: the best of 100 years (1894-1994)', SAAJ, vol. 43, 1995, 15-17; 'Isolation will not kill SA athletics' (interview with Hannes Botha), SAA, vol. 3, no. 8, June 1976, 7; 'A major change in SA athletics', SAA, vol. 5, no. 8, July-August 1978, 2.
72. G. Le Roux, 'A century of South African athletics: the best of 100 years (1894-1994)', SAAJ, vol. 43, 1995, 15-17; 'Isolation will not kill SA athletics' (interview with Hannes Botha), SAA, vol. 3, no. 8, June 1976, 7; 'A major change in SA athletics', SAA, vol. 5, no. 8, July-August 1978, 2.
73. G. Le Roux, 'A century of South African athletics: the best of 100 years (1894-1994)', SAAJ, vol. 43, 1995, 15-17; 'Isolation will not kill SA athletics' (interview with Hannes Botha), SAA, vol. 3, no. 8, June 1976, 7; 'A major change in SA athletics', SAA, vol. 5, no. 8, July-August 1978, 2.
74. SAAJ, vol. 35, 1987, 14.
75. Brickhill, 31-2; Archer and Bouillon, 281.
76. R. Omond, The Apartheid Handbook (Harmondsworth: Penguin 1985), 63, 65; Archer and Bouillon, 170.
77. R. Omond, The Apartheid Handbook (Harmondsworth: Penguin 1985), 63, 65; Archer and Bouillon, 170.
78. D. Brutus, 'The sportsman's choice', in A. La Guma (ed.), Apartheid: A Collection of Writings on South African Racism by South Africans (London: Lawrence and Wishart 1972), 151. Letter from J. N. Elam (Cape Town) to J. B. S. Pedler (Foreign Office, London), 22 March 1966: Public Record Office, Kew, FO 182141.
79. D. Booth, The Race Game: Sport and Politics in South Africa (London: Frank Cass 1998), 144; Archer and Bouillon, 296.
80. D. Booth, The Race Game: Sport and Politics in South Africa (London: Frank Cass 1998), 144; Archer and Bouillon, 296.
81. SA Runner, vol. 2, no. 2, March 1979; SA Runner, vol. 2, no. 8, September 1979.
82. SA Runner, vol. 2, no. 2, March 1979; SA Runner, vol. 2, no. 8, September 1979.
83. SAAJ, vol. 30, 1982, 16.
84. Foreword, SAAJ, vol. 36, 1988, 5; E. Human, Foreword, SAAJ, vol. 38, 1990, 2.
85. Foreword, SAAJ, vol. 36, 1988, 5; E. Human, Foreword, SAAJ, vol. 38, 1990, 2.
86. Letters to SA Runner from: S. Nkalashe (Mmabatho), and J. R. and C. Kriel (Yeoville), August 1983, 30; M. Saayman (Sasolburg), October 1983, 28; D. O'Neill (Johannesburg), August 1983, 29; R. Hauman and a riposte from the editor, November 1983, 26; R. Caldwell (Welkom Harriers), January 1984, 37; V. Maharaj, September 1984, 36; N. Holtzhausen, March 1987, 56; and 'Another Mine Employee' (Welkom), January 1985, 4. P. C. Walsh, 'Comment', SA Runner, July 1984, 3.
87. Letters to SA Runner from: S. Nkalashe (Mmabatho), and J. R. and C. Kriel (Yeoville), August 1983, 30; M. Saayman (Sasolburg), October 1983, 28; D. O'Neill (Johannesburg), August 1983, 29; R. Hauman and a riposte from the editor, November 1983, 26; R. Caldwell (Welkom Harriers), January 1984, 37; V. Maharaj, September 1984, 36; N. Holtzhausen, March 1987, 56; and 'Another Mine Employee' (Welkom), January 1985, 4. P. C. Walsh, 'Comment', SA Runner, July 1984, 3.
88. Letters to SA Runner from: S. Nkalashe (Mmabatho), and J. R. and C. Kriel (Yeoville), August 1983, 30; M. Saayman (Sasolburg), October 1983, 28; D. O'Neill (Johannesburg), August 1983, 29; R. Hauman and a riposte from the editor, November 1983, 26; R. Caldwell (Welkom Harriers), January 1984, 37; V. Maharaj, September 1984, 36; N. Holtzhausen, March 1987, 56; and 'Another Mine Employee' (Welkom), January 1985, 4. P. C. Walsh, 'Comment', SA Runner, July 1984, 3.
