Dave Albritton

American high jumper

David Albritton

Member of the Ohio House of Representatives
from the 34th district
In office
January 3, 1961 – December 31, 1972
Preceded by| Frederick Bowers
Succeeded by| Ed Orlett
Personal details
Born| April 13, 1913[1]
Danville, Alabama, U.S.
Died| May 14, 1994(1994-05-14) (aged 81)
Dayton, Ohio, U.S.
Political party| Republican

Medal record

Men's athletics
Representing  United States
Olympic Games
|  1936 Berlin | High jump

David Donald Albritton (April 13, 1913 – May 14, 1994) was an American athlete, teacher, coach, and state legislator. He had a long athletic career that spanned three decades and numerous titles and was one of the first high jumpers to use the straddle technique. He was born in Danville, Alabama.[2]

## Athletic career

[edit]

As a sophomore at Ohio State University, Albritton won the National Collegiate Athletic Association championship in 1936.[3]

In 1936, Albritton and Cornelius Johnson both cleared 6 ft 93⁄4 in (2.07 m) to set a world record at the Olympic Trials, becoming the first people of African descent to hold the world record in the event. Albritton was second to Johnson at the 1936 Summer Olympics, with a height of 6 ft 63⁄4 in (2.00 m). He claimed the silver medal in a jump-off after he and two other jumpers cleared the same height.

Albritton and Johnson were snubbed by Hitler when they went to collect their medals.[4] In 2016, the 1936 Olympic journey of the eighteen Black American athletes, including Albritton and Jesse Owens was documented in the film Olympic Pride, American Prejudice.[5]

Albritton won or tied for seven National Amateur Athletic Union outdoor titles from 1936 to 1950. He was AAU outdoor champion in 1937, 1946, and 1947 and tied for three national collegiate titles, in 1938, 1945, and 1950.

### Coaching and political career

[edit]

Albritton later became a high school teacher and coach. He served in the Ohio House of Representatives for six terms. In 1980, he was inducted into the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame.

## Legacy

[edit]

A historic marker honoring Albritton was unveiled on July 12, 2013 Danville, Alabama.[6]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "USATF – Hall of Fame". USA Track & Field. Archived from the original on May 23, 2021. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
2. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Dave Albritton". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
3. ^ "The other Jesse Owens: The forgotten 1936 Berlin Olympic story of Alabama's David Albritton". The Birmingham News. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
4. ^ "Johnson, Albritton, and Thurber's Patriotic and Defiant Bellamy Salute in Response to Hitler's Snub at Berlin in 1936". The Sport Journal. September 22, 2015. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
5. ^ Henderson, Odie (August 5, 2016). "Olympic Pride, American Prejudice movie review (2016)". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
6. ^ "David Donald Albritton". Decatur Parks & Recreation. Retrieved August 7, 2013.

* Wallechinsky, David (2004). The Complete Book of the Summer Olympics, Toronto: Sport Classic Books. ISBN 1-894963-34-2
* generator, metatags. "Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum". www.woodlandcemetery.org. Retrieved December 5, 2017.

## External links

[edit]

* Dave Albritton at the USATF Hall of Fame (archived)
* Dave Albritton at Olympics.com
* Dave Albritton at Olympedia

Records

Preceded by

Walter Marty

|  Men's High Jump World Record Holder
along with Cornelius Johnson
1936-07-12 – 1937-08-12  | Succeeded by

Mel Walker

* v
* t
* e

US National Championship winners in men's high jump

1876–1878
New York Athletic Club|

* 1876-8: Edwards Ficken

1879–1888
NAAAA|

* 1879: William Wunder
* 1880: Alfred Carroll
* 1881: C.W. Durand
* 1882: Alfred Carroll
* 1883: Malcolm Ford
* 1884: J.T. Rinehart
* 1885–87: William Page
* 1888Note 1: Tim O'Connor

