In 1964, America was still reeling from the previous November’s assassination of President John F. Kennedy, as the country’s youth were mesmerized by “Beatlemania.”
Yet something positive of an American quality was missing.
For Lou Bergonzi, and millions of other fans around America, the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo would hopefully provide a feeling of American inspiration.
The “Summer Games” took place in mid-October that year as Bergonzi, a Monsignor Farrell cross-country/track runner began his senior year at the school.
“In those days you didn’t get live results instantly,” said the former Staten Island Advance Sports editor and former Chairman of the SI Sports Hall of Fame. “All the Tokyo track events were live around 2-3 a.m. in the morning here so you’d see results in the newspaper per