Morgan Mike Mosser Biography
The nation's
top miler in 1972, distance runner Morgan "Mike" Mosser easily ranks
as one of West Virginia University's greatest athletes. Born February 19, 1950,
in Washington, Pa., Mosser was a multi-sport standout at East Washington and
Washington High Schools in the late 1960s.
He decided
to take up track during his senior year and his coach at Washington High
School, Dave Johnson, convinced WVU track Coach Stan Romanoski to give Mosser a
scholarship. Mosser turned down a baseball scholarship at Thiel College to give
track a try at WVU. Winning more than 50 meets during his Mountaineer career,
that proved to be a wise decision.
Mosser
earned a spot on the cross country team in the fall of 1969 and participated on
the Mountaineers' NCAA national team. He held the No. 4 spot on the team and
appeared to be just an average college runner. That was until the beginning of
the indoor track season the following winter.
Running for
the first time ever on an indoor track in his initial collegiate track meet,
Mosser defeated WVU's top runner Carl Hatfield in the 1,000-yard run. And
Hatfield was no slouch either. He had just come off of an All-America season in
cross country and then ranked as the top distance runner in WVU annals.
The
confidence Mosser received from that meet was immeasurable. In just one year,
he trimmed an amazing 30 seconds off his high school time and became one of the
nation's premier milers as a sophomore. Placing sixth at the NCAA championships
in the mile with a time of 4:03.5, he bettered that mark by two places as a
junior. He also finished third in the NCAA indoor meet at 1,000 yards with a
time of 2:08.7.
As a senior
in 1972, he won the 1,000-yard NCAA indoor title at Cobo Arena in Detroit,
becoming WVU's first national champion in track. A former NCAA record holder in
the 1,000 with a time of 2:06.9, he was a four-time All-American in track and a
four-time NCAA qualifier in cross country. More than 30 years after he last competed,
Mosser still owns or shares four school records.
He qualified
for the 1972 U.S. Olympic Trials in the 800 meters but missed the U.S. Olympic
team place. In fact, his qualifying time of 1:46.8 was just two seconds slower
than U.S. team member Dave Wottle, who won the Olympic event at Munich with a
time of 1:44.8.
Also in 1971
Mosser was invited to participate in the nationally televised Martin Luther
King Freedom Games "Dream Mile" that featured the return of Olympian
Jim Ryun in his bid to challenge the world's No. 1-ranked miler Marty Liquori
of Villanova. Liquori won the race, but Mosser led at the half-mile mark and
finished sixth.
Mosser
joined the ITA professional track tour in 1973, signing a contract that paid
him an $800 signing bonus plus traveling expenses and prize money. Long before
the days of corporate sponsorships and lucrative shoe contracts, Mosser also
worked for U.S. Steel in the coal mines while competing professionally on the
weekends. A member of the ITA Tour until it disbanded in 1975, Mosser was
ineligible to participate in the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1976 because of his
professional status.
Since
culminating his track career, Mosser has worked in the area's mining and energy
industry. He and his wife Nancy currently reside in Morgantown, WV. They have
two children a son Ryan in Charlotte, NC and their daughter Kate is in McLean,
VA.
In April of
2003, West Virginia University announced that the athletic department was
cutting five sports, men’s tennis, men’s x-country, indoor and outdoor track
and the rifle program. At the time,
Mosser was serving as Varsity Club President for all the past athletes in the
varsity sports. Being a longtime
supporter of WVU athletics and the Mining Engineering School, he resigned his
position as president for the way the sports teams were dropped and the fact
that his three sports were gone. To support the current high school athletes in
West Virginia and to work towards bringing the men’s running sport back to the
school, he formed the “Friends of Track and Field Fund” with the Greater
Morgantown Community Trust as a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization.
The Friends
of Track & Field is dedicated to reinstating the men's cross country and
indoor and outdoor track & field programs at West Virginia University.
The Fund is
Devoted Solely for:
Reinstatement
of men's cross country and indoor and outdoor track and field at West Virginia
University and/or developing and conducting youth educational programs in
collegiate and amateur athletic cross country and track and field. This would
include, but is not limited to, educational materials, equipment, facilities,
travel expenses, scholarships, maintenance and related charitable causes. The web site for the Friends of Track and
Field is www.FOTAF.com for more information.
The Friends
of Track and Field hosts The Twilight 5-Miler every year in July to raise Funds
to support the Jim Dunn Memorial Scholarship awarded to a WV high school
athlete continuing their running career in college.