Alma Richards

American athlete

Alma Richards

Alma Richards in 1912

Personal information

Birth name

Alma Wilford Richards

Full name

Alma Wilford Richards, Esq.

Born

February 20, 1890 (1890-02-20)
Parowan, Utah, U.S.A.^[1]

Died

April 3, 1963 (1963-04-04) (aged 73)

Alma mater

Brigham Young High School

Height

1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)^[2]

Weight

84 kg (185 lb)

Sport

Track and field

Event(s)

High jump, long jump, shot put, discus throw, decathlon

University team

Cornell University Big Red

Coached by

Eugene L. Roberts^[1]

Achievements and titles

Personal best(s)

HJ – 1.956 m (1915)
LJ – 7.125 m (1915)
SP – 14.01 m (1916)
DT – 44.12 m (1922)^[3]

Medal record

Representing the United States

Olympic Games
	1912 Stockholm	High jump

Alma Wilford Richards (February 20, 1890 – April 3, 1963) was an American athlete. He was the first resident of Utah to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games, in 1912, in the running high jump event.^[1]^[4]

Biography

Richards graduated from Brigham Young prep school in 1913, and then attended Cornell University with a scholarship, where he was also a member of the Quill and Dagger honor society,^[5]^[6] and got a law degree.^[7]

He taught science at Venice High School in Los Angeles for 32 years.^[1] Richards was buried, according to his wishes, in the Parowan Cemetery.^[8] He was posthumously inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame (1970),^[9] Helms Hall of Fame and Brigham Young University Hall of Fame.^[1]

Personal life

Richards’ first wife was Marian Gardiner Richards. They had one child, Joanne Richards. His second wife was Gertrude Huntimer Richards, and they had three children: Mary Richards Schraeger of La Habra Heights, California; Anita Richards Ricciardi of Whittier California; and Paul Richards of Los Angeles, California.^[8] Richards was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, their first member to compete in the Olympics.^[10]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Reese, W. Paul (February 1995) Alma Richards Was Utah's First Olympic Gold Medalist. History Blazer
^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Alma Richards". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020.
^ Alma Richards. trackfield.brinkster.net
^ "Alma Richards". Olympedia. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
^ "Alma: BYA Boy Wins Olympic Gold". Y Magazine. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
^ "Alma Richards (1986) - Hall of Fame". Cornell University Athletics. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
^ Benson, Lee; Robinson, Doug (January 1, 1992). Trials & Triumphs/Mormons in the Olympic Games. Deseret Book Company. ISBN 978-0875796284. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
^ ^a ^b Wallechinsky, David and Loucky, Jaime (2008). "Track & Field (Men): High Jump." In "The Complete Book of the Olympics – 2008 Edition." London: Aurum Press, Limited. p. 197.
^ Honorees. Utah Sports Hall of Fame
^ Deseret News 1999-2000 Church Almanac. Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret News. 1998. p. 555. ISBN 1573454915.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alma Richards.

Photograph of Alma Richards in a triumphal parade after his return from the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, UA P 2 Series 2 Item 1100 box 7 folder 70–89 at L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University
Alma Richards at Find a Grave
Alma Richards
Alma Richards at Olympedia
Alma Richards at Olympics.com
Alma Richards at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
Olympics 1912 High jumpers (16-second-video) on YouTube

