One of Albion College's first great athletes, Lee Bartlett not only
was an MIAA champion, but a world-class competitor in the javelin.
Bartlett is the only MIAA athlete to compete in the Olympics, doing
so three times; 1928, 1932 and 1936. The 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam
occurred while Bartlett was a senior at Albion. His spot on the
Olympic team was secured with a school-record throw of 216 feet,
seven inches, in competition at Soldier Field in Chicago. The
record stood for 59 years until Dan Pekrul bettered it in the 1987
NCAA Division III Championship. Bartlett was Albion's first NCAA
champion a year later, placing first in the javelin at the 1929
championship. At the Los Angeles Olympics in 1932, Bartlett placed
fifth, the highest American finish in the event. Four years later,
he established a personal best throw of 223 feet, four inches in
the Olympic trials, then became the first American athlete to act
in a dual role as coach and participant in Olympic
competition.