# 1938 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships

The 1938 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships were organized by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) and served as the national championships in outdoor track and field for the United States.
The men's edition was held at Civic Stadium in Buffalo, New York, and it took place 2–3 July (the men's 10,000 m was the only event held on 2 July). The women's meet was held separately at Recreation Field in Naugatuck, Connecticut, on 4 August.
At the men's championships, high winds caused slow winning times in most events. In the women's competition, the original host Waterbury, Connecticut withdrew at the last minute causing the meet to be moved. Lula Mae Hymes won the 100 m and long jump.

## Results
### Men

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 m | Ben Johnson | 10.7 | Wilbur Greer | | Mozel Ellerbe | |
| 200 m | Mack Robinson | 21.3 | Perrin Walker | | Clyde Jeffrey | |
| 400 m | Ray Malott | 47.6 | Jim Herbert | | William Fritz (CAN) | |
| 800 m | Howard Borck | 1:51.5 | John Marion | 1:51.9 | Charles Beetham | |
| 1500 m | Glenn Cunningham | 3:52.5 | Charles Fenske | 3:52.7 | Archie San Romani | |
| 5000 m | Gregory Rice | 15:15.0 | Walter Mehl | | Raymond Sears | |
| 10000 m | Eino Pentti | 32:15.6 | Robert Rankine (CAN) | | Errol Vaughn | |
| Marathon | Pat Dengis | 2:39:38.2 | Gerard Cote (CAN) | 2:43:30.0 | Melvin Porter | 2:44:05.0 |
| 110 m hurdles | Fred Wolcott | 14.3 | Allan Tolmich | | Harvey Woodstra | |
| 400 m hurdles | Jack Patterson | 52.8 | John Borican | | Grover Bradley | |
| 3000 m steeplechase | Joseph McCluskey | 9:23.3 | Forrest Efaw | | Thomas Deckard | |
| High jump | Melvin Walker | 2.00 m | David Albritton | 2.00 m | Gilbert Cruter | 1.94 m |
| Pole vault | Cornelius Warmerdam | 4.41 m | George Varoff | 4.27 m | none awarded | none awarded |
| Pole vault | Cornelius Warmerdam | 4.41 m | Kenneth Dills | 4.27 m | none awarded | none awarded |
| Long jump | William Lacefield | 7.62 m | Arnold Nutting | 7.40 m | Jackie Robinson | 7.38 m |
| Triple jump | Herschel Neil | 14.77 m | Eulace Peacock | 14.66 m | Billy Brown | 14.64 m |
| Shot put | Francis Ryan | 15.89 m | William Watson | 15.51 m | Woodrow Strode | 15.40 m |
| Discus throw | Peter Zagar | 50.98 m | Phil Levy | 50.23 m | Hugh Cannon | 50.03 m |
| Hammer throw | Irving Folwartshny | 54.63 m | William Lynch | 53.06 m | Henry Dreyer | 51.71 m |
| Javelin throw | Nick Vulmanic | 66.64 m | Lowell Todd | 65.76 m | Charles Soper | 62.22 m |
| Decathlon | Joe Scott | 6486 pts | Hamilton Morningstar | 5419 1/2 pts | Allen Scisco | 5354 2/3 pts |
| 200 m hurdles | Fred Wolcott | 23.6 | | | | |
| 3000 m walk | Harry Cieman (CAN) | 13:39.9 | | | | |
| Pentathlon | John Borican | 3304 pts | | | | |
| Weight throw for distance | Louis Lepis | 10.70 m | | | | |

### Women

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 50 m | Claire Isicson | 6.6 | Ivy Wilson | Olive Hasenfus |
| 100 m | Lula Mae Hymes | 12.4 | Olive Hasenfus | Claire Isicson |
| 200 m | Fanny Vitale | 26.7 | Esther Brown | Marie Cottrell |
| 80 m hurdles | Marie Cottrell | 13.0 | Cora Gaines | Sylvia Rothenberg |
| High jump | Margarete Bergman | 1.57 m | Mildred Pufundt | Beulah Clark |
| High jump | Margarete Bergman | 1.57 m | Mildred Pufundt | Frances Sobczak |
| High jump | Margarete Bergman | 1.57 m | Mildred Pufundt | Mildred Kosick |
| Long jump | Lula Mae Hymes | 5.23 m | Dorothy Catocci | Esther Dennis |
| Shot put | Catherine Fellmeth | 11.73 m | Florence Wright | Margarete Bergman |
| Discus throw | Catherine Fellmeth | 38.41 m | Frances Sobczak | Elizabeth Lindsay |
| Javelin throw | Rose Auerbach | 37.05 m | Margaret Barnes | Rose Cea |
| Baseball throw | Betsy Jochum | 261 ft 7 in (79.73 m) | | |