89. Letters to SA Runner from: S. Nkalashe (Mmabatho), and J. R. and C. Kriel (Yeoville), August 1983, 30; M. Saayman (Sasolburg), October 1983, 28; D. O'Neill (Johannesburg), August 1983, 29; R. Hauman and a riposte from the editor, November 1983, 26; R. Caldwell (Welkom Harriers), January 1984, 37; V. Maharaj, September 1984, 36; N. Holtzhausen, March 1987, 56; and 'Another Mine Employee' (Welkom), January 1985, 4. P. C. Walsh, 'Comment', SA Runner, July 1984, 3.
90. Letters to SA Runner from: S. Nkalashe (Mmabatho), and J. R. and C. Kriel (Yeoville), August 1983, 30; M. Saayman (Sasolburg), October 1983, 28; D. O'Neill (Johannesburg), August 1983, 29; R. Hauman and a riposte from the editor, November 1983, 26; R. Caldwell (Welkom Harriers), January 1984, 37; V. Maharaj, September 1984, 36; N. Holtzhausen, March 1987, 56; and 'Another Mine Employee' (Welkom), January 1985, 4. P. C. Walsh, 'Comment', SA Runner, July 1984, 3.
91. Letters to SA Runner from: S. Nkalashe (Mmabatho), and J. R. and C. Kriel (Yeoville), August 1983, 30; M. Saayman (Sasolburg), October 1983, 28; D. O'Neill (Johannesburg), August 1983, 29; R. Hauman and a riposte from the editor, November 1983, 26; R. Caldwell (Welkom Harriers), January 1984, 37; V. Maharaj, September 1984, 36; N. Holtzhausen, March 1987, 56; and 'Another Mine Employee' (Welkom), January 1985, 4. P. C. Walsh, 'Comment', SA Runner, July 1984, 3.
92. Letters to SA Runner from: S. Nkalashe (Mmabatho), and J. R. and C. Kriel (Yeoville), August 1983, 30; M. Saayman (Sasolburg), October 1983, 28; D. O'Neill (Johannesburg), August 1983, 29; R. Hauman and a riposte from the editor, November 1983, 26; R. Caldwell (Welkom Harriers), January 1984, 37; V. Maharaj, September 1984, 36; N. Holtzhausen, March 1987, 56; and 'Another Mine Employee' (Welkom), January 1985, 4. P. C. Walsh, 'Comment', SA Runner, July 1984, 3.
93. Letters to SA Runner from: S. Nkalashe (Mmabatho), and J. R. and C. Kriel (Yeoville), August 1983, 30; M. Saayman (Sasolburg), October 1983, 28; D. O'Neill (Johannesburg), August 1983, 29; R. Hauman and a riposte from the editor, November 1983, 26; R. Caldwell (Welkom Harriers), January 1984, 37; V. Maharaj, September 1984, 36; N. Holtzhausen, March 1987, 56; and 'Another Mine Employee' (Welkom), January 1985, 4. P. C. Walsh, 'Comment', SA Runner, July 1984, 3.
94. Letters to SA Runner from: S. Nkalashe (Mmabatho), and J. R. and C. Kriel (Yeoville), August 1983, 30; M. Saayman (Sasolburg), October 1983, 28; D. O'Neill (Johannesburg), August 1983, 29; R. Hauman and a riposte from the editor, November 1983, 26; R. Caldwell (Welkom Harriers), January 1984, 37; V. Maharaj, September 1984, 36; N. Holtzhausen, March 1987, 56; and 'Another Mine Employee' (Welkom), January 1985, 4. P. C. Walsh, 'Comment', SA Runner, July 1984, 3.
95. B. Rose, 'I don't believe it', SA Runner, September 1987, 37. It was later pointed out that the course, which had a 46-metre drop, over twice the acceptable gradient, had disqualified the record but this was probably not known at the time; letters to SA Runner from D. Olivier (Kloof), January 1988, 57, and A. Leary (Mowbray), December 1988, 40.
96. B. Rose, 'I don't believe it', SA Runner, September 1987, 37. It was later pointed out that the course, which had a 46-metre drop, over twice the acceptable gradient, had disqualified the record but this was probably not known at the time; letters to SA Runner from D. Olivier (Kloof), January 1988, 57, and A. Leary (Mowbray), December 1988, 40.
97. B. Rose, 'I don't believe it', SA Runner, September 1987, 37. It was later pointed out that the course, which had a 46-metre drop, over twice the acceptable gradient, had disqualified the record but this was probably not known at the time; letters to SA Runner from D. Olivier (Kloof), January 1988, 57, and A. Leary (Mowbray), December 1988, 40.