Rapidly becoming as strong a Harvard tradition as Reinhardt, Copey, or John the Orangeman, Varsity track coach Jaakko Mikkola will celebrate his 26th spring here during the forthcoming vacation period by putting his men through twice daily workouts.

Jaakko (pronounced Yahko) reached America in 1921, armed with a degree in mechanical engineering and a reputation for having done wonders with the 1920 Finnish Olympic track team. While he searched for a job, American track connoisseurs came to the conclusion that coaches of his ability were considerably scarcer than mechanical engineers.

A check of the 1920 Antwerp Olympic results revealed that little Finland (coached by Mikkola and boasting a population equal to that of Massachusetts) had helped itself to second place in the 44-nation track and field championships.

Harvard, with traditional foresight, cornered the young mechanical engineer first and shortly thereafter he was signing his first Crimson contract. Now, 26 years later, he is still turning out winners. Actually, Coach Mikkola's Olympic experiences didn't end with the 1920 championships. In 1924 he took a brief "leave of absence" to coach the Finnish team for the Paris contests.

There again, his athletes distinguished themselves by placing second in the track and field tests, this time with a total of 166 points. Paave Nurmi, just beginning to dominate the headlines, paced the Finns by obliterating Olympic records in the 1500 and 5000 meters. Following this success, Jaakko was married at the Finnish Legation at Paris and subsequently returned to Harvard as cross country coach and assistant track coach.

Has Eli's Number

When Ed Farrell retired in 1936, his side took over as Varsity track mentor. Combined cross country and track records of Mikkola-coached teams show 19 victories out of 23 meets with Yale, and an equally impressive overall record.

The Crimson coach's international reputation stems mostly from his "form technique," his ability to take mediocre athletes and build them up into dependable point-getters; not that Harvard lacks outstanding material. Coach Mikkola, who has looked a few men over in his years here, claims that "only indifference prevents more track starts from developing at Harvard."

As an example of one bud which nearly didn't blossom, he lists James Reed '29. One bright afternoon in the autumn of 1928 Jaakko saw what looked to him like a wonderful distance prespect loping down past the Stadium, waving, of all things, a lacrosse stick. This, of course, was a mistake and it didn't take the Crimson track coach long to convince the erstwhile stickman that his destiny was track not lacrosse. Reed eventually captured the IC4A cross country title and in winning the IC4A outdoor two-mile established a new Harvard record of 9 minutes 22 seconds--a mark which still stands.

Tea a la Finland

Mikkola's personality sometimes overshadows his coaching ability. Thoroughly Americanized he still cherishes the memory of his native land even to the extent of joking that he always likes to "stand near the 'finish' line" at a track meet. His attractive wife shares this feeling and when members of the track team drop in for tea at the Mikkola abode in Belmont, they find themselves holding platefuls of homemade Finnish parties and jams. And a glance at the living room wall reveals pastoral scenes of Finnish meadows, lakes and mountains.

Although the simple, clipped continental accent and long cigarette-holder stand out as typical Mikkola trademarks, the Varsity master has been known to shame English majors with his familiarity with the English language.

But the hundreds of athletes who have enjoyed the benefit of associating with Jaakko both on and off the track, like to think of him as the man who greeted them that first day with some unaffected remark like "All right now, you go 15 laps, nice, easy, medium speed today"; or who visited them at Stillman; or who was reported as shouting at one egotistical high school star circling the track on an opening day of practice, "That butterball! Who iss?"