Hall of Fame
Joshua “Josh” Culbreath Born and raised in Norristown, Pennsylvania.
Josh attended the Eisenhower Senior High School. “Josh”, who entered Morgan in 1951, is considered one of the all-time great hurdlers at Morgan, as well as in the United States.
Josh was a three-time Penn Relays champion, three-time American champion, and two-time Pan-American Games champion in the 400 meter of 440 yard hurdles. He also ran the anchor leg on Morgan’s one-mile relay team, which won several indoor and outdoor championships.
In 1953 at the CIAA Tournament, “Josh”, along with Herman Wade, Otis Johnson and Jimmy Rogers, broke the old record set by the 1950 team with a new time 3:11:3. “Josh” also ran the 120 low and high hurdles.
In 1955, in Oslo, Norway, “Josh” won and set a new world record in the 440 yard hurdles with a time of 50:5 seconds.
Josh, a participant in the 1956 Olympics, was a bronze medal winner in the 440 yard hurdles.
Josh was on the Board of Directors of thirteen organizations. He was an administrator with the Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action Programs, Worldwide Headquarters of Sperry-Univac in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania.
Josh was the recipient of many awards. Some of these include: B’Nai B’Rith Brotherhood Award, Letters of Citation from the late President Eisenhower, and the mayor of his hometown proclaimed “Joshua Culbreath Day” in his honor for defeating the Russians in the USA vs. USSR first track meet, which was held in Philadelphia in 1959. A member of the “M” Club and the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Josh was also an honor student who was well liked by his classmates and many friends.
Josh built Central State University's track & field program into an NAIA perennial power during his tenure as CSU's head coach.
Taking over the program in 1988, Culbreath guided the Marauders to 10 NAIA championships. The CSU women won outdoor national titles in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1997 with indoor championships coming in 1993 and 1996. The Marauder men took home the NAIA outdoor crown in 1993 and indoor titles in 1993 and 1994.
Four of his athletes went on to compete in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, including the 400m hurdles gold medalist Deon Hemmings.
