If I had a hammer

IF I HAD A HAMMER

Decades ago, in the glory days of track and field, the hammer was a very popular event in the United States, with more than 20 states fielding high school teams in the discipline. Nearly half that number carry the hammer as a high school sport now. Little Rhody has a long history of exceptional hammer throwers and even Olympians. Fred Tootell was instrumental in the coaching of the great hammer throwers in Rhode Island at Rhode Island State. He competed in the hammer for the United States in the 1924 Summer Olympics held in Paris where he won the gold medal. Tootell was affiliated with the Boston Athletic Association. After Irish-born athletes had won the gold in the hammer throw for the United States for five straight Olympics, he became the first American-born athlete to do so.

Henry Dreyer, a Hope High School footballer, never tried weight throwing until he was a freshman at Rhode Island State (now URI). Under the tutelage of Tootell, Dreyer blossomed as an athlete despite a childhood injury that left him unable to straighten his left arm. Dreyer was a seven-letterman in track and football and captain of the track team. He was the NCAA hammer champion in 1934 and in 1935 he was chosen as the senior who had done the most for his college. He participated in the 1936 and 1948 Olympics (the only person to make both teams) and placed 9th in both games. He was also a prolific weight thrower holding three world records in the 35-lb and 56-lb weight throws. He was also the 56-lb weight titleholder six times and 35-lb weight champion 10 times. He was selected for the Helms Foundation honorary Olympic teams in 1940 and 1944. Later for the New York AC (NYAC), he won 20 AAU titles including the hammer throw in 1935 and 1943-45. He later became President of the NYAC, and was inducted into the Helms Hall of Fame, the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame in 1968 and URI Athletic Hall of Fame in 1973.

Bob Bennett was track star at Cranston High School. He made 1936 All-Interscholastic in the discus and 1937 Honorable Mention in the Hammer & Discus. He was also All-Interscholastic in football at fullback (1935) and quarterback (1936). He went on to the University of Maine where he was a national champion hammer thrower and named to the All-American team in 1940. He won the IC4A in 1939 and 1940 and topped the National rankings in 1940 with a new collegiate record of 183-10¾ (56.05). Bennett missed the next five seasons (during the war), but made a comeback in 1946. In 1947, while this time attending Brown University, he was again the top ranked thrower in the U.S and set a hammer throw record in 1948. He set the Brown track record of 179’8″ and was again the national champion and earned All-American honors. Bennett won the AAU and IC4A in 1947 and the AAU again in 1948. He also won the IC4A 35-lb. weight throw in 1947. In 1947 he was voted Outstanding Amateur Athlete in New England and was nominated for the Sullivan Award given to the national's top amateur athlete. At the 1948 London Olympics he edged Sam Felton, formerly of Harvard, out of third place by a mere three inches for the bronze medal. Bennett later became an assistant track coach and assistant athletic director at Brown after coaching at West Point. He was inducted in the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame in 1968 and the University of Maine Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.

Bob "Big Moon" Taylor was a four-year standout track & field performer from 1951-55 at URI for coach Fred Tootell. After notching a second-place finish in the hammer throw at the Yankee Conference Championship as a freshman, he won the event as a sophomore and again as a junior. In addition, he was the starting offensive tackle on the football team. In 1955, Taylor proved himself one of the top hammer throwers in the country when he set a Yankee Conference record with a throw of 172-2.00, topping the existing mark by more than 12 feet. Taylor followed that performance by winning the event and setting a new collegiate record at the prestigious Penn Relays. He was an Olympic Trials Qualifier in 1956 and also won the Silver Medal at the Armed Forces All-Service Meet and a Gold Medal in the First Army Track & Field Meet. He was inducted into the URI Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003.

Dr. Paul Narcessian was also introduced to the hammer throw by Fred Tootell. Narcessian was a member of the track teams from 1929-32. In 1989, at the age of 77, he entered the Senior Olympics as a hammer thrower. Continuing to participate, he held eight world records and 17 U.S. records at the time. He was inducted into the URI Athletic Hall of Fame in 1987. Paul would pass on his ability to his two sons Dick and Bob.

Dick Narcessian was 1st Team All-State at Woonsocket High in the hammer (1964 & 1965) as well as an All-Division fullback in football. A football and track star at URI who earned 12 letters, was All-America in track (hammer), All-East in football, and Words Unlimited Rhode Island Athlete of the Year in 1970. He was inducted into the URI Athletic Hall of Fame in 1987. Bob Narcessian was 1st Team All-Class hammer thrower (1963) at Woonsocket High before he became a three-time track and field All-American in both the weight and hammer events and earned eight varsity letters at URI while establishing NCAA, Conference, and school records. He won three national titles, the only Ram athlete to do so in 40 years, and coached Brown University track. He was inducted into the URI Athletic Hall of Fame in 1989. The Narcessians are the first to have three representatives from the same family in the URI Athletic Hall of Fame.