Under the Microscope: A look at the career of Emmanuel McDonald Bailey

Last Friday marked the anniversary of Emmanuel McDonald Bailey's passing. A dominant sprinter before eventually becoming a one-time rugby player, Bailey sits in a frustrating place in the pantheon of British athletic folklore. Frustrating in that there's a pretty evident discord between achievement and recognition. It's more difficult to define though because sport by its nature waits for no man. Records which were once in his possession have in time passed onto others. Yet even accounting for all this, it still feels as though his legacy which is well known in his native Trinidad, should actually form part of the mainstream in British Athletics.

So let's get to the achievements first.

The most known of course was the apex of 'Mac's' athletic career, the Olympic Bronze in Helsinki. The photo finish in the 100m race ended with America's Lindy Remigino and Herb Mckenley finishing ahead of McDonald Bailey. A third place finish though meant that he not only improved on his sixth place showing on home soil in the 1948 London Olympics but that he would do so with a medal to show for it. As significant an achievement as it was on a personal level it's also a sizable feat in the context of British male athletics 100 metre history. To put the achievement in perspective, a male British athlete has only appeared on the podium for the marquee event three times since McDonald Bailey; Peter Radford in 1960 with a Bronze during the Rome games, and Linford Christie, twice. First with a silver in Seoul 1988 and eventually gold in Barcelona four years later.

It was not only at the Olympics that he would demonstrate his belonging at the elite table. His record equalling performance in Yugoslavia just a year earlier meant he equalled the 100m world record time of 10.2 seconds set by Jesse Owens, the man he had idolised.

There are other records too including the record number of victories (15) at amateur athletics association level in the 100 and 220 yard races. From 1946 until his retirement in 1953 he won in every year, excluding 1948.

His athletic talent meant that more than most, he could at the very least dream of a transition to other areas of sport. Football, however, was not one of these. The time he spent training with Queens Park Rangers in the lead up to the 1948 Olympics was more geared to staying fit and getting in shape for the summer event. It wasn't a precursor to a future career in the sport but once more, it did hint toward the potential for versatility in pastures new. That would come to fruition when upon retiring from athletics he found his way to Rugby League with Leigh, a club from Lancashire.

He would only play one game. A game in which Leigh won 11-3 and a game in which he scored. 'Hard and unorthodox' is how one commentator describes his performance but Mac still managed to leave an impact, even if only for one night. The highlights from the match itself is a real drawback. The distant musical overlay in the background, the jaunty tone on commentary and his presence as the only black figure all standout. Black players like Wigan winger Willy Boston as well as Cec Thompson would become big names in the game over the '50s but the fields in which Bailey had to terrain were a far cry from the ones in which athletes do today.

He eventually retired to his native Trinidad and was awarded the Chaconia Gold Medal in 1977 in recognition of his contribution to Sport. A contribution which by comparison (at least as far as i can find) is not quite as regarded here. His spell coaching the Trinidad and Tobago team at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics will have contributed to this honour and it meant he was able to give back to his native land in the field of athletics even after his career. 

As his time came to close he featured in a short documentary chronicling his achievements on the track. When recalling his training routine from young one of his points of emphasis was on preparation and its role in his success. It was something he reiterated around ⅓ of the way through: "The thing to think about is a foundation. Don't think of one race without a proper foundation - building blocks must come before starting blocks." This may very well have been the key to his success, in a career more than deserving of all the acknowledgement it received and then some.

Mayowa Ayodele

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