Education
Fordham University.
Fordham University.
However, his medal could have been a silver. A substitute lap counter failed to hold up the number of the laps remaining the first time the runners went past, and the athletes wound up running an extra lap. McCluskey was second at what should have been the end of the regular race but dropped back to third during the extra lap.
When offered the opportunity to rerun the race the next day, McCluskey said, "A race has only one finish line" and chose to let the results stand making it the only 3,460-meter steeplechase event ever held in Olympic history.
McCluskey, born in Manchester, Connecticut, was also a 1936 Olympian and coached the New York Athletic Club for fourteen years. He graduated from Manchester High School in 1929.
A 1933 graduate of Fordham University, McCluskey was inducted into the Fordham University Hall of Fame as well as the USATF Hall of Fame in 1996. He served as Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy during World World War II, then later married having eight children and employed as a stock broker in New York City.