View source for Percy Beard

{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox college coach
| name = Percy Beard
| image = 
| alt = 
| caption = 
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1908|1|26|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Hardinsburg, Kentucky]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1990|3|27|1908|1|26|mf=y}}
| death_place = [[Gainesville, Florida]]
| alma_mater = 
| player_years1 = 1926&ndash;1929
| player_team1 = [[History of Auburn University|Alabama Polytechnic Inst.]]
| player_positions = [[Hurdler]]
| coach_years1 = 1937&ndash;1964
| coach_team1 = [[Florida Gators track and field|University of Florida]]
| overall_record = 
| bowl_record = 
| tournament_record = 
| championships = [[Southeastern Conference]] (1953, 1956)
| awards = [[National Track and Field Hall of Fame]]<br>[[List of University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame members|University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame]]
| coaching_records = 
}}
{{MedalTableTop|sport=Men's [[track and field]]|country_code=USA|medals=
{{Medal|Olympics}}
{{Medal|Silver | [[1932 Summer Olympics|1932 Los Angeles]] | [[Athletics at the 1932 Summer Olympics - Men's 110 metre hurdles|110 metre hurdles]]}}
}}

'''Percy Morris Beard''' (January 26, 1908 &ndash; March 27, 1990) was an American college and international [[track and field]] athlete who specialized in the high hurdles event, and won an [[Olympic Games|Olympic]] silver medal.  Beard later became a nationally prominent college track and field coach at the [[University of Florida]].

== Athletic career ==

Percy Beard was born in [[Hardinsburg, Kentucky]] in 1908.  He became a world-class [[hurdles|hurdler]] at [[History of Auburn University|Alabama Polytechnic Institute]] (now [[Auburn University]]) in [[Auburn, Alabama]].  After graduating from Auburn with a bachelor's degree in [[civil engineering]] in 1929, he later competed for the [[New York Athletic Club]] in [[Amateur Athletic Union]] (AAU) competition.  He set a world record of 14.2 seconds in the [[110 metres hurdles|120-yard high hurdles]] in 1931 and tied the record again in 1934.  A seven-time national AAU high hurdles champion, Beard won the silver medal in the 110-meter high hurdles event at the [[1932 Summer Olympic Games]] in Los Angeles, finishing second behind U.S. teammate [[George Saling]].<ref>Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, [https://web.archive.org/web/20200417172606/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/be/percy-beard-1.html  Percy Beard].  Retrieved March 5, 2010.</ref>

== Coaching career ==

Following his competition running career, Beard later became the head coach of the [[Florida Gators track and field]] at the [[University of Florida]] in Gainesville, Florida, serving from 1937 to 1964.<ref name=ufmediaguide>''[http://web.gatorzone.com/trackfield/media/2010/  2010 University of Florida Track & Field Media Guide] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402034717/http://web.gatorzone.com/trackfield/media/2010/ |date=2012-04-02 }}'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 136&ndash;137 (2009).  Retrieved April 26, 2011.</ref>  Under Beard, the Gators won the [[Southeastern Conference]] (SEC) outdoor track and field championship twice and were the runners-up four times.<ref name=ufmediaguide/>  While he was the Gators' head coach, he founded the [[Florida Relays]] in 1939, which became one of the country's top collegiate track and field events.<ref>GatorZone.com, Track & Field, [http://www.gatorzone.com/trackfield/floridarelays/  History of the Florida Relays].  Retrieved April 26, 2011.</ref>  He used his Auburn civil engineering background to develop [[all-weather running track]]s and unveiled the first full-scale all-weather track at the 1959 Florida Relays.<ref name=ustfcccabio>USTFCCCA Hall of Fame, Special Inductee, [http://www.ustfccca.org/ustfccca-hall-of-fame/ustfccca-hall-of-fame-special-inductees/percy-beard-ustfccca-special-inductee  Percy Beard].  Retrieved April 15, 2010.</ref>

== Legacy and honors ==

Beard was a member of the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame,<ref name=ustfcccabio/> and was elected to the United States [[National Track and Field Hall of Fame]] in 1981.<ref>USA Track & Field, Hall of Fame, [http://www.usatf.org/HallOfFame/TF/showBio.asp?HOFIDs=12  Percy Beard].  Retrieved March 5, 2010.</ref>  The University of Florida honored Beard by naming its track and field facility, [[James G. Pressly Stadium|Percy Beard Track]],<ref>GatorZone.com, Facilities, [http://www.gatorzone.com/facilities/?venue=percy&sport=track  Percy Beard Track at James G. Pressly Stadium].  Retrieved April 15, 2010.</ref> for him in 1978.<ref>"[https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1990/03/28/ex-gator-coach-beard-dies-leaves-mark-on-track-world/  Ex-Gator Coach Beard Dies, Leaves Mark On Track World]," ''Orlando Sentinel'' (March 28, 1990).  Retrieved April 15, 2010.</ref>  He was inducted into the [[List of University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame members|University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame]] as an "honorary [[letterman (sports)|letter winner]]" in 1976.<ref>F Club, Hall of Fame, [http://www.gatorfclub.org/hall-of-fame/honorary  Honorary Letter Winners].  Retrieved December 19, 2014.</ref><ref>"[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VHJIAAAAIBAJ&sjid=S10DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5869,205002&dq=university-of-florida-athletic-hall-of-fame&hl=en  Nine Named to UF Hall of Fame]," ''St. Petersburg Times'', p. 3C (April 24, 1976).  Retrieved July 23, 2011.</ref>

Beard died in Gainesville in 1990; he was 82 years old.<ref name=nytimes3291990>"[https://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/29/obituaries/percy-beard-olympic-hurdler-82.html?pagewanted=1  Percy Beard, Olympic Hurdler, 82]," ''The New York Times'' (March 29, 1990).  Retrieved April 15, 2010.</ref>  He was survived by his wife Sara, and their three sons.<ref name=nytimes3291990/>

== See also ==

{{Portal|Biography|Olympics}}
* [[Florida Gators]]
* [[History of the University of Florida]]
* [[List of Auburn University people]]
* [[List of Olympic medalists in athletics (men)]]
* [[List of University of Florida Olympians]]
*[[List of University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame members]]
* [[University of Florida Athletic Association|University Athletic Association]]

== References ==

{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

{{Footer US NC 110m Hurdles Men}}
{{USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners in men's 60 m hurdles}}
{{Footer USA Track & Field 1932 Summer Olympics}}
{{Florida Gators track and field coach navbox}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Beard, Percy}}
[[Category:1908 births]]
[[Category:1990 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Hardinsburg, Kentucky]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Kentucky]]
[[Category:American men hurdlers]]
[[Category:Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1932 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Auburn Tigers men's track and field athletes]]
[[Category:Florida Gators track and field coaches]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1932 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]