Object of the Week: Melvin Dalton Olympic Qualifying Medal and Certificate

Mel Dalton – Olympic Medal of Merit
medal
2 3/16″ diameter
1928
2020.05.0001
Department of Archives and Special Collections, Seton Hall University

 

This Olympic qualifying medal and certificate were presented to Seton Hall University alumnus, Melvin Joseph Dalton, a member of the United States Olympic Team for the 1928 Amsterdam Summer Olympics.  Dalton ranked first place at the Olympic trials on Travers Island (Pelham), New York in the steeplechase run, making him eligible to compete in the summer Olympics that same year.  In the 1928 Olympic Games, he came in seventh place in the steeplechase, a grueling 3,000-meter obstacle race in which runners jump over four hurdles and a water pit.  Dalton’s personal best in the Steeplechase event had him clocking in at 9 minutes, 33 seconds.  Three Finnish runners took the gold, silver and bronze medals: Toivo Loukola, Paavo Nurmi and Ove Anderson.  Toivo Loukola set a new world record at 9 minutes 21 seconds – 12 seconds faster than Dalton’s personal best.  The men’s 3000-meter steeplechase event at the 1928 Olympic Games took place on August 1 and August 4.

Mel Dalton – Olympic Certificate of Merit, certificate, 5 11/16” x 7 11/16”, June 17, 1928, 2020.05.0002, Department of Archives and Special Collections
Mel Dalton – Olympic Certificate of Merit, certificate, 5 11/16” x 7 11/16”, June 17, 1928, 2020.05.0002, Department of Archives and Special Collections

The Amsterdam Olympic Games of 1928 were officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad.  These games saw the participation of 2883 athletes from 46 countries competing in 109 events.  Athletes from twenty-eight nations won gold medals, a record which would stand for forty years, and it was the first time women were allowed to compete in athletics and gymnastics events. Women would not be allowed to compete in the Olympic steeplechase event until 2008 – 80 years after Dalton’s Olympic competition.  The 1928 games also witnessed the first lighting of the Olympic flame at an opening ceremony, as well as the establishment of the protocol of Greek athletes entering the stadium first, with host nation athletes entering last.

For video footage of the 1928 Steeplechase event in which Dalton ran, click here.

A native of Newark, New Jersey, Dalton attended Seton Hall from 1925 to 1929 and was later inducted into the University’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 1980.  Dalton ran track for Seton Hall as a student, and in 1925 was undefeated in all his college cross-country races and 2-miles track races. Dalton would later become a member of the priest community.

Black and white image of alumnus Melvin Dalton in his Seton Hall track uniform, in a stance so he appears ready to run
Photo of Melvin Dalton in uniform, Galleon Yearbook, Class of 1927, pg. 115

 

Object of the Month – #37 Wool Baseball Uniform

#37 Wool Baseball Uniform
wool flannel
mid-20th century
2019.04.0001, 2019.04.0002
Gift of the Smith Family

This wool flannel, short-sleeved Seton Hall University baseball uniform was in use in the 1950s. It was purchased locally from Crelin’s Sport Shops, located at 491 Valley Street in Maplewood, New Jersey. The shop was known for having “Anything in Sports.” While the school colors remain the same, uniforms are now made of polyester. Uniforms today are similar in style, though pants are not cinched at the ankle and knee-length pants are sometimes worn. The baseball program at Seton Hall has had an active presence on campus since its establishment in 1853 and twenty-nine of its players have gone on to play in the major leagues.