Olympic champions in men's high jump

v t e US National Championship winners in men's shot put
1876–1878 New York Athletic Club	1876–78: Henry Buermeyer
1879–1888 NAAAA	1879–80: A.W. Adams 1881–86: Frank Lambrecht 1887: George Gray/Frank Lambrecht 1888^{Note 1}: Frank Lambrecht
1888–1979 Amateur Athletic Union	1888–94^{Note 1}: George Gray 1895: William Hickok 1896: George Gray 1897: Charles Hennemann 1898–99: Richard Sheldon 1900: Denis Horgan 1901: Fred Beck 1902: George Gray 1903: Leon Feuerbach 1904: Martin Sheridan 1905–06: Wesley Coe 1907–10: Ralph Rose 1911–12: Pat McDonald 1913: Lawrence Whitney 1914: Pat McDonald 1915–17: Arlie Mucks 1918: Alma Richards 1919–20^OT: Pat McDonald 1921: Bud Houser 1922: Pat McDonald 1923: Orville Wanzer 1924: Ralph Hills 1925: Bud Houser 1926: Herbert Schwarze 1927: John Kuck 1928^OT–31: Herman Brix 1932^OT: Leo Sexton 1933–35: Jack Torrance 1936: Dimitri Zaitz 1937: James Reynolds 1938: Frank Ryan 1939: Lilburn Williams 1940–42: Al Blozis 1943–44: Earl Audet 1945–46: Bill Bangert 1947–48: Jim Delaney 1949–50: Jim Fuchs 1951–55: Parry O'Brien 1956: Ken Bantum 1957: Bill Nieder 1958–60: Parry O'Brien 1961: Dallas Long 1962: Gary Gubner 1963: Dave Davis 1964: Randy Matson 1965: John McGrath 1966–68: Randy Matson 1969: Neal Steinhauer 1970: Randy Matson 1971: Karl Salb 1972: Randy Matson 1973–75: Al Feuerbach 1976–77: Terry Albritton 1978: Al Feuerbach 1979: Dave Laut
1980–1992 The Athletics Congress	1980: Brian Oldfield 1981: Dave Laut 1982: Kevin Akins 1983: Dave Laut 1984: Augie Wolf 1985: Dave Laut 1986–87: John Brenner 1988: Ed Wade 1989: Randy Barnes 1990: Jim Doehring 1991: Ron Backes 1992^OT: Mike Stulce
1993–onwards USA Track & Field	1993: Randy Barnes 1994: C. J. Hunter 1995: Brent Noon 1996^OT–97: Randy Barnes 1998–99: John Godina 2000^OT: Adam Nelson 2001: John Godina 2002: Adam Nelson 2003: John Godina 2004^OT: Adam Nelson 2005: Christian Cantwell 2006: Adam Nelson 2007–08^OT: Reese Hoffa 2009–10: Christian Cantwell 2011: Adam Nelson 2012^OT: Reese Hoffa 2013: Ryan Whiting 2014–15: Joe Kovacs 2016^OT-17: Ryan Crouser 2018: Darrell Hill 2019: Ryan Crouser 2021^{2020 OT}: Ryan Crouser 2022-23: Ryan Crouser
Notes	Note 1: In 1888 both the NAAAA and the AAU held championships OT: The 1920, 1928, 1932, and since 1992, championships incorporated the Olympic Trials, otherwise held as a discrete event. 2020 OT: The 2020 Olympic Trials were delayed and held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

v t e US National Championship winners in men's high jump
1876–1878 New York Athletic Club	1876-8: Edwards Ficken
1879–1888 NAAAA	1879: William Wunder 1880: Alfred Carroll 1881: C.W. Durand 1882: Alfred Carroll 1883: Malcolm Ford 1884: J.T. Rinehart 1885–87: William Page 1888^{Note 1}: Tim O'Connor
1888–1979 Amateur Athletic Union	1888^{Note 1}: Daniel Webster 1889: R.K. Pritchard 1890–91: Alvah Nickerson 1892–95: Mike Sweeney 1896: Charles Powell 1897–1900: Irving Baxter 1901: Sam Jones 1902: Irving Baxter 1903-4: Sam Jones 1905: Herbert Kerrigan 1906: Neil Patterson 1907: Con Leahy 1908: Harry Porter 1909: Egon Erickson 1910: Walter Thomason 1911: Harry Grumpelt/Harry Porter 1912: John Johnstone 1913: Alma Richards 1914: Jo Loomis 1915: George Horine 1916: Wes Oler 1917: Clint Larsen 1918: Carl Rice 1919–20^OT: John Murphy 1921–22: Dewey Alberts 1923: LeRoy Brown 1924: Robert Juday 1925–26: Harold Osborn 1927: Robert King 1928^OT: Robert King/Charles McGinnis 1929: Henry Lassalette 1930–31: Anton Burg 1932^OT: Cornelius Johnson/George Spitz/Robert van Osdel 1933: Cornelius Johnson 1934: Cornelius Johnson/Walter Marty 1935: Cornelius Johnson 1936: Cornelius Johnson/Dave Albritton 1937: Dave Albritton 1938: Mel Walker/Dave Albritton 1939–40: Les Steers 1941: Bill Stewart 1942: Adam Berry 1943: Pete Watkins 1944: Fred Sheffield/Willard Smith 1945: Dave Albritton/Lester Howe/Richard Schnacke/Joshua Williamson 1946–47: Dave Albritton 1948: Tom Schofield 1949: Dick Phillips 1950: Dave Albritton/Jack Heitzman/Jack Razzeto/Virgil Severns 1951: Lewis Hall 1952–53: Walt Davis 1954: Ernie Shelton 1955: Charles Dumas/Ernie Shelton 1956–59: Charles Dumas 1960: John Thomas 1961: Bob Avant 1962: John Thomas 1963: Gene Johnson 1964: Ed Caruthers 1965–67: Otis Burrell 1968: Ed Hanks 1969: Otis Burrell 1970–71: Reynaldo Brown 1972: Barry Schur 1973–74: Dwight Stones 1975: Tom Woods 1976–78: Dwight Stones 1979: Franklin Jacobs
1980–1992 The Athletics Congress	1980: Franklin Jacobs 1981: Tyke Peacock 1982: Milt Ottey 1983: Dwight Stones 1984: Jim Howard 1985: Brian Stanton 1986: Doug Nordquist 1987: Jerome Carter 1988: Doug Nordquist 1989: Brian Brown 1990–92^OT: Hollis Conway
1993-onwards USA Track & Field	1993–94: Hollis Conway 1995–2000^2OT: Charles Austin 2001–02: Nathan Leeper 2003–04^OT: Jamie Nieto 2005: Matt Hemingway 2006: Tora Harris 2007: Jim Dilling 2008^OT: Jesse Williams 2009: Tora Harris 2010–11: Jesse Williams 2012^OT: Jamie Nieto 2013–16: Erik Kynard 2017:Bryan McBride 2018–19: Jeron Robinson 2021^{2020 OT}: JuVaughn Harrison
Notes	Note 1: In 1888 both the NAAAA and the AAU held championships OT: The 1920, 1928, 1932 and since 1992, championships incorporated the Olympic Trials, otherwise held as a discrete event. 2020 OT: The 2020 Olympic Trials were delayed and held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

