Those well versed in Gallaudet sports lore know the story of the five Iron Men and their legendary feat on the hardwood court sixty-five years ago.
In March of 1943, sporting a 4-11 regular season record, the men’s basketball team at Gallaudet College (as it was called back then) was seeded last in the Mason-Dixon Conference and was scheduled to play in the first round of the conference tournament against Randolph Macon College, a team that had defeated the Bison twice during the regular season. With only five players, captain Paul Baldridge, Don Padden, Earl Roberts, Roy Holcomb, and Hal Weingold, the Gallaudet team won three straight playoff games with no substitutions.
Nobody had expected Gallaudet to even win one game. “I personally pictured our team as a Piper Club attacking a Flying Fortress,” said then-Athletics Director William McClure, in the March 1963 issue of the Silent Worker. The stigma of being the last-place team in the conference bestowed Gallaudet with the hallway to dress up while Randolph Macon had the best dressing room with rubdown tables and heat lamps.
With Gallaudet’s throttling of Randolph Macon 48-39 in the opening game, the five Iron Men took over the best dressing room. This was a sign of things to come.
Next up was American University – who, like Randolph Macon – had defeated the Buff and Blue twice during the regular season. Down 22-8 midway through the first half, Gallaudet, led by Captain Baldridge, caught up with American. Gallaudet won, 45-40. Gallaudet’s coach, English Sullivan, was so superstitious about what had happened with the two playoff victories that he refused to change his suit and tie for the championship match.
Gallaudet was going to face the University of Delaware for the championships on the third day of play. Unable to play against Delaware during the regular season due to wartime rationing, both teams were unprepared for their championship game opponent.
No matter, as the Bison went on to ultimately defy all odds as they claimed victory, 42-40 over the Blue Hens. “The achievement of playing three games without substitution and winning the conference championship was a nine day wonder in the East,” stated McClure.
The Gallaudet run through the playoffs was so impressive that the committee voted the entire Gallaudet squad to the all-star team – a feat that has never since been matched.
The success of the 1943 basketball team is a story of teamwork, courage and overcoming adversity in itself. Playing three straight days with no rest could be considered the ultimate feat in college basketball. This story parallels with what we see in today’s athletic games. With juggernauts like the 18-0 (at press time) New England Patriots and the über-underdog New York Giants winning three straight playoff games to reach the Super Bowl, modern-day Iron Men stories still exist.
Although the New York Giants storyline is nowhere as amazing as the Iron Men, the ability of a sports team or an athlete to overcome all of the odds is the modern-day blueprint in today’s sports.
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