Beyond the Bowl: Bulldogs who make it big

Although Yale may not have made Sports Illustrated's most recent list of jock colleges, many great athletes have passed through Phelps Gate and Woolsey Hall. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Yale was regarded as a formidable contender on the fields and rivers of the Ivy League. Several of Princetonian author F. Scott Fitzgerald's characters were brutal, thwarted Yale jocks, such as Tom Buchanan in The Great Gatsby, "one of the most powerful ends that ever played football at New Haven...seeking...the dramatic turbulence of some irrecoverable football game." Cole Porter, Class of 1913, lyricized, "I want to row on the crew...to be known around Yale as I walk about it, get a boil on my tail and then talk about it...When I row on that varsity crew." In Stover at Yale, Owen Johnson devotes chapters to protagonist Dink Stover's travails on the field and describes the Yale Bowl filled with 80,000 fans in raccoon coats and duck trousers all urging the Elis to "break through that Crimson line."

Once upon a time, the name "Yale" was synonymous with football. One of Yale's most famous athlete alums is Walter Camp, Class of 1880. Known as "The Father of American Football," Camp combined rugby and soccer to make a uniquely American game. He is also credited with inventing the forward pass, the four-down system, and the 10-yard gridiron. Camp coached the Bulldogs for five years with the assistance of his wife, Ellen, and also selected the first Walter Camp All-Americans in 1889. No Yalies have been chosen since 1984, but the annual banquet honoring the recipients is still held in the University Commons, where thousands of Yalies dine every day.

COURTESY YALE UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES Running back Calvin Hill, PC '69, went on to a successful NFL career.

Camp's contributions to the game paved the way for other Elis: All-American and legendary University of Chicago coach, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Class of 1888, the first professional football player, William "Pudge" Heffelfinger, Class of 1891, and back-to-back Heisman Trophy winners Larry Kelley, TC '37, and Clint Frank, '38. In the modern era, Yale has produced Chicago Bears defensive back Gary Fencik, SM '76, Cowboys running back and father of Detroit Piston Grant Hill, Calvin Hill, PC '69, and Patriots quarterback Brian Dowling, BK '69, perhaps better known as the inspiration for helmet-clad "B.D." in Garry Trudeau's, DC '70, comic Doonesbury.

Yale has also graduated dozens of Olympians, notably pediatrician Benjamin Spock, Class of 1925, a member of the Yale crew team that set a course record at the 1924 Paris Olympics, and Eddie Eagen, Class of 1921, the only athlete ever to win gold medals in both the summer and winter Olympics. The Bulldog boxing captain took his first gold for boxing in 1926, then proceeded to win another for bobsledding in 1932. Rower Steve Kiesling, BK '80, wrote The Shell Game, about crew at Yale and the boycotted Moscow Olympics as his senior project.

In addition, many Yalies have been involved with sports administration. John Reed Kilpatrick, Class of 1911, played hockey for the Elis and the New York Rangers, and then became president of Madison Square Garden. A. Bartlett Giamatti, SY '60, GRD '64, was an English professor and president of the University from 1978 to 1986 before becoming Major League Baseball Commissioner. Former Bulldog Mike McCaskey, MC '65 is the president of the Chicago Bears football organization, and Calvin Hill is a consultant for the National Football League.

The Yale tradition in professional athletics will continue into the next century, as more recent Yalies have made it to the big leagues. Among them are ex-Met hurler Ron Darling, DC '82, Knicks center Chris Dudley, TD '87, 1995 football captain Chris Hetherington, JE '96 (currently with the Indianapolis Colts), and lineman Adam Hernandez, BR '98, who recently signed a contract with the Baltimore Ravens. Some of your classmates may have already signed on with professional teams. Outgoing hockey captain Ray Giroux, BK '98, has been affiliated with the Philadelphia Flyers since they drafted him in 1994; Giroux plans to negotiate his contract this summer.

So think twice before you call someone a "dumb jock" or dismiss a seemingly scrawny kid. In the future, you may be asking them for autographs or tickets to sold-out games.

Back to Taking The Field...