Mountain Brook recognizes track athletes

Two Mountain Brook High School athletes recently received the Colonel George V. Irons Distance Trophy.

Frances Patrick and Marshall Smith were selected for the award given in honor of Irons, who was a distance runner for the University of Alabama in the 1920s and broke several distance running records. The award is given to athletes who excel not only in running, but in scholarship and citizenship.

In addition to his running records, Irons was a Rhodes Scholar nominee and earned his doctorate at Duke University. He taught at Samford University for over 40 years and served in World War II. Irons has been inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and the Alabama Men’s Hall of Fame.

– Submitted by William Irons.