Gallaudet University

Thomas O. Berg, took the track and field program at Gallaudet University to the next level during his legendary 30-year career.His fingerprints are still visible to this day. When you look at the men’s and women’s track and field records today there are dozens of records still standing that were set by the student-athletes he coached. Berg’s footprint was not limited to Kendall Green as he started his career at the high school level and led the United States of America Deaf Track and Field program for over 30 years from 1957 until 1989, a span of eight different Deaflympics. His athletes at the Deaflympics earned nearly 300medals, half of which were gold medals, during his time at the helm. Berg, himself, was an excellent track and field athlete at Gallaudet as he set the javelin school record in 1943, a mark that stood for over 35 years. He was inducted to American Athletics Association for the Deaf (AAAD) Hall of Fame in 1968 and the Gallaudet University Hall of Fame in 1995. In 1997, to honor his many contributions to the field of sports education for deaf students, Gallaudet presented Berg with an honorary doctoratedegree.

Did you know:
Gallaudet's track is named after Berg

Died: September 28, 2009