Olympian Price is set to be honoured

Tomorrow, a plaque will be unveiled in Somers Square and the drive at the Manor Abbey Stadium will be named after Jack Price, who led the formation of the club.

His story is quite remarkable. Born in Neen Savage, Shropshire in 1884, he moved to Halesowen at the age of 17 and was employed at Stewarts & Lloyds Steel Works, where he spent the rest of his working life.

In 1904, Price was persuaded to enter a walking race from Halesowen, to the Land Oak pub in Kidderminster, and back.

It was a 20-mile round trip, which saw him tackle the Hagley Hill and finish first.

His prize was a suit of clothes worth two pounds, 10 shillings and it proved to be the start of a momentous athletics career.

In his first running race, a seven-mile event in Cradley, he was the first to cross the finish line but the real upswing came in 1906 when he joined Small Heath Harriers.

That year, he ended the National Cross County Championships in fifth and was then selected to represent England in an international race at Newport, where he finished sixth.

Price was understood to have lacked pace and style, but few could match his stamina.

After marrying and starting a family, he sealed qualification for the 1908 Olympic Games in London via the Midlands marathon, which was run from Coventry to West Bromwich – a distance of 25 miles.

Price won the race in just two hours, 37 minutes and 13 seconds, and was one of Britain's 12 representatives for the Olympic marathon to be held from Windsor to White City Stadium.

The 25-mile race was extended by one mile and 385 yards to finish in front of the Royal Box at White City – now the standard marathon distance – and it would be fair to say it did not go as planned for Price.

He set off very quickly, led for over half the distance, but succumbed to the relentless pace he set and pulled out in the 15th mile.

Several stopped and Italian Dorando Pietri was the first to cross the line.

He was disqualified after being helped over by officials though, he did get a special trophy urged on by the Royal family, and American John Hayes won the race.

Price turned professional after his Olympic failure and won the Powderhall Marathon, in Edinburgh, in 1910.

He served the entire First World War in the Royal Garrison Artillery, ran for his unit in the 1919 Polytechnic Marathon and finished sixth with a time of three hours, four minutes and 59 seconds.

In the 1920s, he started a club that was a sub-section of Birchfield Harriers for 20 years before it became the Halesowen Athletics & Cycling Club as it is named today.

He was a coach and was closely linked with the club until his death in 1965.

Bob Fowkes, ex-club president, has been involved with the honouring of Price and said: "Halesowen already has a few blue plaques but this one is going to someone who was a real working man.

"He worked at Stewarts & Lloyds, today's athletes are sponsored but this was a man who just got up and did it. As a coach, he didn't just help the lads who won the races, he would also shout for those who didn't. He got them running, he gave people a sense of self-worth.

"He has got a real legacy, the kids who are there now would not be there.

"If it hadn't have been for him, none of this would have happened.

"It should be a good event, the Mayor of Dudley will be there and James Morris MP. There will be around 14 of his descendants – great grandsons, great grand nephews and nieces – as well.

"It is good for the club, good for the town and good for the borough.

"The history of the club is absolutely tremendous and there's a lot of people who have been down and enjoyed themselves over the years. For Jack's name to come up again is absolutely brilliant.

"They say he was the worst runner for style in the world, but his determination and stamina was unbelievable."