Steers, Lester
Track and Field
b. June 16, 1917, Eureka, CA
d. Jan. 23, 2003
Steers was almost the first high jumper to clear 7 feet. He did it at least once in practice, and several times he appeared to have done it in competition, but each time a measurement revealed that the bar was lower in the center than at the pegs that held it.
As an eighth-grader, Steers showed such promise that he was allowed to work out with the San Francisco Olympic Club track team. In 1937, he enrolled at San Mateo Junior College. After winning the AAU indoor high jump championship in 1938 and the outdoor championships in 1939 and 1940, he transferred to the University of Oregon.
Steers won the NCAA high jump championship and tied for best height at the AAU outdoor meet, but lost the title on misses. He set a world record of 6 feet, 10 25/32 inches that year and later raised the record to 6-11. That mark wasn't broken until 1953.
Steers also sometimes competed in the high hurdles, the javelin throw, and the shot put.
When World War II began in December of 1941, Steers retired from competition and worked at an Oregon shipyard for the duration of the war.