Dr. C. Harmon Brown

Nov. 18, 2008

EASTON, Pa. - Former Lafayette hurdler and a pioneer in sports science and medicine, Dr. C. Harmon Brown died from cancer on Nov. 11. He was 78.

A well-respected author, coach, professor, speaker, endocrinologist, team administrator and track meet official, Brown, a resident of San Mateo, Calif., served the sport of track and field in countless ways.

Before he graduated from Lafayette in 1952, Brown held the school records in the 120-yard high hurdles and 220-yard low hurdles, and won four conference titles. He went on to earn his M.D. from the George Washington School of Medicine in 1956.

Though his career was in medicine, Brown never gave up on track and coached on multiple levels, from high school to international. He served on coaching staffs with nine Team USA international teams from 1967-1986, including two Olympic and two Pan-American teams.

Brown was also a strong advocate for female athletes, who were not allowed to participate in collegiate meets when he started coaching in 1962. Brown conducted research to prove women's physical capabilities.

Brown meshed his love for medicine and track when he served as chair of the TAC/USATF's Sports Science and Medical Committee for two decades, helping develop USATF's innovative drug testing initiatives. The past few years he served as USATF's High Performance Sports Science Chair.