In its early decades Joe was “The Heart & Soul” of New York Road Runners. The Theodore Corbitt Institute (TCI) is currently conducting interviews of NYRR first generation pioneers. The interviews with David Littlehales and Glenn McCarthy illustrate the family atmosphere the club enjoyed in the mid-1960s. These nervous high school runners instantly were welcomed as Joe registered them for races and would call out their names for everyone to hear at the Macombs Dam Park locker room in the Bronx and Yankee Stadium. The typical number of runners during this era of weekly road races was 30-50. During the 1960s I heard Joe barking out each of these running pioneer names – Assa, Bessel, Best, Bowes, Brewington, Burns, Cabrera, Chiappetta, Chodes, Cirulnick, Coyne, Cucchiara, Doc Sheehan Flamer, Fornes, Garlepp, Geislers, Genden, Givner, Iglesias, Kelly, Kern, Kirby, Kochman, Kopil, Kotteakos, Kurt, Lombardi, Malkasian, McArdle, McCarroll, McCarthy, McDonagh, McEleney, McKenize, MacNicholl, Medaglia, Mooney, Moore, Moses, Muhrcke, Nolan. O’ Connell, Pataky, Reif, Richey, Rosales, Rubin, Sander, Scandurra, Steinfeld, Swan, Vogel, Weiss, Welsh, Williams, Winrow and Zayas.
Amby Burfoot’s oral history interview gives this quintessential look at Joe. Amby recalled as a Connecticut high schooler he wrote NYRR about upcoming summer races. Joe responded with a signed welcoming message to Amby with the race schedule. TCI has conducted twenty-one interviews so far. They can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/@TedCorbittInstitute
Joe was a big proponent of women entering the sport.
Nina Kuscsik said this about Joe:
“Joe always reminded me of my father, the way he would talk to you with a sort of frown on his face. Not because he was angry but because he was concerned or interested. I remember running the Cherry Tree Marathon in 1970, when Joe was the coach of Millrose. Back then they didn’t give awards to women-most award ceremonies were held in the men’s locker room. But Millrose gave me their team trophy, and I’m sure it was engineered by Joe.”
Kathrine Switzer said this about Joe:
“When I first met Joe, I knew I was supposed to be scared of him because he kind of growled and barked at people. Being a women runner better mean you were for real, or he’d really bark at you. By 1974 I’d become a good runner, and it was Joe who was the most excited. Having his approval meant everything. He knew how hard a person had to work to improve, and he was the first out there to congratulate you.”
Ted Corbitt said this about Joe:
“Joe has spent more time promoting road races than any other person in world history.”
Unfortunately, Joe isn’t in the NYRR Hall of Fame. TCI plans to establish a yet to be named “Wall of Fame” to fully recognize this era of running history.
Here’s Ted Corbitt’s remembrance of Joe Kleinerman.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WHvvAgktXCS73Vo1xKEZPGl6nYkLMz0B/view?usp=sharing
REMEMBERING JOE KLEINERMAN
I FIRST SAW JOE KLEINERMAN IN THE 1947JR. NATIONAL AAU AND OPEN 25 KILOMETERS CHAMPIONSHIP, HELD IN MILBURN, NJ. MANY OF THE TOP RUNNERS IN THE EAST WERE IN THIS EARLY POST WORLD WAR 11 EVENT.
I RATED JOE KLEINERMAN AS A GOOD GUY, A GOOD FRIEND TO HAVE, SHORT ON PATIENCE AT TIMES, APPARENTLY GROUCHY AT TIMES. HE HAD A GREAT HUMANITARIAN HEART. AS A RUNNER JOE WAS BEST AT DISTANCES BELOW 30 KILOMETERS, BUT HE WAS A SUCCESSFUL MARATHONER. HE WAS BEST WHEN HE WAS RUNNING OUT FRONT OF THE PACK. JOE KLEINERMAN’S BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT AS A RUNNER WAS HIS NOT WINNING A SENIOR METROPOLITAN LONG DISTÄNCE RUNNING CHAMPIONSHIP. DURING HIS BEST DAYS HIS OWN MILLROSE AA CLUB USUALLY HAD A SUPERSTAR ON IT’S ROSTER. AND SUPERSTARS DO NOT LOSE RACES TO TEAMMATES.