v t e US National Championship winners in men's decathlon
1915–1979 Amateur Athletic Union	1915: Alma Richards 1916–19: not held 1920: Brutus Hamilton 1921: Dan Shea 1922: Harrison Thompson 1923: Harold Osborn 1924: Tony Plansky 1925–26: Harold Osborn 1927: Fait Elkins 1928–29: Ken Doherty 1930: Wilson Charles 1931: Jess Mortensen 1932: James Bausch 1933: Barney Berlinger 1934–35: Bob Clark 1936: Glenn Morris 1937: not held 1938–39: Joe Scott 1940: Bill Watson 1941: John Borican 1942: Bill Terwilliger 1943: Bill Watson 1944: Irv Mondschein 1945: Charles Beaudry 1946–47: Irv Mondschein 1948–50: Bob Mathias 1951: Bob Richards 1952: Bob Mathias 1953: Milt Campbell 1954–55: Bob Richards 1956: Rafer Johnson 1957: Charles Pratt 1958: Rafer Johnson 1959: C.K. Yang (TPE) * Dave Edstrom 1960: Rafer Johnson 1961: Paul Herman 1962: C.K. Yang (TPE) * Paul Herman 1963: Steve Pauly 1964: C.K. Yang (TPE) * Paul Herman 1965–69: Bill Toomey 1970: John Warkentin 1971: Rick Wanamaker 1972–73: Jeff Bennett 1974: Bruce Jenner 1975: Fred Samara 1976: Bruce Jenner 1977: Fred Dixon 1978: Mike Hill 1979: Bobby Coffman
1980–1992 The Athletics Congress	1980: Bob Coffman 1981–82: John Crist 1983: Mark Anderson 1984: John Crist 1985: John Sayre 1986: Dave Johnson 1987: Tim Bright 1988: Gary Kinder 1989–90: Dave Johnson 1991: Dan O'Brien 1992: Dave Johnson
1993-onwards USA Track & Field	1993–96: Dan O'Brien 1997: Steve Fritz 1998–99: Chris Huffins 2000: Tom Pappas 2001: Kip Janvrin 2002–03: Tom Pappas 2004–05: Bryan Clay 2006–07: Tom Pappas 2008: Bryan Clay 2009: Trey Hardee 2010: Jake Arnold 2011–13: Ashton Eaton 2014–15: Trey Hardee 2016: Ashton Eaton 2017: Trey Hardee 2018: Zach Ziemek 2019: Devon Williams 2021^{2020 OT}: Garrett Scantling
Notes	The 1920, 1928, 1932, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 championships incorporated the Olympic Trials, otherwise held as a discrete event. 2020 OT: The 2020 Olympic Trials were delayed and held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.