# Ned Merriam

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**Ned Alvin Merriam** (October 26, 1884 – July 9, 1956) was an American [track](/source/Track_and_field) athlete, [college football](/source/College_football) player, and coach of track and football.[1]

Merriam attended the [University of Chicago](/source/University_of_Chicago), where he starred in football and track between 1905 and 1908. He was a member of the American track and field team at the [1908 Summer Olympics](/source/1908_Summer_Olympics) in [London](/source/London). In the [400 metres](/source/Athletics_at_the_1908_Summer_Olympics_%E2%80%93_Men's_400_metres), Merriam won his preliminary heat with a time of 52.2 seconds. He advanced to the semifinals, where he finished third in his heat to be eliminated from further competition—the only 400-meter race he ever lost.

Merriam later coached track at [Iowa State University](/source/Iowa_State_University), [Texas A&M University](/source/Texas_A%26M_University), [DePauw University](/source/DePauw_University), and [Yale University](/source/Yale_University). He was head track coach at the [University of Chicago](/source/University_of_Chicago) from 1929 until his retirement in 1950. He died of [leukemia](/source/Leukemia) in Chicago in 1956.

In 2011, Merriam was inducted into the [University of Chicago](/source/University_of_Chicago) Athletics Hall of Fame. His plaque states that he was a three-time Big 10 champion in the 440-yard dash and a member of the U.S. Olympic Team, serving as head track and field coach from 1929 to 1949.[2]

## References

1. ["Ned Merriam"](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/78785). *Olympedia*. Retrieved 5 March 2021.

1. ["Ned Merriam"](http://athletics.uchicago.edu/about/history/hof/merriam?view=bio)

### Additional sources

- Cook, Theodore Andrea (1908). *The Fourth Olympiad, Being the Official Report*. London: British Olympic Association.

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