Albritton, David D.
Track & Field
b. April 13, 1913, Danville, AL
Albritton had a remarkably long career for a high jumper. A sophomore at Ohio State, he won the NCAA championship in 1936. At the Olympic trials that year, he and Cornelius Johnson both jumped 6-9 3/4, together becoming the first blacks to hold the world record in the event. They had also tied at 6-8 in the AAU championships. Johnson won the gold medal in Berlin and Albritton was second.
However, Albritton won two more NCAA titles, in 1937 and 1938; was AAU outdoor champion in 1937, 1946, and 1947, and tied for the title in 1938, 1945, and 1950; and he tied for the AAU indoor title in 1944.