Rex Trulove
People who achieve exceptional excellence should be lauded and such a man was Larry Lewis. You’ve never heard of Larry Lewis? Well, sit back in that chair right there and let me tell you about his excellence.
Larry was a runner. In fact, Larry wasn’t just a runner, he was a fantastic sprinter. In 1968, Larry set the world record for the 100-yard dash, running it in a time of just 17.8 seconds. Okay, some of you might be wondering how that could possibly be a world record when quite a few people have run the same distance in half the time. You might wonder how running 100-yards in less than 18 seconds is exceptional, even granting that many of us, myself included, can’t do it.
Yes, many people have run the 100-yard dash in far less time than 17.3 seconds. However, you see, Larry was said to have been born in 1867. When he set the record, he was reported to be 101 years old. It is the fastest time in the 100-yard dash for a person over 100 years of age. That isn’t the end of the story, though.
As it turns out, Larry Lewis was actually Larry Goldstein. According to his draft records from WWI, he was born in April of 1886, in London, England. When he ran the 100-yard dash in 17.3 seconds, he was ‘only’ 82 years old. Larry also worked for Harry Houdini for a time, but quit in 1917 when he got married to his first wife. He outlived his first and his second wives.
Larry was still exceptional. How many 82-year-olds do you know that can run the 100-yard dash in less than 20 seconds? For that matter, how many 82-year-olds do you know who can run the 100-yard dash?
In interviews, Larry said that there was really no secret to it. He ate whatever he wanted, though not too much of anything, and he drank a lot of water. If there was a secret, it was simply that he liked to run and did a lot of running and jogging.
Larry is long since dead now, but he still deserves a hat’s off. Living to be over 80 deserves recognition. Being able to run when you are over 80 deserves more recognition. Running a 100-dash at over 80 is amazing. That isn’t even counting the fact that he was a devoted husband to two wives, literally until ‘death do us part’.
Hello. I’m a magician and Houdini buff who is in the process of researching Larry Lewis. There are several inaccuracies in this article.
First, Larry Lewis was not really Larry Goldstein. His real name was Larry Lewis, and he was born in New York on June 25, 1867 (according to the CA Death Index) or 1871 (according to the federal Social Security Death Index). Walter B. Gibson, a writer and friend of Houdini, had the mistaken impression Larry’s real name was Larry Goldstein, who was really George Brooks, who apparently once really did assist Houdini. The Gibson account was retold many times over the years, but there’s absolutely no evidence to support the claim that Larry Lewis was Houdini’s assistant.
Second, there’s no mention of Larry Lewis in any of Houdini’s biographies or diary entries (that I know of). And the only newspaper accounts that exist are stories about Larry himself. I couldn’t find anything in Houdini’s day that mentioned Larry, who claimed Houdini died onstage in his arms in 1927. Houdini died in a Detroit hospital in 1926, and we already know who was in the room during Houdini’s final moments; it certainly wasn’t Larry.
Third, Larry’s age at the time he ran the 100-yard dash, which he did more than once in at least 1968 and 1969, was between 97 and 102, depending on which death-index record is correct. Newspapers at the time all reported that Larry was born in 1867, and apparently that was verified by the Board of Supervisors of San Francisco County dated June 24, 1963 (Larry had a certificate from that board on his wall, according to one reporter).
Lastly, accounts of the 100-yard dash at the time didn’t mention anything about it being a world record. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was, but I’d like to see evidence of it to be sure. In 1968, he ran the dash in 17.8 seconds and bested his time by 0.5 seconds in 1969, finishing the dash in 17.3 seconds.
In any case, Larry Lewis seemed to be quite an interesting man and definitely an inspiration for young and old runners alike. He died on February 1, 1974, of liver cancer.
Nice and informative post. Thanks for sharing
I’m glad that you liked it.
I learned things I never knew. If I ever make to 100 it will be crawling, no probably rolling on the floor.
I feel the same way. I’m over halfway there, but I have trouble walking a block.