Oregon Drift

Coos Art Museum houses Prefontaine memorabilia. The small display showcases an impressive number of achievements. Photos by Benjamin Brayfield

A pair of worn, pale-blue Puma running shoes sits in a glass case at the Coos Art Museum in downtown Coos Bay.

Surrounding the now-iconic shoes — the late Steve Prefontaine wore them while he broke his first American record in the 5,000 meter race in 1971 — are medals, trophies, cups and plaques, all commemorating the accomplishments of Coos Bay’s hometown hero.

The Prefontaine Memorial Gallery, a permanent display that opened in 1985, is housed in a serene conference room atop the stairs at the museum.

Neatly arranged on the walls are copies of photos from the private collection of Tom Jordan, former publisher of Track and Field News magazine.

Most of them are black and white, but some offer faded colors, showing off a pair of red running shoes, his floppy brown hair, his thick, dark mustache.

One day later
One photo in particular stands out, although it seems simple at first — a black-and-white shot of Prefontaine in motion at the Twilight Meet in Eugene, taken by Fred Kaplan of Sports Illustrated.

The caption tells the true story.

The photo was dated May 29, 1975. Prefontaine died the next day in a single-car accident.

Another photo shows Prefontaine leading the 5,000 meter pack at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, West Germany, his only chance to compete at the Olympic Games. He eventually finished fourth, but led the Americans at the age of 21.

Visitors can also watch the video, ‘Fire on the Track — The Steve Prefontaine Story,” from sleek leather chairs.

Case of inspiration
But the glass case commands most of the attention. After the shiny awards and broken-in shoes, wooden plaques situated at the top left of the case catch visitors’ eyes.

That’s not because they were his greatest feats, but because of their humble simplicity: Clearly painted, the plaques declared Prefontaine as Marshfield’s most valuable runner three years in a row, well before anyone knew he would be an Olympian and track hero.

The visitors’ logbook, with names, dates and comments from people all over the world, offers its own storyline. Visitors have scratched ‘Go Pre!” and ‘Pre lives” onto the pages.

Last year’s Prefontaine Memorial Run winner, Brad Croker from Australia, wrote tidily, ‘Inspirational athlete, shame we never got to see him reach his full potential.”

Many visitors’ comments are touching and personal, but a framed sign on the wall that lists Prefontaine’s records and efforts, sums up their sentiments.

‘Time, for all its claimed healing effects, has not done much to ease the loss of Steve Prefontaine. He remains sorely missed.”

By Rachel Finney