Alex Weyand

NFL player
Name=Alexander Mathias "Babe" Weyand


DateOfBirth=January 10, 1892
Birthplace=Jersey City, New Jersey
DateOfDeath=death date and age|1982|05|10|1892|01|10
Deathplace=North Bellmore, New York
Position=T
College=Army
Awards=
Honors=
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years=
teams=
CollegeHOF=10030
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Alexander Mathias "Babe" Weyand (January 10, 1892 – May 10, 1982) was an American football player, Olympian, Army officer and sports historian. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1974.

Early years

Weyand played high school football at Jersey City High School, where he did not earn a letter in any sport.

College career

At the United States Military Academy at West Point from 1911-1915, he starred at tackle winning All-American honors three times and was the captain of the 1915 team.

Nicknamed during his "yearling" (sophomore) "Babe" by his teammate Dwight David Eisenhower, he was described in "The Real All Americans: The Team That Changed a Game, a People, a Nation" (Jenkins, S., Random House 2007) as a "tireless, one-man wrecking crew."

In 1913, Army lost one game--against Notre Dame and its legends Knute Rockne and Gus Dorais.

It was undefeated in 1914.

And it beat Navy in 1913, 1914 and 1915.

Military career

After graduating from West Point, Weyand served with distinction in World War I, where he earned a Silver Star (gallantry), Purple Heart (wounded in action) and battlefield promotion to major and battalion commander.

After WWI, he placed fourth in the heavyweight Greco-Roman class in wrestling at the 1920 Summer Olympics.

Due to severe hearing loss caused by frontline duty in WWI, Weyand could not serve in combat in World War II. He retired from active duty in 1946 at the rank of Colonel.

In retirement, Col. Weyand wrote a series of acclaimed sports histories, including the seminal "Saga of American Football". He died in 1982 and is buried next to his beloved wife, Marie, at West Point. [ [http://www.collegefootball.org/famersearch.php?id=10030 Alex "Babe" Weyand] , College Football Hall of Fame. Accessed August 15, 2007.]

References