brake pedal too high

Back in the day my friend had a '72 duster factory 318 & 3spd trans. Everything was original & his brake pedal was about an inch higher than the clutch pedal. Same thing in my other buddy's '71 duster w/ slant 6 3spd. I always assumed it was designed that way so the clutch pedal wouldn't interfere with hitting the brake pedal in a panic stop situation. Both were manual brakes if I recall.