THE LATE JOHN STERNER OF THE NEW YORK PIONEER CLUB, AND JOE KLEINERMAN WERE THE ONLY NEW YORK CITY ROAD RUNNERS WHO BOTHERED TO ATTEND THE FEB. 1958 CONVENTION, ARRANGED BY OLYMPIC STEEPLECHASER H. BROWNING ROSS, AND HELD IN MANHATTAN, TO PROMOTE THE FORMATION OF ROAD RUNNERSCLUBS THROUGHOUT THE USA
JOHN STERNER FOLLOWED UP ON THE IDEA AND BEGAN THE LONELY JOB OF TRYING TO PERSUADE LOCAL ROAD RUNNERS TO JOIN THIS EMERGING ROAD RUNNERS CLUB, THE NEW YORK PIONEER CLUB HAD THE BIGGEST ROSTER AMONG CLUBS AT THE TIME AND STERNER BEGAN RECRUITING THEM. JOE KLEINERMAN, WHO SUPPORTED THE IDEA, WAS PROBABLY THE FIRST NON-PIONEER CLUB MEMBER TO JOIN THE NEW ROAD RUNNERS CLUB. JOE KLEINERMAN WAS ELECTED VICE PRESIDENT OF THIS NEW RRC IN 1958. IN TIME HE BECAME PROUD OF THIS, BECAUSE OF HIS ROLE IN THE CLUB’S SURVIVAL AND IN IT’S SUCCESSFUL PURSUIT OF IT’S MISSION.
JOE KLEINERMAN WAS UNIQUE IN THAT DURING THE ERA OF A SHORTAGE OF ROAD RACES IN THE METROPOLITAN AREA, HE SET UP SOME PRACTICE ROAD RACES IN THE BRONX FOR ROAD RACERS. SOME OF THESE RACES WERE REAL IN EVERY SENSE AND RESPECT, EXCEPT THAT THEY WERE NOT OFFICIAL, NOR WERE THERE PRIZES.
JOE KLEINERMAN GIVE MORE OF HIMSELF TO PROMOTE LONG DISTANCE RUNNING THAN ANY OF THE REST OF US WOULD CONSIDER DOING UNDER ANY VOLUNTARY CIRCUMSTANCES,
I WOULD LIKE TO COMMEND THE DEDICATED STAFF OF THE NEW YORK ROAD RUNNERS FOR MAKING THIS FINAL TRANSITION FOR JOE KLEINERMAN AS EASY AS POSSIBLE.
TED CORBITT, NEW YORK PIONEER CLUB, 11/14/03
Learn more about Joe Kleinerman with these articles:
The Many Gifts of Joe Kleinerman by Gordon Bakoulis
https://www.nyrr.org/run/photos-and-stories/2022/who-was-joe-kleinerman
Joe Kleinerman by Paul Fetscher
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1n0oMchF8UuAuMQ93ByDs23CsaUFUcHMy/view?usp=sharing
Honoring Joe Kleinerman, NYRR founder, competitor, coach and friend of running by Alan Steinfeld
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HoRld7UUm5PTPqHvbp27IWdTZnLoDIMh/view?usp=sharing
2 Birthdays – and Joe is Celebrating both of them by Eddie Coyle
For the researchers reading this please note there are a few errors in this article, but it’s also filled with good information.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/17p95LZqbIHnJIOaDV-afb8JMUGjYzjNY/view?usp=sharing
Gary Corbitt
Archivist: Theodore Corbitt Institute
Follow the History Timeline Here:
https://tedcorbitt.com/definitive-history-timeline/
August 29, 2026