The 1928 AAU decathlon was held over three days and also served as the Final Trials. Ken Doherty, later of the University of Michigan, won the event by a margin of less then 70 pts. and was not considered a likely Olympic medalist. But in Amsterdam he vastly improved his score with a total of 7,706 points to take third place behind two Finns. Ken Doherty won his second AAU decathlon in 1929 and went on to become one of the world’s most distinguished and respected coaches. He coached at Michigan from 1940 to 1948, and later at Penn. He authored three editions of Track and Field Omnibook, recognized as one the top instructional books ever written on track & field.
Personal Best: Dec – 6825 (1929).
United States