MEET BILL SQUIRES
Who is Bill Squires?
William Squires is an American track and field coach. He is well known for coaching the Greater Boston Track Club at the height of its marathon success, including marathoners Bill Rodgers, Alberto Salazar, Dick Beardsley and Greg Meyer.
Squires is originally from Arlington, Massachusetts and competed in track and field events for Arlington High School. While a senior there, Squires was chosen as a member of the 1952 Parade All-American team. Squires went on to college at Notre Dame, where he was a two-time All-America in cross-country in 1954 and 1955. Squire’s personal bests according to the MSTCA hall-of-fame induction were 4:21 for the mile in high school and 4:07 in college.
He was notable for designing a Heartbreak Hill simulator for training. He was formerly a coach at Boston State College from 1965 to 1978. In 2002 Squires received the Bill Bowerman award from the National Distance Running Hall of Fame. Squires co-authored the book “Speed with Endurance” with Bruce Lehane.
Coach’s Career
1948-1952: Arlington High School
Three-time Massachusetts state mile champion, who in 1952 set the indoor mile (4:22.6) and outdoor mile (4:22.8) records.
1952-1956: University of Notre Dame
Two-time All-American who set 20 records in cross-country and track, won 6 conference and state championships, set an unofficial world record in the indoor three-quarter mile (2:58.2), and simultaneously held records in the indoor mile (4:10.7), outdoor mile (4:14.2), and two-mile relay (7:40.3) as the anchor.
1956-1957: U.S. Army
While training in Virginia, he coached the College of William & Mary cross-country freshmen. During his service in the U.S. Army air wing in Germany, he coached Special Services runners, and himself peaked in the mile with a 4:05.6 (3:47.6 metric).
1956-Present: Coaching
A three-time collegiate Coach of the Year, he coached 49 team championships, 16 All-Americans, and three NCAA champions at Boston State College and the University of Massachusetts Boston.
He also coached the dominating Greater Boston Track Club to 17 national championships, six national champions, seven American record-holders and numerous world-beaters including Bill Rodgers, Alberto Salazar, Greg Meyer, Bob Hodge, Randy Thomas, wheelchair champion Bob Hall, and non-GBTC Dick Beardsley (and at the 1979 Boston Marathon, four of the top ten finishers were from GBTC – Rodgers 1st, Hodge 3rd, Thomas 8th, Dick Mahoney 10th); and the groundbreaking all-female Liberty Athletic Club.
An Olympic Development coach, he was named as the 1980 U.S. Olympic 10K/marathon coach; and on behalf of the U.S. State Department, and national and international organizations, he coached several national teams overseas.
Coach’s Induction Into USA Track & Field Hall of Fame
Coach Squires was inducted into the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame on November 2, 2017 in New York City.
Coach’s Athletes
Bill Rodgers
Rodgers held the record for fastest American marathon. He is a four-time New York City Marathon winner & four-time Boston Marathon winner.
Alberto Salazar
A three-time New York City Marathon winner, Salazar is known for winning the 1982 Boston Marathon that was known as the Duel in the Sun.
Dick Beardsley
Beardsley was the winner of the inaugural 1981 London Marathon and the two-time winner of the Grandma’s Marathon.