From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The
United States Military Academy (USMA) is an undergraduate college in
West Point, New York that educates and
commissions officers for the
United States Army . The
Academy is a member of the Division I
Patriot League in most sports,
[1] but its men's ice hockey program competes in the
Atlantic Hockey league and its
football program competes independent of a league.
[2] The academy fields 24 club sports teams. In addition, about 65% of the cadets compete in intramural sports, known at the academy as "company athletics".
[4]
This list is drawn from alumni of the Military Academy who are athletes or athletic coaches. Eleven alumni have competed in the
Olympic Games as athletes or coaches. The first was
George S. Patton (class of 1909) in the
modern pentathlon at the
1912 Summer Olympics . The most recent is
Mike Krzyzewski (class of 1969), who was head coach of the
U.S. men's basketball team at the
2016 Summer Olympics . Three alumni are recipients of college football's
Heisman Trophy :
Doc Blanchard (class of 1947),
Glenn Davis (class of 1947), and
Pete Dawkins (class of 1959).
Bob Mischak (class of 1954)
was named No. 7 on NFL.com's list of Top Ten All Time NFL Players from service academies and was a 3x Super Bowl winner.
(Note – There are at least 2 others who were on the US Olympic Team Handball squad ... Craig Gilbert – '78; Pete Lash – '81 (who went on to garner MVP awards at the World Championship); and possibly Jim Thome – '68, as a long-time US team coach. / asst. coach. Gilbert and Lash are both shown on the West Point wall of Olympic athletes at Kimsey Athletic Center, at the south end of Michie Stadium. Gilbert participated in '84, and Lash in '84 and '88.)
Athletic figures
Note: "Class year" refers to the alumni's class year, which usually is the same year they graduated. However, in times of war, classes often graduate early.
Athletes
Name
Class year
Notability
References
Abner Doubleday
1842
Major General during the
American Civil War ; subject of the
myth that he invented baseball
[5]
Guy Henry
1898
Major General ;
Spanish–American War ,
Philippine–American War ,
World War I ,
World War II ; commander of the
3rd Cavalry Regiment ; recipient of two
Army Distinguished Service Medals and the
Silver Star ; son of Brigadier General,
Medal of Honor recipient, and
Puerto Rico Governor
Guy Vernor Henry ; Bronze Medalist at the
1912 Summer Olympics in
equestrianism
Paul Bunker
1903
Colonel ; selected as a member of the
College Football All-America Team in 1901 and 1902 and as the retroactive
Heisman Trophy winner for 1902 by
Sports Illustrated ; member of the
College Football Hall of Fame
[6]
George S. Patton
1909
General ;
1912 Summer Olympics ,
modern pentathlon , 5th place;
Pancho Villa Expedition ;
World War II ;
Battle of Saint-Mihiel ,
Meuse-Argonne Offensive ; commander of the
1st Tank Brigade/304th Tank Brigade ; commander of the
3rd Cavalry Regiment ; commander of the
2nd Armored Division ; commander of the
II Corps ; commander of the
Seventh United States Army ,
Third United States Army , and
Fifteenth United States Army during
World War II ; descendant of Brigadier General
Hugh Mercer ; father of Major General
George Patton IV ;
Patton series of tanks were named for him
[7]
[8]
Elmer Oliphant
1918
World War I ; professional
football player; considered one of the all-time greatest college football players; established world record in 220-yard (200 m) low hurdles
[9]
P.C. Hains
1924
Major General ;
cavalry officer ;
modern pentathlon at the 1928 Summer Olympics
[10]
John Roosma
1926
Colonel during
World War II ;
Basketball Hall of Fame ; the Academy's basketball
Most Valuable Player award is named after him
[11]
Robin Olds
1943
Brigadier General ;
World War II ,
Vietnam War ; group commander in the
86th Fighter-Interceptor Wing ; commander of the
No. 1 Squadron RAF and
434th Fighter Squadron ; commander of the
81st Tactical Wing and the
8th Tactical Fighter Wing ; recipient of the
Air Force Cross , two
Air Force Distinguished Service Medals , and four
Silver Stars ; son of Major General
Robert Olds ; member of the
College Football Hall of Fame
[12]
Doc Blanchard
1947
United States Air Force fighter pilot; combat veteran of
Vietnam War ;
football player known as "Mr. Inside" who won the
Heisman Trophy ,
Maxwell Award , and
James E. Sullivan Award , all in 1945
[13]
Glenn Woodward Davis
1947
Served three years in the Army before joining the
Los Angeles Rams ;
football player known as "Mr. Outside" who won the
Maxwell Award (1944) and
Heisman Trophy (1946)
[14]
James V. Hartinger
1949
United States Air Force
General ; fighter pilot; combat veteran of
Korean War and
Vietnam War ;
National Lacrosse Hall of Fame inductee; Hartinger Medal for significant contributions to the military space mission named after him
[15]
Dan Foldberg
1951
Colonel ; infantry officer and combat veteran of the
Korean War and
Vietnam War ; football and lacrosse All-American at the Academy;
Earl Blaik called him the greatest
end he coached; drafted by the
Detroit Lions
football team but chose a career in the Army instead
[16]
Bill Carpenter
1959
Lieutenant General ;
Distinguished Service Cross recipient during the
Vietnam War ; paratrooper;
football player known as the "Lonesome End";
College Football Hall of Fame inductee
[17]
Pete Dawkins
1959
Brigadier General ;
Heisman Trophy
Maxwell Award winner (1958);
Rhodes Scholar ; PhD from
Princeton University ; paratrooper; recipient of two
Bronze Stars during the
Vietnam War ; only cadet in history to simultaneously be Brigade Commander, President of his Class, captain of the
football team, and a "Star Man" in the top five percent of his class academically
[18]
Ronald Zinn
1962
Captain ; killed in action in 1965 during the
Vietnam War ;
race walker in the
1960 Summer Olympics and 6th place in
racewalking in the
1964 Summer Olympics
[19]
Mike Silliman
1966
Captain ; gold medal in
men's basketball at the 1968 Summer Olympics
[20]
Michael Thornberry
1994
First Lieutenant ; ninth place in
team handball in the
1996 Summer Olympics
[21]
Dan Browne
1997
First Lieutenant ; professional distance runner; 2002 U.S.
