High Jumper Catherine Maguire Brought Olympic Fever to Pacific in 1928

The Olympic games in Japan seem to dominate the news and the world wide web, but Olympic fever got it start in our town in 1928 when Pacific High School high jumper Catherine Maguire was on the U.S. track and field team for the Olympic games in Amsterdam.

It was the first Olympics that women were allowed to compete in track and field.

Six years earlier the Amateur Athletic Union opened track and field events to women. Catherine and her sisters Anna and Irene – along with Bunny Beth Scott and Jennie Glaze kept Pacific High School undefeated in girls’ track meets for five years.

The girls broke records and won medals in the 60, 70 and 100 yard dash, the high jump, standing broad jump, running broad jump, shotput, 60 yard hurdles and baseball throw. 

PHS principal and coach Walter Leezy could see that Catherine excelled and urged her to pick one event to concentrate on. She chose high jumping and began practicing every day jumping the fence at her family farm south of town. Coach Leezy shook his head. Jumping the farm fence wasn’t going to get it. He built a regulation jump pit in the high school yard, put up poles to hold a bar that could rise with Catherine’s skill and a sand box to provide soft landings. She got better and better.

July, 1926 at an A.A.U. women’s track and field meet in Philadelphia she broke the women’s national high jump record with a 4 feet 11 1/4 inches jump.

In June 1927 as Captain of the Pacific team she upped the ante, taking the U.S. record with a jump of 4 feet 11 1/2 inches.

In September she topped her own record and topped five feet with a jump of 5 feet and 1/2 inch in Eureka, California. She returned home to compete in the Caledonia Games in St. Louis where she and her sisters Anna and Irene all won medals.

By then all the PHS girl athletics were stars and Catherine was a Super Star. The following day the town of Pacific and the surrounding towns celebrated their return home with a parade of  50 “gaily decorated,” cars. The procession ended at the school where there were speeches. The girls were presented with gifts and medals. The local newspaper printed a two-column length story listing their wins from 1920 to 1927.

The girls said they were humbled by the outpouring. It was only the beginning.

In March 1928, banner headlines noted that Cathering Maguire and Bunny Beth Scott, “high jump marvels,” would start training for trials for a chance to compete in the 1928 Olympic games in Amsterdam.

Catherine made the U.S. team and on July 11 sailed for Amsterdam. She was one of 19 members of the U.S. women’s team. One St. Louis girl, Dee Boeckmann also made the team. Another banner headline with Caherine’s photo, proclaimed her the most outstanding girl athlete in Franklin Count.

In the Olympic games, Catherine came in fifth in the world. Although she did not win a medal, she was still a local hero. When the ship bringing the athletes home reached New York City, Mayor Jimmy Walker presented each athlete with the proverbial key to the city.

In Pacific a crowd of 75 people assembled at Union Station in St. Louis to await her arrival. A parade took Catherine and Dee Boeckmann on an hour-long parade over St. Louis. The following evening the two athletes were presented to the people of St. Louis at the Lowe State Theater where a news reels showed their performance in the Olympic games.

On Friday, August 31 the town of Pacific gathered in the basement of the Presbyterial Church where both girls talked about the Olympic games and their boat trip across the Atlantic.

Catherine continued to compete. In June 1932 she broke the national high jump record in the Concordia Gymnastic Society track meet in Maplewood with a jump of 5 feet 2 1/2 inches.

She later became an elementary school teacher. After marrying, she and her husband had one child, who died as an infant. They then served as foster parents to 13 children waiting for adoption.