Stephen Seymour - Lucky Discoveries About My Father

Dr. Stephen Seymour, Olympic champion 

silver medalist, London 1948

(Please note  the two important links listed below in blue)

Just days ago one of the most extraordinary events of my life occurred.

 It was a connection that happened due to today’s electronic age,

 but also something that was triggered by a man’s passion for the javelin.

Kevin McGill received my contact information after reading a post I had

written on my blog See More Worlds, about  my father Stephen Seymour. 

My dad had been  an  silver medalist winner in the 1948 London

 Olympics in the javelin throw.

Kevin wrote me a long letter in which he told me that he had run across 

my dad’s javelin exploits in Modern Track and Field, a book by

 Ken Doherty. He quoted from my father’s javelin clinic in 1949, 

in front of the national College Track Coaches. Around that 

time there was an article on my father in Strength and Health 

(which he is trying to locate). The following quote interested Kevin,

 which was a postscript of my father’s:

“One mustn’t think of the javelin as  a minor sport,

like curling or anything. The javelin represents

 the glory of Greece and it symbolizes man’s search

 for his primitive ancestral identity.

 I can blink my eyes and look out at a javelin thrower

 and see tens of thousands of warriors marching 

across the field and I can hear the voices of antiquity. 

No, the javelin isn’t some minor sport. It is classic.

 It is beauty. It is excellence. It is immortality.”

(Steve Seymour, 1948 Olympic Games silver medal winner

 (Kirshenbaum 1969, p401)

Kevin McGill himself is a former javelin thrower who never

 lost interest in the event in nearly 60 years. He had coached 

at Columbia, and currently  assists several javelin throwers

 in college and high school. Regarding the above quote he writes:

 “It seems to me that the current track and field world

 needs to be reminded of this quote, and the terrific 

accomplishment of your father.”

He continued : “He was the first US thrower to go to Finland in search

 of how they threw and trained. I was lucky to find a video of him

 throwing in the 1948 Olympics, in the middle of a video in Finnish

 on the winner. He was already a good technician, much better

 than any American, until Bud Held came around. “

“Here is a guy who basically started

 modern American javelin throwing.

 The current coaches and athletes 

should learn more about this terrific athlete!!”

Kevin’s second letter contained the link to this video.

First, I will say that while in Los Angeles last year, I desperately

 tried to save an old movie reel from the 1940’s that had been packed

 away in a blanket, in my parents’ garage. It  included faded and 

unrepairable clips of my dad. The film itself was a fire hazard and

 had already “burned” through the round metal container it had been 

stored in. The most I could do was to take a video of the faded film,

 and some artistic photographs.You can barely see the subject matter,

 but one could see an arm and a javelin that had to be my father’s. I

 went to the fire department to find out about the danger of this kind 

of film, and eventually a Los Angeles agency came to pick 

up the film  and then disposed of it safely.

The  following link  shows my father at about 4:32

 competing in the 1948 Olympics.

https://youtu.be/_hMGcSJGlKk

In mailing me this video Kevin writes

“ The speaker is the gold medalist. I would love

 to know what he said about your dad!!”

I too was curious to know, and got in touch

 with a friend on Facebook, Aras.who I knew to be from

Finland! He and his Finnish wife kindly sent me the

 translation of this Olympian winner’s words, which were

 emotional to hear and learn about at this time in my life:

“If anyone can shoot longer, then he should be the best. 

There was a guy from California, Doctor Seymour, who was

 in better shape than me. But he had bad luck. In the London 

Olympic Games the wrong man won the title! Seymour was 

much better than me but he didn’t have luck and he lost

 because of throwing just three meters short.”

I reflected on this comment of the first place winner. It was a very
 different world one time!! He actually admitted to the public of being
 the wrong man! I can imagine my father’s disappointment to not have
 had a “lucky” day. I wonder now if he every was knowledgeable about
 the words of  this winner, I imagine so.I was very impressed by this 
first place winner's honesty and generosity in saying and admitting that
 he should not have won. Times have definitely changed in the world of 
sports, and not only! I also am curious to know whether a painting that
 I found in my parents’ house, a painting from Finland was bought
 by my father or perhaps it was a gift from someone
 in Finland. This will be almost impossible to know.

Supposedly the winner went on, said the translator of the video, 

 to be a very successful actor and singer in Finland. His songs are

 still sung to children to lull them to sleep at night. My dad had

 told me that he himself had been asked to play the role of 

Tarzan once....I never knew whether to believe him or not,

 but after hearing of this athlete becoming an actor, perhaps

 this is what happened to well-known athletes once they

 won....Hollywood got ahold of them!

A day or two later Kevin sent me yet another link. 

This time an even more detailed one, a “guide” to the 

rules of throwing the javelin, with my father as a very 

young man, demonstrating. Possibly this film was 

created by the military, as Kevin wrote. They

 refer to my father as “Captain”. Here is this link:

https://youtu.be/SuRSqAVOdJg

On a personal note, to see my father, run, jump, throw, and

 to see his facial expressions, after so many years (he died in 1973),

 was more than emotionally moving.

I am very happy to share this story with you.

 For me it is definitely a highlight of my life.

It is also a bittersweet story, since my mother

 just passed away last year and I  am sure she would 

have been thrilled to see these videos of her first

 husband in his younger years. 

As this story proves, even later on in life, there is 
always the possibility to have wonderful surprises
 happen. And usually these special things happen due
 to special people who have a passion for life,
 and in this case,a true passion for sports.