Clyde
Coffman

Clyde Coffman
Track experts called Clyde Coffman one of the greatest decathlon performers in American history, pound for pound. The slight 165-pounder, who excelled primarily as a pole vaulter, finished seventh in the Olympic decathlon field of 1932, six notches below his teammate, powerful Jim Bausch. Coffman placed third in the final Olympic trials at Evanston, Illinois, that year to complete an all-Lawrence, Kansas, cast with Bausch and Buster Charles, the great Oneida Indian from Haskell. Clyde also picked off third place in the national AAU decathlon in 1931 at Lincoln, Nebraska. He finished second in the National Septathlon the same year at Champaign, Illinois. Four years later he bagged the National AAU pentathlon title at Princeton, New Jersey. Aside from his all-round feats, Coffman was best known as a pole vaulter, gathering no less than five championships in the old Big Six conference, three indoor and two outdoors. In 1931 he set loop records--since broken--in both the indoor and outdoor, clearing 13™5Â¾ outdoors at Lincoln and clearing 13™4 for the Kansas City Athletic club meet in old Convention Hall, Kansas City, Missouri. Clyde won other league pole vaulting titles in 1934, sharing the outdoor banner with two teammates, Bob White and Gordon Gray, and indoors in 1932 and 1934. His climb of 13™7Â½ in a dual meet in 1931 stood for 22 years as the outdoor school record. Clyde still holds the state class B interscholastic record of 12™8Â¼œ which he cleared in 1929, and his leap of 12™4 in the ™29 Kansas Relays has been bettered less than half a dozen times. He won the Missouri Valley AAU crown during his senior hitch in high school at 13™1 and tied for first place in the national prep meet at Chicago at 12™10. Here are his best individual marks: Event Mark Meet Year 100 yard dash, :09.7, Big Six¦¦¦..¦.1931 100 meter dash, :10.8, AAU Decathlon...1931 400 meter dash, :50.8, AAU Decathlon...1932 110 meter h. hurdles, :15.8, AAU Dec. ..1932 1500 mtr. Run, 4:42.0, AAU Dec. ¦¦..1936 Javelin throw, 193™, Dual Meet¦¦¦¦1931 Shot Put, 43™, AAU Decathlon¦¦¦¦.1936 Discus Throw, 138™, AAU Decathlon¦..1936 High Jump, 6™1, AAU Decathlon¦...¦1936 Pole Vault, 13™7Â½, Dual Meet¦¦¦¦1931 Broad Jump, 24™4, AAU Decathlon¦.¦1936

Teams:
Track & Field (Men's) 1931
Track & Field (Men's) 1932
Track & Field (Men's) 1933
Track & Field (Men's) 1934

Olympian
1932 - Track & Field (Men's)

Conference Champion
1931 - Track & Field (Men's)
1932 - Track & Field (Men's)
1934 - Track & Field (Men's)

Captain
1933 - Track & Field (Men's)

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