1888–1979
Amateur Athletic Union|

* 1888Note 1: Daniel Webster
* 1889: R.K. Pritchard
* 1890–91: Alvah Nickerson
* 1892–95: Mike Sweeney
* 1896: Charles Powell
* 1897–1900: Irving Baxter
* 1901: Sam Jones
* 1902: Irving Baxter
* 1903-4: Sam Jones
* 1905: Herbert Kerrigan
* 1906: Neil Patterson
* 1907: Con Leahy
* 1908: Harry Porter
* 1909: Egon Erickson
* 1910: Walter Thomason
* 1911: Harry Grumpelt/Harry Porter
* 1912: John Johnstone
* 1913: Alma Richards
* 1914: Jo Loomis
* 1915: George Horine
* 1916: Wes Oler
* 1917: Clint Larsen
* 1918: Carl Rice
* 1919–20OT: John Murphy
* 1921–22: Dewey Alberts
* 1923: LeRoy Brown
* 1924: Robert Juday
* 1925–26: Harold Osborn
* 1927: Robert King
* 1928OT: Robert King/Charles McGinnis
* 1929: Henry Lassalette
* 1930–31: Anton Burg
* 1932OT: Cornelius Johnson/George Spitz/Robert van Osdel
* 1933: Cornelius Johnson
* 1934: Cornelius Johnson/Walter Marty
* 1935: Cornelius Johnson
* 1936: Cornelius Johnson/Dave Albritton
* 1937: Dave Albritton
* 1938: Mel Walker/Dave Albritton
* 1939–40: Les Steers
* 1941: Bill Stewart
* 1942: Adam Berry
* 1943: Pete Watkins
* 1944: Fred Sheffield/Willard Smith
* 1945: Dave Albritton/Lester Howe/Richard Schnacke/Joshua Williamson
* 1946–47: Dave Albritton
* 1948: Tom Schofield
* 1949: Dick Phillips
* 1950: Dave Albritton/Jack Heitzman/Jack Razzeto/Virgil Severns
* 1951: Lewis Hall
* 1952–53: Walt Davis
* 1954: Ernie Shelton
* 1955: Charles Dumas/Ernie Shelton
* 1956–59: Charles Dumas
* 1960: John Thomas
* 1961: Bob Avant
* 1962: John Thomas
* 1963: Gene Johnson
* 1964: Ed Caruthers
* 1965–67: Otis Burrell
* 1968: Ed Hanks
* 1969: Otis Burrell
* 1970–71: Reynaldo Brown
* 1972: Barry Schur
* 1973–74: Dwight Stones
* 1975: Tom Woods
* 1976–78: Dwight Stones
* 1979: Franklin Jacobs

1980–1992
The Athletics Congress|

* 1980: Franklin Jacobs
* 1981: Tyke Peacock
* 1982: Milt Ottey
* 1983: Dwight Stones
* 1984: Jim Howard
* 1985: Brian Stanton
* 1986: Doug Nordquist
* 1987: Jerome Carter
* 1988: Doug Nordquist
* 1989: Brian Brown
* 1990–92OT: Hollis Conway

1993-onwards
USA Track & Field|

* 1993–94: Hollis Conway
* 1995–20002OT: Charles Austin
* 2001–02: Nathan Leeper
* 2003–04OT: Jamie Nieto
* 2005: Matt Hemingway
* 2006: Tora Harris
* 2007: Jim Dilling
* 2008OT: Jesse Williams
* 2009: Tora Harris
* 2010–11: Jesse Williams
* 2012OT: Jamie Nieto
* 2013–16: Erik Kynard
* 2017:Bryan McBride
* 2018–19: Jeron Robinson
* 20212020 OT: JuVaughn Harrison

Notes|

* Note 1: In 1888 both the NAAAA and the AAU held championships

* OT: The 1920, 1928, 1932 and since 1992, championships incorporated the Olympic Trials, otherwise held as a discrete event.

* 2020 OT: The 2020 Olympic Trials were delayed and held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

* v
* t
* e

1936 USA Olympic track and field team

Qualification|

* 1936 United States Olympic trials (track and field)

Men's track
and road athletes|

* Ellison "Tarzan" Brown
* Harold Cagle (r)
* Ernest Crosbie
* Glenn Cunningham
* Glen Dawson
* Tom Deckard
* Foy Draper (r)
* Al Fitch (r)
* Glenn Hardin
* Chuck Hornbostel
* Johnny Kelley
* Ernest Koehler
* Don Lash
* James LuValle
* Albert Mangan
* Harold Manning
* Joe McCluskey
* Billy McMahon
* Ralph Metcalfe
* Eddie O'Brien (r)
* Jesse Owens
* Bob Packard
* Joe Patterson
* Eino Pentti
* Fritz Pollard
* Mack Robinson
* Archie San Romani
* Dale Schofield
* Harold Smallwood
* Roy Staley
* Forrest Towns
* Gene Venzke
* Archie Williams
* Harry Williamson
* John Woodruff
* Stanley Wudyka
* Frank Wykoff
* Bob Young (r)
* Louis Zamperini

Men's field athletes|

* Dave Albritton
* Lee Bartlett
* John Brooks
* Billy Brown
* Ken Carpenter
* Bob Clark
* Henry Dreyer
* Gordon Dunn
* Don Favor
* Sam Francis
* Bill Graber
* Cornelius Johnson
* Earle Meadows
* Malcolm Metcalf
* Glenn Morris
* Jesse Owens
* Jack Parker
* Rolland Romero
* Bill Rowe
* Bill Sefton
* Alton Terry
* Delos Thurber
* Jack Torrance
* Dudley Wilkins
* Walter Wood
* Dimitri Zaitz

Women's track athletes|

* Harriet Bland
* Anne O'Brien
* Tidye Pickett
* Betty Robinson (r)
* Annette Rogers
* Simone Schaller
* Helen Stephens

Women's field athletes|

* Alice Arden
* Betty Burch
* Evelyn Ferrara
* Kathlyn Kelley
* Annette Rogers
* Helen Stephens
* Gertrude Wilhelmsen
* Martha Worst

Non-competing relay pool members|

* Marty Glickman
* Olive Hasenfus
* Louise Stokes
* Sam Stoller
* Josephine Warren

Coaches|

* Lawson Robertson (men's head coach)
* Dean Cromwell (men's assistant coach)
* Brutus Hamilton (men's assistant coach)
* Billy Hayes (men's assistant coach)
* Dee Boeckmann (women's coach)

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