Mary Carew was a 1931 graduate of Medford High School. In a sports editorial from the era, someone wrote of Mary Carew, “There is one girl in Medford who easily puts to shame, or should, certain members of the high school track team. Miss Mary Carew represents the right spirit in athletics and the right type. She stands out as the leading girl athlete in New England today. Her fame may extend further for all we know.” The editorial goes on to say, “…she loves sports, is a clean wholesome girl and loves to go out and test herself with other girls. She has the right spirit and that means the race is half won before she starts…. Continuing at her present rate, and barring athletic politics, we prophesize her to be a United States representative to the 1932 Olympics.” I’m not sure who wrote this editorial, but they certainly had it right.

Between 1929 and 1932 Mary Carew Armstrong was the four time national champion in the indoor 40-yard sprint. Twice she equaled the world record time of 5.2. In 1930 she was the National outdoor champion in the 50-yard dash running 6.2. Think about these titles I just read about Mary Carew and remember what year she graduated from high school. Her first national title came when she was only 15 years old. She equaled world records while a student at Medford High. In 2002 Michael Bailey from the Boston Globe wrote in Mary’s obituary and I quote: “In April 1929, just a high school sophomore and still learning proper starting and sprinting form, she was deemed ready to face the nation’s best. To challenge for the national title, however, Mrs. Armstrong had to run in track shoes so big that they had to be taped to her heels so they would not slip off, said her coach, Ed Pidgeon. Nothing bothers her. She will go out and race with the best of them and do it as though she were practicing, Pidgeon said at the time. “Nothing scares her. Nothing disturbs her.” In 1932 she was the Millrose Games Champion in the 50-yard dash again running a time of 6.2.

The apex of her career came in the summer of 1932 as a member of the Olympic 4x100 meter relay team. Her explosive starts made her the optimal choice for the lead off leg of this team. In Mary’s own words taken from and interview with Louise Tricad author of “American Women’s Track and Field series in 1993 Mary said: “There’s no man or woman that could be in front of me in ten yards”. So on that day the United States found themselves in lane 4 at the coliseum in Los Angeles. The gun went off and Mary sprinted to the lead and gave Evelyn Furtsch of Los Angeles the lead. Evelyn handed off to Annette Rogers of Chicago and she handed off to Billie Von Bremen. The foursome ran extremely well and when the tape was broken, they had defeated the Canadians by three yards. They ran a new Olympic and World record time of 46.9. In those days only one person from the team got to stand on the podium and Mary was chosen by her teammates to have that honor.

There really is a lot of information on Mary Carew Armstrong, to date she is still the only female Massachusetts High School Graduate to win an Olympic Gold medal in Track and Field. Probably the most amazing aspect of her life is that she was orphaned at the age of five. Both of her parents died in the 1918 influenza outbreak. She was taken by a family member to Connecticut, where for two years was treated very poorly. Her father’s brother, Uncle Larry came to take her back to Massachusetts when he knew something wasn’t right. For some time Mary had a hard time adjusting to a normal life, but adjust she did. As mentioned before, as a result of her modest, kind, and compassionate personality she was chosen by her teammates to stand on the podium to receive the gold medal. But possibly an even greater insight into her character and personality was the decision for the U.S. Olympic committee to chose her as the roommate of Babe Diedrickson. A notorious braggart, with very few friends, Mary was the perfect fit for the Babe. Opposites attract and the two became good friends.

Upon retirement from competition, Mary Carew Armstrong taught in Malden for 27 years. She also served as chairwoman for the women’s track and field for the New England AAU and secretary to the New England Olympians and Alumni Association. She is a member of the New England Women’s Hall of Fame and the recipient of the New England Women’s Fund Trail Blazer Award.