Track and field lost one of its greatest advocates and fans with the passing of Ed Grant, a long-time journalist who covered the sport at all levels and was a regular at many of the Northeast's major events for seven decades. Grant, 94, died May 4 in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, and he leaves a legacy as a widely respected writer who attended more than 140 editions of the Penn Relays and Millrose Games in his lengthy career. He was the unofficial historian of New Jersey track and field, with more than 80 years of involvement in the sport beginning in 1938 as he attended his first meet at age 12. After competing in track and field as a high schooler at Jersey City's St. Peter's Prep, Grant went on to St. Peter's College, and in 1946 he attended his first of 74 consecutive Penn Relays. Starting in 1945, he was present at more than 70 straight Millrose Games. His work as a journalist included stints at the Jersey Journal, Newark News and the Star-Ledger, and he also put in more than 30 years at the Archdiocese of Newark's paper, the Advocate. In addition to newspaper work, Grant was a regular contributor to Track & Field News magazine and he published the New Jersey Track and Field Annual and monthly newsletter for more than 40 years. An inaugural member of the National High School Track & Field Hall of Fame, Grant was honored by the Penn Relays with the Jesse Abrahamson Award, and the Armory in New York City presented him with the Stan Saplin Award, both of which recognize journalists who have shown a devotion to track and field. Grant and his wife, Catherine, were married for 63 years until her death in 2014, and they had four children. Services are scheduled for May 17 at Our Lady of Peace Church, 111 South Street, New Providence, New Jersey. Visitation will be held May 16 at the Ippolito Funeral Home, 7 Summit Ave., in Summit, New Jersey.
Bob Bowman passed away January 19, 2021 following complications from Parkinson disease and a broken hip. Bowman served as Secretary for the U.S. Race Walk Committee for over 15 years and annually updated the USA Race Walk Handbook (1982 – 2003) and historical data on race walk performances. While he only competed as an athlete for a few years, he frequently finished in the top six at race walk national championships, and in 1963 he won the 35k U.S. title. Bowman was also active in race walk at the international level. He was a member of the World Athletics (previously IAAF) Race Walk Committee from 1980 to 2008 and served as Chairman from 1992 to 2000. He was instrumental in helping write multiple versions of the Rules of Race Walking as well as the Race Walk Officials Handbook. He also oversaw the creation of the first Race Walk Judge evaluation protocol. In 1991, Bowman served as CEO and Director for the IAAF Race Walk World Cup, held in San Jose, California. The California native spent his high school years at Pomona Catholic, followed by Loyola University and graduate work at USC and Santa Clara University. He went on to have a successful professional career as a Senior Reliability Engineer at companies such as JPL, Boeing, and Amdahl. In addition to his race-walking passion, Bowman enjoyed stamp collecting and car restoring. Bowman is survived by Gail Porter Bowman who he married in 2003 on Mercer Island, Washington. He is also survived by stepdaughters, Colleen Gabalis (Leo) from Snohomish, Washington and Elena Breese (Paul) from Post Falls, Idaho and 13 grandchildren - Victor, Rose, Marie, Henry, Claire, Margaret, Louisa, Imelda, Maria, Pius, Benedict, Anne and Clement.