Bartlett attended high school in Union City, Michigan; he did not take up the javelin until joining the track team at Albion College in 1926.

Bartlett was twice Albion's team captain and four times the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association javelin champion; his 1928 MIAA Field Day record was not bettered until 1969.

[1] In 1930 and 1932, Bartlett was once again the National AAU runner-up; he also placed fifth at the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

[4] Bartlett remained an active competitor in the javelin through the early 1940s; he very nearly became the first American to throw 240-feet (73.15 meters) at a 1940 exhibition in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

After hanging up his javelin boots in 1942, Bartlett embarked upon a rewarding 30-year career as a teacher and athletic coach in Dearborn, Michigan.