Jimmy Reardon, a pioneer of the Villanova track & field "Irish Pipeline" and a prominent figure in Ireland's athletics history, passed away Thursday afternoon in a Dublin hospital at the age of 93. His life will be celebrated at a funeral mass on Monday, June 24 at 11 a.m. at Leopardstown Park Hospital, Dublin 18.
Reardon competed for Ireland at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London and soon after came to the United States where he became the first of what is now 30 track & field athletes from Ireland who have competed for Villanova. Beyond this distinction and the success Reardon had while running for the Wildcats, he is remembered as one of the most influential figures in the history of Irish sport. Hundreds of Irish athletes in track & field and other sports have followed him to pursue academic and athletic opportunities in the United States.
The story is well-known in the lore of Villanova athletics history that George Guida and Browning Ross befriended Reardon and fellow Irish athletes Cummin Clancy and John Joe Barry during the 1948 Olympics. Guida suggested the possibility of Wildcats track & field coach Jumbo Elliott offering a scholarship to the Irish athletes and it was just two months later that Reardon and his wife came to Villanova. Reardon, Clancy and Barry were all full-time Villanova student-athletes by the spring of 1949.
Jimmy Reardon was born on October 25, 1925 at Parteen Villa, Birdhill, Co. Tipperary. His family moved to County Louth and eventually to Dublin where Reardon attended St. Mary's College. Even in his early years as an athlete, Reardon established school records in the 220-yard dash and played for the St. Mary's rugby team. Before representing Ireland as an athlete, Reardon served his country in the Irish Naval Service aboard the famous Public Armed Ship
Muirchu.
Reardon's status as one of the top athletes in Ireland is as relevant today as it was at the height of his career. He tallied his lifetime best mark of 47.8 in the 400 meters in 1948, and 70 years after the race that time would have won him a bronze medal at the 2018 Irish championships.
In 1947, Reardon was the champion of the 440-yard dash at the Amateur Athletic Association of England (AAA) championships. His winning time of 48.3 made him the first Irish athlete to win a AAA title. Reardon went on to be one of 82 athletes from Ireland who represented the country at the 1948 Olympics. The games were the first after a 12-year break forced by World War II and were the first Olympics to be televised in Britain.
At the 1948 Olympics, Reardon advanced to the semifinal round of the 400 meters. He opened the competition by winning his first round heat in 48.4 on August 4 at Empire Stadium in Wembley. The quarterfinal round was held later the same day, and Reardon came in second in his heat in 48.3 to assure himself of an automatic qualifying spot for the semifinals the next day. He lowered his time to an Irish record of 47.8 in the next round and placed fifth in his semifinal heat. Reardon also ran in the first round of the 4x400 meter relay on a team that included Charles Denroche, Reggie Myles and Paul Dolan.
Reardon set Irish records in the 440 yards at 49.0 and 48.3, as well as records of 48.0 and 47.8 in the 400 meters. His record of 47.8 from the 1948 Olympics stood alone until another Villanovan, Noel Carroll, equaled the mark in 1963. Carroll went on to break the record four years later.
Reardon graduated from Villanova in 1953 and lived in the United States until returning to Dublin in the 1980's. He earned a degree in Economics from Villanova and ran a car dealership and repair garage following his graduation. Reardon's influence in the sporting world extended beyond track & field. He founded the Villanova Rugby Football Club in 1959 and was the first president of the Philadelphia Rugby Football Club.
Known as 'Captain' during his life, Reardon was inducted to the Knockagow Hall of Fame at the Tipperary Sports Awards in 1997. He was one of 11 surviving athletes from the 1948 Olympics who were recognized with an Olympic Medal of Honour at a ceremony in Dublin in 2012.
Reardon, Clancy and Barry graduated from Villanova together in 1953. In the years since, the "Irish Pipeline" has produced Olympic gold medalist Ron Delany '58 and track & field standouts such as Noel Carroll and Frank Murphy in the 1960s; Donal Walsh, John Hartnett and Eamonn Coghlan in the 1970s; current head coach
Marcus O'Sullivan along with Gerry O'Reilly and Olive Burke in the 1980s; Sonia O'Sullivan, Aidan O'Regan and Ken Nason in in the 1990s; Geraldine McCarthy and Richard Corcoran in the 2000s; Siofra Cleirigh Buttner and
Harry Purcell in the 2010s and rising sophomore
Charlie O'Donovan to name a few.
Reardon is survived by sons James and Robert, daughters Deborah and Katherine, as well as several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Information from Athletics Ireland, the Irish Times and Tipperary Live was used in writing this obituary.
