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Obituary: Herman Goffberg / Former Olympic runner who was Penn State proud
Wednesday, August 22, 2001 By Lori Shontz, Post-Gazette Sports Writer
The minute Penn State men's track coach Harry Groves picked up the phone that day in 1991, he recognized the voice on the other end. Still, Herman Goffberg was cautious. "Do you remember me?" he asked Groves.
Remember him? Of course Groves did.
Not only had Mr. Goffberg run for the Nittany Lions during their glory years in the early 1940s, but he had competed in the 1948 Olympics at 10,000 meters and later become a mainstay for the Penn Athletic Club in Philadelphia, posting times that a young Groves, also a member of the team, only dreamed of running.
"He ran with the best guys in the country," Groves said. "If you weren't on an Olympic team, you couldn't get on his team."
Mr. Goffberg died Friday of cancer at Brookline at the Fairways, a State College nursing home. He was 80.
When he called Groves 10 years ago, it was to let him know he had retired and moved back to State College. He spent the remainder of his life there.
"I think it was his happy place," Groves said. "He was happiest at Penn State, and this is where he wanted to be."
After talking with Mr. Goffberg for the first time in 30 some years, Groves got approval for him to be listed as "the graduated manager of the Penn State track and field team." He appeared as such in the team's media guide, was assigned the locker next to Groves' and came to practice every day, usually arriving early to jog or walk around the track.
Mr. Goffberg timed the athletes in practice and counseled them whenever they had questions. He didn't have trouble relating to college students -- not after he came to practice with pin-up photos of his ex-wife, actress Janine Gray, whose highest-profile work was the 1964 British New Wave film "The Pumpkin Eater."
Mr. Goffberg helped at practice, went dancing with students who tried to tease him into participating in the annual 48-hour Interfraternity Council Dance Marathon and continued to beat Groves every time they went running together.
Even when his reflexes slowed in recent years, Mr. Goffberg still continued in his role as timer. It wasn't unusual for times to be clocked incorrectly, but no one ever complained.
Mr. Goffberg's first stint in State College began when he transferred to Penn State University from Michigan Normal College (now Eastern Michigan University and then a distance-running powerhouse) in 1941. He arrived during the peak years of Penn State running; the Nittany Lions finished second in the 1941 NCAA cross-country championships, the 1942 IC4A indoor track championships and the 1942 IC4A outdoor track championships.
Mr. Goffberg lettered in cross-country and track, and in 1943 he finished third in the 10,000 meters at the AAU National Championships. His running career was interrupted by World War II, in which he served as a Navy officer in the Philippines. He resumed his track career after the war, competing in the 10,000 meters at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London.
He was not a particularly fast starter, nor did he have a strong finishing kick. "He wore you down," Groves said.
At the Olympic trials, for instance, Mr. Goffberg passed a fellow Penn Stater, Horace Ashenfelter, on the final lap of the 10,000 meters to finish third and grab the last spot on the Olympic team. At Penn Athletic Club races in the early 1950s, he would start seven minutes behind the youngest runners and four minutes behind Groves -- and pass them all.
"I never beat the guy in 40-some years," Groves said. "I told him, 'I don't want this to get around, Herm, but I can recognize your tail end.' "
Mr. Goffberg enjoyed London so much during the Olympics that in the mid-1950s, he moved to England. Originally he sold used cars on lots outside American military bases in Europe. He later expanded into the import-export field.
In retirement, he became the first president of the Penn State Varsity "S" Club in 1995. The group consists of former members of the university's athletic teams.
Mr. Goffberg carried the Olympic flame in the Erie area during the torch relay leading up to the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
He will be honored Aug. 31 in a memorial service at Penn State's indoor track complex.
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