Marathon champion;
2004 Summer Olympics competitor at 10 km and marathon
[22]
Ronnie McAda
1997
First Lieutenant ; last pick in the
1997 NFL Draft , selected by the
Green Bay Packers , thus earning the distinction of being a
Mr. Irrelevant
[23]
Anita Allen
2000
Captain ; placed eighteenth in the
modern pentathlon at the 2004 Summer Olympics
[24]
Lorenzo Smith III
2000
Captain ; placed sixth in
bobsledding at the 2006 Winter Olympics
[25]
Boyd Melson
2003
Captain ;
boxer , 2004
World Military Boxing Championships , gold medal (69-kg. weight class)
[26]
Caleb Campbell
2007
First Lieutenant ; selected by the
Detroit Lions with the 218th pick (7th round) in the
2008 NFL Draft
[27]
Alejandro Villanueva
2010
Captain ; Infantry officer, combat veteran of the
War in Afghanistan , and recipient of the
Bronze Star with
"V" Device ;
offensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens
[28]
Stewart Glenister
2011
West Point cadet ; represented
American Samoa in 50 m
freestyle swimming at the
2008 Summer Olympics
[29]
[30]
Stephen Scherer
2011
West Point cadet ; made the U.S.
2008 Summer Olympics team in 10 m
air rifle team at the age of 19 as a
plebe
[31]
[32]
Josh McNary
2011
First Lieutenant ;
linebacker for the
Indianapolis Colts
[33]
Collin Mooney
2012
First Lieutenant ;
fullback who played for the
Tennessee Titans and the
Atlanta Falcons
[34]
[35]
Brett Toth
2018
American football
offensive tackle for the
Philadelphia Eagles of the
National Football League (NFL).
[36]
[37]
Cole Christiansen
2019
American football
linebacker for the
Kansas City Chiefs of the
National Football League (NFL).
Super Bowl champion (
LVII ).
[38]
Felix "Doc" Blanchard
Anita Allen
Boyd Melson
Caleb Campbell
Coaches
Charles Daly
Mike Krzyzewski
References
General
^ a: Special Collections: Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U. S. Military Academy . West Point, NY: United States Military Academy Library. 1950.
Inline citations
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^
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^
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^ Eicher, John H.; David J. Eicher (2001). Civil War High Commands . Stanford University Press. p. 213.
ISBN
0-8047-3641-3 .
^
"Battery Paul D. Bunker, BCN-127" . The Fort MacArthur Museum Association. Retrieved 19 April 2010 .
^
"George S. Patton" . Virginia Military Institute. Retrieved 22 March 2010 .
^ D'Este, Carlo (1995).
Patton: A Genius for War . New York: Harper Perennial. pp.
58, 131 .
ISBN
0-06-092762-3 .
^ Schmidt, Ray. "Elmer Oliphant". College Football Historical Society Newsletter . November 1996. {{
cite journal }}
: CS1 maint: location (
link )
^
"Special Collections: Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U. S. Military Academy, 1930, Vol 7" (PDF) . United States Military Academy Library. 1930. pp. 1855–1856. Archived from
the original (PDF) on 10 January 2009. Retrieved 4 April 2009 .
^
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^
"Robin Olds" . United States Air Force. Archived from
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^ Goldstein, Richard (10 April 2009).
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^
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^
"Hartinger, James V." US Lacrosse. Archived from
the original on 5 June 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2009 .
^
"Blaik Has His Problems, But Cadets Still Look Like National Champion" . The Harvard Crimson . 21 October 1950. Retrieved 13 June 2009 .
^ Kavetski, Lee (16 June 1966).
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^
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^
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^
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permanent dead link ]
^
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the original on 15 May 2009. Retrieved 25 May 2009 .
^
"A Disciplined Road" . GoArmySports.com. Retrieved 20 May 2009 . [
permanent dead link ]
^
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^
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^
"Bill Status of HR1106 94th General Assembly" . Illinois General Assembly. 30 March 2006. Retrieved 25 May 2009 .
^
"Melson wins U.S. boxing quarterfinals" . USA Today . 9 March 2006. Retrieved 9 August 2011 .
^ Gosselin, Rick (11 March 2008).
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the original on 2 May 2008. Retrieved 26 May 2009 .
^
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^
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the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2009 .
^
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permanent dead link ]
^
"Team USA Profile" . USA Shooting. Archived from
the original on 7 July 2008. Retrieved 24 April 2009 .
^
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permanent dead link ]
^
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^
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the original on 24 October 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2016 .
^
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^
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2023/02/12/2-west-point-football-players-to-face-off-in-the-super-bowl/
^
https://www.westpoint.edu/news/press-releases/west-point-graduate-play-nfl
^
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2023/02/12/2-west-point-football-players-to-face-off-in-the-super-bowl/
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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