Barney Berlinger
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born |
March 13, 1908 Philadelphia PA, United States |
| Died | December 2, 2002 (aged 94) Carversville, PA, United States |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight | 201 lb (91 kg) |
| Sport | |
| College team | Penn Quakers |
Bernard Ernst "Barney" Berlinger (March 13, 1908 – December 2, 2002) was an American decathlete. He competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics and won the James E. Sullivan Award in 1931.
Barney Berlinger was a multi-sport athlete in high school, attending William Penn Charter School and later Mercersburg Academy. In addition to competing in many track and field events, he played both football and basketball and dabbled in wrestling, boxing and baseball. At the University of Pennsylvania, however, coached by Lawson Robertson, he started focusing on track and field and especially decathlon.
Berlinger pulled a tendon at the 1928 Penn Relays, but recovered to place third at the Olympic Trials later that summer with 7362 points. As the top four were selected, that was enough to make the Olympic team. In the Olympic decathlon, however, he only scored 6619 points and placed 17th.
Berlinger won the first of three consecutive Penn Relays decathlons in 1929 - his achievement being recognized by the decathlon trophy being retired. He broke the meeting record on each of those occasions; in 1930 he scored 7460 points, his new personal best. Later that year he became national champion in the non-Olympic pentathlon.
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