In the high jump at the 1920 Summer Olympic Games, California football and track & field legend Harold “Brick” Muller came up one half of an inch short of a gold medal with his jump of 6’3. But it was his exemplary show of sportsmanship after the competition that proved while the medal around his neck was silver, his heart may as well have been made of gold.
In a photograph taken shortly after the event, Muller can be seen carrying the gold-medal winning Englishman on his shoulders with a genuine smile on his face. Most competitors would be frustrated and sulking that they didn’t finish first, but Brick didn’t need a gold medal to be a winner.
“He was a sportsman and a gentleman,” said Brick’s son, Scott Muller. “He enjoyed meeting athletes from other countries and getting to know about their culture. He didn't care whether he received a gold or silver medal. He just enjoyed training and competing in the Olympics. He always liked competing in sports and thrived on competition.”
Originally a native of San Diego, Muller was discovered at Oakland Tech High School by legendary Cal football head coach Andy Smith who couldn’t wait to get Muller on his varsity team.
Muller, a key figure as an end on Smith's "Wonder Teams" of the early 1920s, led the Bears to a 27-0-1 record during his three years as a starter. He became the first Cal football player to garner First-Team All-America honors, accomplishing the feat twice as well as a third-team honor. Brick was named the Most Valuable Player of the 1921 Rose Bowl after he completed a 53-yard touchdown pass that fans in attendance claimed soared over 70 yards in the air. His efforts helped Cal defeat Ohio State, 28-0.
“He loved playing for the Wonder Team and Andy Smith,” Scott said. “He was the leader and enjoyed leading his team to many great victories. He really enjoyed football and the chance to beat the other teams through teamwork. He always said, ‘Hit them above the shoe tops and they will always go down.’”
As much as Brick loved playing football at Cal, track & field was an equal passion of his since he had been competing in track & field since elementary school. Success in the classroom was also very important to him. Brick took a lot of pride in being a student-athlete at Cal.
In addition to his success on and off the field, Brick’s friendships were just as important to him. He made lifelong friends throughout his life, and Scott described Brick as a great story teller and a great practical joker. Brick was a winner and wanted to help make everybody else around him a winner too.
“He was always the life of the party and had many jokes to tell,” Scott said. “He could tell jokes better that any one I know. He loved to talk about great games, great players and the Olympics.”
Following his time in college, Brick wanted to become an orthopedic surgeon, so Smith hired him to coach the ends on the Cal varsity team to help him pay for medical school.
Although he had already exhausted his collegiate eligibility two years prior, Brick still played in the first East-West Shrine game in 1925 after becoming a physician. He played so well in that game that he ended up being signed as both a player and head coach of the NFL’s Los Angeles Buccaneers. He played one season before the team folded the following year. Playing in the NFL back then was nothing like it is today. In fact, he lost his year’s salary when the team manager who had his money in a paper bag got drunk and left the bag in the restaurant. Muller just wasn’t destined for NFL success, but he didn’t need it.
As did many athletes in his era, Muller served his country during World War II. He served as a doctor with the rank of major during the war, and Scott said he remembers Brick telling him about his experiences being in charge of a hospital in Normandy, France.
“He was always talking about the sirens at night, the constant bombing by the Germans and the shrieking sound of the suicide jets crashing into the buildings,” Scott said. “Since he was a doctor, not a soldier, he didn't have as much stress and trauma as a soldier would have. Therefore, he came back without problems that would interfere with his work as a doctor or later in life.”
Muller was needed back at Cal where he returned as an orthopedic surgeon, helping the current student-athletes strive for their own collegiate success. Muller cared more about helping others than his own personal gain. One of the reasons why he was so loved is he wouldn't charge a patient if they couldn't pay their bill. Returning to Berkeley also gave him a chance to reunite with one of his good friends, legendary Cal track & field head coach Brutus Hamilton.
In addition to his love of Cal, the awards and milestones achieved by Brick are countless. He was inducted into the College Hall of Fame, the San Diego Hall of Fame and the Bretbard Athletic Foundation. To get elected into the Bretbard Athletic Foundation you have to be in the San Diego Hall of Fame and be the greatest athlete in your sport. There were about 150 athletes in the San Diego Hall of Fame, but only seven in the Bretbard Foundation. He was later inducted into the Cal Hall of Fame and the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame after he passed away in 1962.
Muller’s accomplishments and drive to succeed inspired the Cal football program to start the Brick Muller Award. Established in 1949, it is presented to the most valuable lineman on the Cal football team each year.
“I think he would like for fans to know that he was a role model for young athletes in football and track & field, and that his legacy should be remembered that athletes should play hard but also study hard to be successful,” Scott said. “He enjoyed taking care of the athletes as much as competing on the field. He was a scholarly athlete, as were his closes friends. Nowadays, many athletes are great football players but never graduate from college. He was extremely successful in sports, as well as in his life, and his life was an exemplary one.”
