Southern California Striders

The Southern California Striders (also SoCal Striders or SC Striders) is a track and field athletics club based in Los Angeles, California. From its foundation in 1955 through the 1980s it was an elite club producing numerous national and Olympic champions. For a time in the 1970s it was called the Tobias Striders for sponsorship reasons. From the 1990s to 2006 the club was restricted to masters athletics and still produces national champions in older age classes. After 2006 it became a nonprofit open to all ages.

The club was formed originally in the fall of 1955 by five elite athletes; Olympic multiple Gold Medalists Mal Whitfield, George Rhoden, silver medalist Meredith C."Flash" Gourdine, NCAA Champions Lang Stanley, and George Brown. In its day it laid claim to being "largest and strongest multiracial track-and-field club in the history of the sport." They were also called a collection "America’s finest Olympic Track and Field Stars."

Between 1957 and 1965 the team won 8 AAU National Team Championships by attracting a who's who of elite track athletes of the day. Among the people to wear the Striders uniform were: Rafer Johnson, Ralph Boston, Bill Toomey,Mike Larrabee,Bob SeagrenJohn Rambo,John Smith,Fortune Gordien,Ronnie Ray Smith, Larry Stewart, Marshall Clark, Otis Burrell, Charles Dumas, Ed Caruthers, Bob Avant,Leon Coleman,Don Quarrie, Adolph Plummer, Chuck Smith,Ulis Williams,Rex Cawley, Wayne Collett, Ralph Mann,Ron Whitney, , Jim Cerveny, Jim Dupree, Jerome Walters, Bob Seaman,Paul Wilson, Ron Morris, Dick Railsback,John Pennel, Dave Volz,Art Walker,Parry O'Brien, Dallas Long,Peter ShmockRink Babka,Ben Plucknett,Ed Burke, Hal ConnollyLarry Young,Mike Manley and Max Truex. All (listed) were USA National Champions, most were also Olympians across the full range of disciplines in the sport. The last of these National Champions appears to be Ben Plucknett, winning his championship in 1981. Plucknett set the still standing United States record in the Discus while wearing the Southern California Striders uniform.

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