Landers & Loomis: Oregons Olympians, Landers & Loomis: Oregons Olympians

In September 2024, Sherman George Landers and Frank Farmer Loomis, Jr., became charter inductees of the Oregon Community Unit School District (OCUSD) 220’s Athletic Hall of Fame. The induction to the Athletic Hall of Fame was not the first time OCUSD 220 had honored Landers and Loomis. Oregon High School named its stadium “Landers-Loomis Field” in their honor in the mid-1970s. Many great athletes have competed on this field over the decades. However, none has matched the athletic accomplishments of either Landers or Loomis. In 1916, Landers and Loomis made up Oregon (Ill.) High School’s track and field team and made newspaper headlines throughout the United States. They won 13 scholastic meets during their senior of high school. In addition, Landers set a high school record of 12’ 8” in the pole vault. This was during the bamboo pole era. After high school, they went their separate ways but were reunited for the Seventh Olympiad in Antwerp, Belgium, in 1920. The Sixth Olympiad, scheduled to take place in Berlin in 1916, was canceled due to World War I. In addition to being the first Olympics after World War I, the Seventh Olympiad featured a few other firsts. The Olympic flag was introduced at the Antwerp Games with its five interlaced rings representing the union of the five continents and the meeting of athletes worldwide. The Antwerp Games were also the first to feature the reading of the Olympic oath and the release of doves, a symbol of peace. Landers placed fifth in the hop, skip, and jump (triple jump) at the Seventh Olympiad and defeated a former world record holder in that event. Loomis won a gold medal in the 400-meter hurdles and set a world record of 54 seconds. Landers & Loomis: Oregon’s Olympians tells the story of how and where the athletes met and became friends, how they came to compete for Oregon High School, and their lives both on and off the track field.