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Maybelle Montgomery Gilliland (January 23, 1906 – February 1, 1971) was a Canadian-born American athlete in track events in the 1920s and early 1930s. She was one of the thirteen members of the United States team at the 1922 Women's World Games in Paris.

Early life and education

Gilliland was born in Sussex, New Brunswick, Canada,[1] and raised in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the daughter of William John Gilliland and Elizabeth J. Miller Gilliland. Her father, an Episcopal minister, was born in England,[2] and her mother was born in the United States. She attended Leonia High School in New Jersey.[3]

Career

Gilliland was a teenager when she set the American record for the 100-yard dash, and qualified in the trials held at Mamaroneck, New York, for the United States team for the 1922 Women's World Games, together with her high school teammate Elizabeth Stine.[4] She also won the 50-yard dash, and ran on a record-breaking 440-yard relay team at Mamaroneck.[5][6]

Gilliland continued running in competition for more than a decade after the 1922 games. In 1925, she competed in two races at the Women's National Championships in Pasadena, California, placing second in the 50-yard dash and fourth in the 100-yard run;[3] she also placed second at a national event in San Francisco that year, in the 75-yard dash.[7] In 1928, she placed second in the 50-yard dash at the Olympic trials. At the AAU women's outdoor nationals in 1929, held in Chicago, she tied the world record time for the 220-yard dash.[8][9][10] She led the American women in the international girls' relay at the Millrose Games in 1930.[3][11] In 1931, she was on the winning women's 440-yard relay team, and finished second in the women's 50-yard dash at the Metropolitan AAU indoor meet in New York City, where she also placed third in the basketball throw event.[12] She was also described as a "hurdler" in 1931.[13]

Gilliland retired from track sports in 1933,[14] but continued competing in tennis tournaments past that year.[15] She was active in a recreational bowling league in the 1950s.[16][17]

Personal life

Gilliland married Clarence E. Cotterill. They had two daughters, Elizabeth and Barbara, and lived in Bogota, New Jersey. Then a resident of Lakehurst, New Jersey, she died in 1971, at the age of 65, while visiting her sister in Dunedin, Florida.[18]

References

  1. ^ "Obituary for Maybelle G. Cotterill". Tampa Bay Times. 1971-02-03. p. 37. Retrieved 2024-07-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Minister Dies". The Record. 1948-03-22. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-07-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b c Tricard, Louise Mead (1996-01-01). American Women's Track and Field: A History, 1895 Through 1980. McFarland. p. 73-74, 131, 152, 167. ISBN 978-0-7864-0219-9.
  4. ^ "Bergen's Olympic Girls Will Give Exhibition at S. S. Field Day". The Record. 1922-09-21. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-07-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Bolton, Steve (October 10, 2022). "1922 US Women Pioneers of Track and Field: A Tribute to the Women who Crossed the Atlantic". Playing Pasts. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
  6. ^ "Leonia High School Girls Break Two World's Records". The Record. 1922-05-15. p. 6. Retrieved 2024-07-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Three Records Fall in Girls' Track Meet". The Sacramento Union. 1925-07-19. p. 20. Retrieved 2024-07-26 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Mabel Gilliland Equals World's Record for 220". Daily News. 1929-07-28. p. 171. Retrieved 2024-07-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Women Champions of 1929". The Sportswoman. 6 (6): 17. February 1930.
  10. ^ "Sportraits: Maybelle Gilliland". Intelligencer Journal. 1929-08-03. p. 9. Retrieved 2024-07-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Women's National Championships" Spalding's Athletic Almanac (American Sports Publishing Company 1926): 113.
  12. ^ "Nordell, N.Y.U. Freshman Star, Wins Met 1,000-Yard Title". Times Union. 1931-02-22. p. 97. Retrieved 2024-07-26 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "These Young Ladies Step High, Wide, and--There's No Denying--Handsomely". The Oakland Post Enquirer. 1931-06-02. p. 23. Retrieved 2024-07-26 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Barry, Milton (1933-01-27). "Miss Gilliland Through; 'Eight Years Enough' Says Bergen Female Track, Court Ace". The Record. p. 23. Retrieved 2024-07-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Women Press Title Chance". The Sunday News. 1935-08-25. p. 15. Retrieved 2024-07-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Teaneck Ladies Loop". The Record. 1955-11-03. p. 45. Retrieved 2024-07-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Teaneck Rec Loop". The Record. 1956-12-20. p. 38. Retrieved 2024-07-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Mrs. Maybelle Cotterill". The Tampa Tribune. 1971-02-04. p. 7. Retrieved 2024-07-26 – via Newspapers.com.
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