Dr. Norbert Sander, the only New York man to win the New York City Marathon and one of the most influential track and field figures in the city’s history, died Friday. He was 74.
Sander helped Fordham University to the Penn Relays 4×100 record in 1964 and won the New York City Marathon in 1974, but his greatest impact on the sport came in refurbishing the dilapidated Armory in Washington Heights and turning it into a sparkling new track and field facility.
While practicing medicine in The Bronx in the 1980s, Sander, who ran at the Armory as a youth, created the Armory Foundation after seeing how the facility, which had become a homeless shelter, had deteriorated.
He helped relocate the homeless and raised $25 million to refurbish the Armory, which reopened in 1993 for track and field and now hosts 150,000 athletes annually. Since 2012, it has played host to the Millrose Games, the world-class indoor meet which had been held at Madison Square Garden since 1914. It’s also been home to the National Track and Field Hall of Fame since 2002.
“Norb’s impact on the track-and-field and road-running communities was unprecedented,” the New York Road Runners said in a statement.
“Norb brought light to the lives of so many people, from Olympic gold medalists to the kids who first discovered a love for running at The Armory.”
Sander is survived by his wife, Bridget Bennett Sander, and children Emma, Eva, Jessica and Phoebe. A wake will be held Monday at Edwards-Dowdle Funeral Home in Dobbs Ferry from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. A funeral Mass will be held Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. at Monastery Church of The Sacred Heart in Yonkers.