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AROUND THE QUADSIn MemoriamEdgar D. “Dick” Mason, Jr., head track and field coach from 1953–70, died on August 7, 2005, at his home in New Preston, Conn. He was 90. A Pittsburgh native, Mason joined the physical education department in 1948 after coaching track, cross country, wrestling and football at three Pittsburgh-area high schools. After five years as an assistant coach under Carl Merner, Mason became head track and field coach. For much of his Columbia career, he was identified with two other Western Pennsylvanians, football coach Aldo “Buff” Donelli and baseball coach John Balquist. Mason later became v.p. and director of activities at Bankers Trust Co., where he worked until his retirement in 1980.
In May 1989, Mason returned to Baker Field for a testimonial dinner at which he said he took pride in seeing the men he coached become lawyers, doctors and engineers. Following a standing ovation, an alumnus spoke: “It was almost 40 years ago,” said the former runner, “but when I go to sleep, I’m back in the two-mile relay. I still hear Coach Mason hollering, his voice urging me on above the crowd — me, a runner who scored one-half point in four years. Coach Mason took as much interest in those at the back of the pack as he did in his best runners.” Mason was a standout sprinter in high school and at the University of Pittsburgh. He won the 100- and 200-meter races in the 1936 IC4A Championships as a sophomore and the 200-yard dash in 1938, when he was the Panthers’ captain. In 1937, he finished second to Columbia great Ben Johnson ’38 in the IC4A 220 to give the Panthers the team championship over the Lions by just one-half point. Mason competed in the 1936 Olympic Trials, narrowly missing qualifying in both dashes. Mason’s 1965 Columbia team donated the Edgar “Dick” Mason Trophy, which is awarded annually at the Varsity “C” Awards Dinner to a member of the men’s varsity track and field team “who has displayed the qualities of enthusiasm, perseverance and competitive spirit, exemplified by our coach.” The inscription on the trophy notes that it is dedicated “To a gentleman who has always batted 1.000 with us.” Predeceased by his first wife, Myra, who passed away in 1958, and second wife, Edith, who died in 1999, Mason is survived by a son, Edgar, and a granddaughter. CCT received a number of remembrances from Mason’s athletes. Here, a few excerpts: John R. Bashaar ’65, ’67 Bus.: “Coach Mason was like a father to me. My high school coach, Charles Gongloff, was a teammate of Coach at the University of Pittsburgh. Coach sought me out within my first few days on campus and was my mentor from that point on. He was loved by all the track men of my era (1960–65) as well as those of previous eras. Alumni often would come to our meets and events and share their stories with us. I can never repay the kindness and support he gave me during my years at Columbia. His friendship wasn’t confined to track and field. He always was there with words of encouragement when other aspects of life seemed overwhelming. He always believed that champions were made, not born, and he proved the point at Columbia.” Ralph C. Longsworth ’56: “I got to know Coach Mason as a freshman at Columbia in 1952 when I asked him if I could try pole vaulting. The indoor track had been set up on South Lawn and a pole vault runway and pit were set up on the tennis courts, west of Butler Library. I was fascinated watching several vaulters practicing and decided that I would like to try it. Coach Mason immediately took me to the locker room and had Ed Carlson, the trainer, issue me an outfit. … My interest in pole vaulting was firmly established about four weeks later when I won a medal in the freshman division of the NYC College Meet, with a jump of about 10 feet 6 inches. … He was a wonderful person to know, very encouraging and supportive, never critical.” Dr. Glen I. Reeves ’68, ’72 P&S: “I always will remember Coach Mason with fondness. He was a very decent man and, in my opinion, a great coach, spending his time and advice not only with the athletes but with those like me, who would occasionally come in third in the mile in dual meets — if there were only two other guys racing! That, to me, is the mark of a great man and a great coach. I always will remember the time I was in a mile race on the outdoor wood track in Morningside Park … each lap, Coach Mason would say, ‘Come on, Glen, you can get him!’ I never did. But when the race was over … he patted me on the back (I was leaning over, half dead) and said, ‘Way to go, Glen! That was a terrific race!’ or words to that effect. He was genuinely extremely pleased (and probably more than a little surprised) that I had turned in a personal best. And I was proud to have been associated with such a man, who cared enough to bring out the best in even a mediocre athlete.”
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