Merchant, Muller Led Cal’s Field Day In 1922

Cal had a literal field day in 1922.

As great as the inaugural NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships were in 1921, the second event was bigger — and arguably, even better.

The 1922 edition had something the 1921 version didn’t – the California Golden Bears, hot off a second-straight win at the powerful IC4A Championships (Cal was the first non-East Coast program to win the meet in 1921).

The Bears scored all but three of their then-record 28¹⁄¹⁸ points in all seven field events (The triple jump was not yet on the program and would only be held five times between 1932 and 1956, before becoming an annual event in 1959). They were led by a pair of three-event scorers – both in combinations that displayed exceptional and unusual athletic ability.

Jack Merchant – a 1920 Olympian in the long jump – won NCAA titles in the shot and hammer, the latter being the event in which he would compete at the 1924 Olympics. He added points in the long jump, placing fourth when all field events were contested on the same day.

Merchant, who was a graduate of the same Marshfield High School in Coos Bay, Oregon (formerly known as Marshfield, Oregon) as eventual distance legend Steve Prefontaine, scored a team-high 11 points at the 1922 NCAA meet. To wit, scoring was on a 5-3-2-1-½ system back then; Merchant’s performance would be worth 25 points on the current scoring system, a meet total that wouldn’t be surpassed until Jesse Owens racked up 40 in back-to-back years in 1935 and 1936.

Cal’s other point-scoring machine was Harold “Brick” Muller (He was commonly called “Brick” because of the red color of his hair). Born near the Oregon border in Dunsmuir, California, Muller grew up in San Diego and went to Cal as a football player (He was MVP for the Bears’ “Wonder Team” in their 28-0 win over Ohio State in the 1921 Rose Bowl).

Muller was as versatile as Merchant in track & field — and actually more accomplished internationally, earning the silver medal at the 1920 Olympics in the high jump. In the 1922 NCAA meet, Muller’s best finish was in the long jump where he took second over Merchant’s aforementioned fourth. Muller also added points in the high jump (third) and discus (fourth).

After playing and coaching football – notably at the same time for the Los Angeles Buccaneers in their only season in the NFL in 1926 – Muller would also go to a second Olympics, but not until 1956 as head team physician.

Cal nearly won that 1922 NCAA meet just with Merchant and Muller. After all, runner-up Penn State’s 19½ points were the only total higher than the 17 combined points from the Bear duo. Cal also had five more scorers in the meet to turn away the Nittany Lions: Allen Norris tied for first in the pole vault; Harry McDonald finished second in the 440 as the team’s only scorer on the track; Jack Witter took third in the shot; Sandy Sorrenti was third in the javelin; Ted Treyer ended up in a nine-way tie for fifth in the high jump, which helps explain the fractions.