Charlie Robbins Remembered By Ted Corbitt

Remembering Louis “Lou” White (1908 – 1990) – A Renaissance Sportsman

United States track coaches in the mid-20th century steered Black athletes into sprinting and away from distance running.  Young Black runners would look at the starting line of a 5,000 or 10,000-meter race and internalize the idea that Black people don’t run distance.

I created the Black Running History Timeline (1880 – 1979) ( https://tedcorbitt.com/black-running-history-timeline-1880-1979/(opens in new tab)) to both dispel this myth and show that my father Ted Corbitt wasn’t the first great Black long distance running champion.  In fact, my father’s New York Pioneer Club teammate Lou White served as a forerunner and inspiration to him. Lou achieved the highest finish (third place) ever for a Black American at the national championship Yonkers Marathon in 1946, 1949 and Boston Marathon in 1949.  Jacob Fredericks fine dissertation “Great Speed & Great Stamina: A History of Black American Long Distance Road Runners, 1942-1969” points out that Lou White was the first Black American to represent the United States in the marathon in international competition.  He competed in the Little Olympics held in 1949, Oslo, Norway.

In 1954, Ted Corbitt became the first Black American to win a United States Marathon Championship at the marathon.  Lou White had an opportunity to achieve this milestone eight years earlier in 1946.  Here’s Charley Robbins’ thoughts on that race at Yonkers.

“Cote, Kelley, Lou White and I ran together from 12 miles to 15 miles.  Lou was the most fresh, but he had never done this well in a big race, so was rather awed with Cote and Kelley.  Joe Yancey tried to tell him that they were dying, but he couldn’t believe it, so he dropped back.  So, this Yonkers was the one Lou White missed due to being bluffed by two of the best in the business.”

The only time I’ve ever rode on a motorcycle was when Lou rode me home from Van Cortlandt Park.  I also recall seeing Lou playing intense handball games at Van Cortlandt Park courts.  He would have been in his mid to upper 50s.  John Garlepp told me years later that he would be hustling people on the handball court.  Here’s how Charley Robbins remembered this.

“Lou would innocently come up to some tough fellows playing handball and ask if he could play, too.  Then of course, he would get a little tired.  Then he would be asked if he ever played for money.  Of course after many games he would win and the money all warmed up for the next group.”

From the seminal 1969 book the term Long Slow Distance (LSD) was coined by Joe Henderson.  The book profiles these athletes (Amby Burfoot, Bob Deines, Tom Osler, Ed Winrow, and Jeff Kroot).  They used this training concept of running a good number of miles at comfortable paces and less time doing high intensity track workouts. 

 In a 1978 letter from Aldo Scandurra to Fred Lebow where Aldo took Fred to school about the history of NYRR he said the following:

“With respect to long slow distance running, the first person to do this correctly was Lou White of the Pioneer Club.  He preceded Winrow, Burfoot, and others.”

I wrote the following profile in 2014. 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aSZ_CNC6bbSdd47_N3QqjUSO1YZDQvTk/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=116658119848466024296&rtpof=true&sd=true(opens in new tab)

Lou White (1908 – 1990)

African American Great Long Distance Runner

A Renaissance Sportsman

By Gary Corbitt - 2014

“I always thought of Lou White as nature’s nobleman. He was a gentleman of the world and had many interests, of which running was only one. Lou’s lifestyle was to sweep out a bar daily just to keep some regular income, then was free to play handball for side bets, to ice skate, read, or do whatever he wished. I think he did some art work. Lou was 5’ 5’’ muscular, bespectacled, and dressed in the manner of an artist. After finishing third in the Boston Marathon one year, he spent the rest of the afternoon playing handball.” Charlie Robbins, MD

Lou White studied journalism at New York University until he dropped out because of the depression. Lou worked at odd jobs, favoring a simple life. Among other things, he washed windows, delivered telephone books, and worked as a handyman. He worked as Recreation Director for the Department of Parks, starting in 1950. He next worked at Lincoln Hospital first in the Emergency Room and then in the records department. Lou retired in 1975. A serious jazz fan, Lou also found work annually at the Newport Jazz Festival.

From 1941 to 1957, White competed in the Metropolitan one-mile speed skating championships. In 1946 he was Metropolitan One Mile Speed Skating Champion. He excelled in such diversified sports as handball, soccer, swimming and ice skating. His entire life he competed in handball and racquetball tournaments, always placing first or second in the district. Queried about paddle tennis, he laughs, “it took tennis star Bobby Riggs to eliminate me in the Metropolitan tournament.” In 1949, he took third prize in a national photo contest with impressive shots of his Vermont travels. He also published some fiction and nonfiction articles.

Lou did his first competitive running for the New York Pioneer Club (NYPC) from 1945 – 1948. He moved to Boston and represented the Boston Athletic Association for two years. He returned to New York City and the NYPC in 1950. Lou first victory was in 1945 in a 5-mile race at Poughkeepsie. He captured the Metropolitan Marathon crown in 1946 at Yonkers. He won the Jr. National 25K title in 1947. Between 1948 – 1951, Lou won New England titles at 15K (twice) and 20K. He was also Metropolitan 25K Champion and a member of the 1950 NYPC national marathon team championship.

In 1949, Lou finished third in the Boston Marathon in 2:36:48. He may have been the fastest black marathoner in history up to that time. He followed up his Boston race with a third-place finish also at the national championship race at Yonkers. After winning the National AAU 15K Championship in 1950 and 1951, he was named to the U.S. All American Track & Field Team. Lou was a two time National Champion at 10 miles in 1950 and 1951. His time in 1951 was 49:51. He was inducted into the Road Runners Club of America Hall of Fame in 1984. Lou was a charter member of the New York Road Runners Club in 1958. 

During the 1970s and 1980s Lou White manually score road races in the New York City area. He would be joined by his contemporary competitors Harry Murphy and Joe Kleinerman.

In 1988 Lou White told New York Running News: “You should pursue your dreams no matter what obstacles you may encounter. Talent and hard work are necessary for success.” 

John Chodes wrote a profile on Lou for the Winter 1962 issue of Road Runners Club: New York Association’s Newsletter:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1E1VikDo58nXQWAU5-YYKcu8yZ1LsG85r/view?usp=sharing(opens in new tab)

Here’s a sampling of some of Lou White’s road races between 1948 – 1951:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hmXJwKebu7fdF56WQbMeKu_iMlJmceGQ/view?usp=sharing(opens in new tab)

Lou was part of two New York Pioneer Club marathon team titles.

1950 National Champions: Lou White, Harry Murphy, and John Sterner.

1952 Boston Marathon Champions: Ted Corbitt, Sevki Koru, and Lou White.

Gary Corbitt

Archivist: Theodore Corbitt Institute

Follow other History Timeline Profiles Here:

https://tedcorbitt.com/definitive-history-timeline/

September 5, 2026

Notes:

1946 Yonkers Marathon Photo: L to R: John A. Kelley, Lou White, Gerald Cote, Charley Robbins

Charley Robbins Scrapbook

Ted Corbitt Archives

Runners World – Long Slow Distance, April 1984

Aldo Scandurra Letter to Fred Lebow, 1978

Road Runners Club: New York Association Newsletter, Winter-1962

Track & Field News

Jacob Fredericks 2022 Dissertation