Albritton dead at 50

Terry Albritton, whom some believe may have been the most gifted

athlete in the history of Newport Harbor High, has died at age 50.

Albritton, a football and track and field standout who set a world

shot put record at age 21 and is a member of the Stanford athletic

Hall of Fame, died Sept. 1 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, said longtime

friend Tony Ciarelli, who competed with Albritton at the University

of Hawaii.

The cause of his death is unclear.

Ciarelli, in his 12th season as an assistant football coach at

Newport Harbor, said he maintained periodic contact with Albritton,

whose athleticism and personality made him an almost mythic figure as

early as his sophomore year at Newport Harbor.

“He was a 67-feet, 9-inch shot putter who ran on the 400 relay

team,” said Ciarelli, who competed against Albritton in football and

track and field through junior high and as a standout for Huntington

Beach High. “He played defensive end and either offensive tackle and

offensive guard.”

Albritton, who had just turned 21, put the shot 71-8 1/2 on Feb.

21, 1976 to break the world record at an all-comers meet in Honolulu.

Ciarelli, who threw the javelin at Orange Coast College and

Hawaii, teamed with Albritton at Hawaii, where Albritton had

transferred after a dispute with football coaches at Stanford in

1975.

“He was a pretty amazing person,” Ciarelli said. “He was probably

as gifted intellectually as he was athletically. He was a lot of fun

to be around.”

Albritton, a three-year varisty starter in football, won the CIF

Southern Section shot put title in 1971 and ’72.

He began his collegiate career at Stanford, where he returned

after Hawaii dropped track and field. He graduated from Stanford in

1977.

Albritton tore a pectoral muscle just before the Olympic trials in

1976, which likely cost him a shot at an Olympic medal, Ciarelli

said.

Albritton worked for 14 years as a teacher and coach at St.

Anthony High in Maui, before moving to Southeast Asia in recent

years.

A memorial service was held for Albritton recently in Maui.

Albritton is survived by sons Shane and Thomas, sisters Lorelei

Davies and Marla Ramirez Albritton, a grandson and a nephew.

-- Barry Faulkner