Russ Palmer

Russ Palmer attended Morgan Park Academy in Chicago and Dartmouth College. He was a member of the Dartmouth track and field team and its captain in his last year. Palmer excelled particularly in the high jump, becoming the first athlete from Dartmouth to clear six feet (1.83 m), eventually setting a collegiate record of 1.87 m. A member of Phi Gamma Delta and Palaeopitus Society, he graduated in 1910, the first of five brothers attending Dartmouth. In 1912, he competed for the Chicago Athletic Association and won the Central Association AAU Indoor Championship in running high jump and placed second in the Olympic Trials of the Central Division. For the 1912 Olympic Games, he was entered in both standing jump events but did not start.

During his time at college, he was also known for his writing abilities. After graduation, he became a writer for the Chicago Daily News. During World War I Palmer enlisted in the Army and finished the Officer Candidate School when armistice was declared. After the war, he worked for the major advertising firms of Williams & Cunningham and Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn. In the mid-1930s, he started his own business together with his brother under the name of Palmer Associates. He died suddenly because of coronary thrombosis. He was married to Madge Boles and had one son. One daughter died soon after her birth.