By Davy Crockett 

Both a podcast episode and a full article

Johnny Salo was perhaps the greatest American ultrarunner of the late 1920s. Ultrarunning historian, Andy Milroy, rated him as the top American ultrarunner of the first half of the 1900s. His career was cut short due to tragedy, but during the years 1928-1930 there was no one better or faster. His story is a “rags to riches” tale as he sprang onto the national scene practically overnight. He was the most popular and most successful runner in C. C. Pyle’s historic transcontinental races of 1928-29.  He and other fellow Finnish-American long-distance runners of that time were greatly talented and were able to dominate at many distances.

Today, few know of the name of Johnny Salo of Passaic, New Jersey. His story needs to be told. In telling his story, I will also tell the story of the very famous races across America that were nicknamed the “Bunion Derbies.” Several fine books have been written about this famed race held for two years, that attracted the greatest ultrarunners in the world. I won’t try to duplicate all the details of those races but will tell that story from the perspective of its greatest ultra-distance runner, Johnny Salo. The primary source used are the daily updates published in Salo's hometown newspaper. The is the first of two articles about Salo and the Bunion Derbies. 

Immigrant living in New York City

Salo's application for U.S. citizenship

John “Johnny” Salo was born May 25, 1893 in Wiborg, Finland. His original Finnish name was Johannes Nakka. Johnny became a sailor during his teen years. He first visited America in 1908 at the age of 15, loved the country and felt the desire to someday live there, and leave his homeland that at that time was under Russian control

Running was a part of the lives of many Finns. At the age of 16, Salo was said to be Finland’s top amateur cross-country runner. In 1911 at the age of 18, he immigrated to the United States to Gulfport, Mississippi, through Antwerp, Belgium. He came over on the ship ”Cis” as a member of the crew of that ship. In 1914, living in New York City, he started to apply for United States citizenship but it wasn’t granted at that time. He worked for the United States Shipping Board, working himself up to the first officer.

Salo in the merchant marines

As World War I broke out he enlisted into the service along with about 500,000 other immigrants with the hope of receiving citizenship later. Johnny joined the Merchant Marines and served a three-year tour of duty on an emergency fleet based out of Staten Island, New York. He worked his way up through the ranks and achieved the officer rank of Ensign. During the war, he made ten trips on convoys across the dangerous waters of the Atlantic, that were infested by submarines.

In 1917, at Brooklyn, he was injured in a scary trolley crash. The car carrying about 50 people was being pulled up a hill on 39th street in Brooklyn when the coupling broke and it slid down the grade. The motorman tried fruitlessly to reverse power and then leaped into the street. The trolley car crashed into a car with passengers. Salo along with 19 others were injured and treated. Salo had other poor luck living in the city. One day he was assaulted as he was coming up the stairs out of a subway. “The assailant inflicted lacerations and contusions on Salo’s head and face.”

In 1917, Salo married Amelia Hoveland (1894-1956), his boyhood sweetheart also from Finland. They soon had a son Leo John Salo (1918-1970) and a daughter Helen (1920-1992).

World War I ended in 1918 but Salo continued to work on ships. In August 1919, Salo was on an American steamer, Englewood, with 47 seamen bound for Rotterdam. As it was near the North Sea on the Thames River, it struck a mine. They radioed for help and tugs came in time for the rescue and the ship did not sink.

In 1922 Salo was finally granted U.S. citizenship. He was among 192,