Joshua Culbreath
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Joshua Culbreath (September 14, 1932 – July 1, 2021) was an American
athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...
who competed mainly in the 400 meter hurdles—the national outdoor champion from 1953 to 1955; three-time winner of the event in the Penn Relays in the same years, and Olympic bronze medal winner in 1956, while he was serving in the U.S. Marine Corps; and world record holder in 1957. Culbreath was inducted into the United States Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.


Early life

Culbreath was born in
Norristown, Pennsylvania Norristown is a municipality with home rule status and the county seat of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Montgomery County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the third-most populous county in Pennsylvania and the 7 ...
, on September 14, 1932. He began running the hurdles in high school and in 1951 was ranked second in the U.S. in the 200 yard low hurdles and was the Pennsylvania's state high school champion in that event. Culbreath graduated in 1955 with a
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
in political science from
Morgan State College Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a public historically black research university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). In 1867, the university, then known ...
, where he was the USA Outdoor champion in the 400m hurdles for three consecutive years—1953, 1954, and 1955. He was also a three-time winner of the event in the
Penn Relays The Penn Relays (also Penn Relays Carnival) is the oldest and largest track and field competition in the United States, hosted annually since April 21, 1895 by the University of Pennsylvania at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. In 2012, there were ...
during the same years, the last time this has been accomplished. Culbreath later received a
Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
degree in education from
Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...
.


Career

Culbreath served in the
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
from 1956 to 1958. During his time in the Marine Corps, he competed for the United States in the
1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...
held in
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
in the 400 metre hurdles where he won the bronze medal. He also won several military and
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...
medals. He set the world records in the hurdles in 1956 and 1957—in the 300 yard Oval Grass Track, set in Bendigo, Australia in 1956 and in the 440 yard hurdles, set in
Oslo, Norway Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of i ...
in 1957. Culbreath became the track and field coach at
Central State University Central State University (CSU) is a public, historically black land-grant university in Wilberforce, Ohio. It is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. Established by the state legislature in 1887 as a two-year program for te ...
in 1988. He went on to coach his team to ten NAIA championships. Four of his athletes competed in the
1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
in
Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, including the 400m hurdles gold medalist,
Deon Hemmings Deon Marie Hemmings (born 9 October 1968 in Saint Ann, Jamaica) is a former female 400 metres hurdler. Hemmings was the first ever Jamaican woman to win an Olympic Gold when she won the 400m Hurdles at the 1996 Olympics breaking the Olympic ...
. After his time coaching at Central State, he became the athletic director at
Morehouse College , mottoeng = And there was light (literal translation of Latin itself translated from Hebrew: "And light was made") , type = Private historically black men's liberal arts college , academic_affiliations ...
in Atlanta.


Personal life

Culbreath had five children: Sandra, Khaliq, Maliq, Jahan and Camille. Jahan followed in his father's footsteps and became an All-American 400 m hurdler, as well as the coach at Central State. Khaliq predeceased Culbreath after being hit by a vehicle while
cross-country cycling Cross-country (XC) cycling is a discipline of mountain biking. Cross-country cycling became an Olympic sport in 1996 and is the only form of mountain biking practiced at the Olympics. Terrain Cross-country cycling is defined by the terrain on w ...
. He made two guest appearances on ''
The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom co-created by and starring Bill Cosby, which aired Thursday nights for eight seasons on NBC between September 20, 1984, until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on an upper middle-class African- ...
'', playing the character Colonel Sanford B. "Tailwind" Turner, Cliff Huxtable's college track rival. Culbreath died on July 1, 2021, under hospice care in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was 88, and suffered a period of declining health prior to his death.


See also

* *
Edwin Moses Edwin Corley Moses (born August 31, 1955) is an American former track and field athlete who won gold medals in the 400 m hurdles at the 1976 and 1984 Olympics. Between 1977 and 1987, Moses won 107 consecutive finals (122 consecutive races) an ...
, 1976 and 1984 American 400m hurdles Olympic gold medalist


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Culbreath, Josh 1932 births 2021 deaths American male hurdlers People from Norristown, Pennsylvania African-American male track and field athletes Athletes (track and field) at the 1955 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1959 Pan American Games Morgan State University alumni Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in track and field United States Marines American masters athletes Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Sportspeople from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Track and field athletes from Pennsylvania Medalists at the 1955 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1959 Pan American Games 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people