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 The straddle technique was the dominant style in the high jump before the development of the Fosbury Flop. It is a successor of the Western roll, with which it is sometimes confused. Unlike the scissors or flop style of jump, where the jumper ...

. He was born in

Danville, Alabama Danville, also known as Houstons Store, is an unincorporated community in Morgan County, Alabama Morgan County is a county in the north central part of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, its population was 123,421. The county s ...

Athletic career

As a sophomore at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

, Albritton won the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

in 1936. In 1936, Albritton and Cornelius Johnson both cleared 6 ft 9 in (2.07 m) to set a

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

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 6 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 Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

when they went to collect their medals. In 2016, the 1936 Olympic journey of the eighteen Black American athletes, including Albritton and

Jesse Owens James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games. Owens specialized in the sprints and the long jump and was recognized in his lifet ...

was documented in the film ''

Olympic Pride, American Prejudice ''Olympic Pride, American Prejudice'' is a 2016 American documentary film written and directed by Deborah Riley Draper. Dr. Amy Tiemann, Michael A. Draper, and Blair Underwood (who also narrated the film) were executive producers. The film premier ...

''. Albritton won or tied for seven National

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

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

Albritton later became a high school teacher and coach. He served in the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in Ch ...

for six terms. In 1980, he was inducted into the

USA Track and Field USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 and ...

Hall of Fame.

Death and legacy

David D. Albritton is buried a
Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum
in Dayton, Ohio. He is located in Section 300 Lot 86. A historic marker honoring Albritton was unveiled on July 12, 2013 Danville, Alabama.

Link with Jesse Owens

Albritton and

were born in Alabama, Albritton in Danville and Owens in nearby Oakville; both attended

East Technical High School East Technical High School or East Tech is a secondary school under the operation of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District in Cleveland, Ohio. History The school, when it opened on October 5, 1908, was the first public trade school in the ci ...

in Cleveland, Ohio; both attended the

and were coached by Larry Snyder; both were members of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity; both competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics.

References

* Wallechinsky, David (2004). ''The Complete Book of the Summer Olympics'',

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

: Sport Classic Books. *

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Albritton, Dave 1913 births 1994 deaths American male high jumpers African-American male track and field athletes American athlete-politicians Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics World record setters in athletics (track and field) Members of the Ohio House of Representatives Ohio State Buckeyes men's track and field athletes Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field People from Morgan County, Alabama Track and field athletes from Alabama Ohio State University alumni 20th-century American politicians Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics 20th-century African-American politicians