Percy Beard
| Percy Beard | |
|---|---|
| Sport(s) | Track and field |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | January 26, 1908 Hardinsburg, Kentucky |
| Died | March 27, 1990 (aged 82) Gainesville, Florida |
| Playing career | |
| 1926–1929 | Alabama Polytechnic Inst. |
| Position(s) | Hurdler |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1937–1964 | University of Florida |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships SEC (1953, 1956) |
|
| Awards National Track and Field Hall of Fame University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame |
|
| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's athletics | ||
Competitor for the  United States |
||
| Silver | 1932 Los Angeles | 110 metre hurdles |
Percy Morris Beard (January 26, 1908 – March 27, 1990) was an American college and international track and field athlete who specialized in the high hurdles event, and won an Olympic silver medal. Beard later became a nationally prominent college track and field coach at the University of Florida.
Contents |
[edit] Athletic career
Percy Beard was born in Hardinsburg, Kentucky in 1908. He became a world-class hurdler at Alabama Polytechnic Institute (now Auburn University) in Auburn, Alabama, and after graduating from Auburn with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering in 1929, the New York Athletic Club. He set a world record of 14.2 seconds in the 120-yard high hurdles in 1931 and tied the record again in 1934. A seven-time national Amateur Athletics Union (AAU) high hurdles champion, Beard won the silver medal in the 110-meter high hurdles event at the 1932 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, finishing second behind U.S. teammate George Saling.[1]
[edit] Coaching career
Following his competition running career, Beard later became the Florida Gators track and field head coach at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, from 1937 to 1964.[2] Under Beard, the Gators won the Southeastern Conference (SEC) outdoor track and field championship twice and were the runners-up four times.[2] While he was the Gators' head coach, he founded the Florida Relays in 1939, which became one of the country's top collegiate track and field events.[3] He used his Auburn civil engineering background to develop all-weather running tracks, and unveiled the first full-scale all-weather track at the 1959 Florida Relays.[4]
[edit] Legacy and honors
Beard was a member of the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame,[4] and was elected to the United States National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1981.[5] The University of Florida honored Beard by naming its track and field facility, Percy Beard Track,[6] for him in 1978.[7] He was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as an "honorary letter winner" in 1976.[8][9]
Beard died in Gainesville in 1990; he was 82 years old.[10] He was survived by his wife Sara, and their three sons.[10]
[edit] See also
- Florida Gators
- History of the University of Florida
- List of Auburn University people
- List of University of Florida Olympians
- University Athletic Association
[edit] References
- ^ Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Percy Beard. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
- ^ a b 2010 University of Florida Track & Field Media Guide, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 136–137 (2009). Retrieved April 26, 2011.
- ^ GatorZone.com, Track & Field, History of the Florida Relays. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
- ^ a b USTFCCCA Hall of Fame, Special Inductee, Percy Beard. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
- ^ USA Track & Field, Hall of Fame, Percy Beard. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
- ^ GatorZone.com, Facilities, Percy Beard Track at James G. Pressly Stadium. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
- ^ "Ex-Gator Coach Beard Dies, Leaves Mark On Track World," Orlando Sentinel (March 28, 1990). Retrieved April 15, 2010.
- ^ F Club, Hall of Fame, Honorary Letterwinners. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
- ^ "Nine Named to UF Hall of Fame," St. Petersburg Times, p. 3C (April 24, 1976). Retrieved July 23, 2011.
- ^ a b "Percy Beard, Olympic Hurdler, 82," The New York Times (March 29, 1990). Retrieved April 15, 2010.
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- 1908 births
- 1990 deaths
- American hurdlers
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1932 Summer Olympics
- Auburn Tigers track and field athletes
- Florida Gators track and field coaches
- Olympic medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Olympic silver medalists for the United States
- Olympic track and field athletes of the United States
- People from Breckinridge County, Kentucky
- Sportspeople from Kentucky
