‘Ghost of Prefontaine’ Actually Hayward Field Groundskeeper in Disguise, Amateur Sleuths Reveal
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Images via depositphotos.com
Users of the University of Oregon’s historic Hayward Field are breathing a sigh of relief after learning that a “ghost” resembling the late Steve Prefontaine is actually a scheming employee in disguise.
The employee, identified as Joe Ruby, 68, has been a groundskeeper at the university since 2009, police said. He faces charges of causing a public disturbance.
Prefontaine, a running legend who attended the University of Oregon from 1970-1973, died in 1975 at age 24; the so-called ghost, bearing a strong resemblance to Prefontaine, first appeared on the Hayward Field track three months ago, frightening onlookers and sparking countless discussions.
“We were on the track late one afternoon, doing a workout, when suddenly we heard this weird cackling,” said the first person to report seeing the “ghost,” asking to remain anonymous. “We look up, and—I swear—there’s Steve Prefontaine, like, glowing, up in the stands, hands on his hips, with his head thrown back, just laughing like a maniac.”
“Then there’s a puff of smoke or something, and he’s gone.”
Similar reports poured in over the following weeks, with sightings on and around Hayward Field. But now, authorities said, the mystery is solved and the reign of terror over.
Police credited a group of traveling teenagers and their dog for helping them crack the case.
“These kids were driving to a festival of some sort when their van broke down just outside town,” a police spokesperson told Dumb Runner. “They sought lodging at an inn, where the clerk complained that business was slow because a ghost at Hayward had been keeping visitors away.”
“That piqued their interest, I guess, because they decided to stick around and investigate.”
Within days, the teens had solved the mystery and caught the suspect in an elaborate trap, looking on as police unmasked a scowling Ruby on the Hayward track.
“It’s Old Man Ruby!” exclaimed one officer. “But why?”
“(Ruby) had discovered a diamond mine under the bleachers,” explained one of the group, identified as Fred Jones. “But he couldn’t get the diamonds out with all of these runners around.”
“So he dressed up as the ghost of Pre to scare people away,” added another, Velma Dinkley. “And he used this phosphorescent paint to look like he was glowing!”
Ruby confessed to the scheme, adding that he would have gotten away with it, too, if it hadn’t been for the “meddling kids” and their dog.
Reached for comment at a local pizza parlor, Jones said it was “all in a day’s work” for him and his friends.
“Zoinks!” added Dinkley.
