Floyd Burdette Schwartzwalder was a Hall of Fame football coach at Syracuse University, where he trained future National Football League stars such as Jim Brown, Larry Csonka, Floyd Little and Ernie Davis, the first African American to win the Heisman Trophy.
18 Facts About Ben Schwartzwalder
2.
Ben Schwartzwalder was a hero of the D-Day invasion and several other important engagements of World War II.
3.
Ben Schwartzwalder played center at West Virginia University, despite weighing only 146 pounds, and was an all-campus wrestler in 1930 in the 155-pound weight class.
4.
Ben Schwartzwalder was captain of the football team in 1933.
5.
Ben Schwartzwalder played key roles in the capture of the La Fiere Causeway and Sainte-Mere-Eglise, crucial points of entry into France during the D-Day invasion.
6.
Ben Schwartzwalder continued his campaign all the way into Germany and acted as military governor of the town of Essen for a period of six months.
7.
Ben Schwartzwalder was awarded a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart, four battle stars, Presidential Unit Citation and was promoted to the rank of Major for his actions during the invasion.
8.
Ben Schwartzwalder organized an athletic league from among the soldiers being assembled in England in preparation for D-Day in order to keep the troops motivated and fit.
9.
Ben Schwartzwalder coached the 507th PIR football team, leading them through a ten-game season in which the 507th was never defeated and never even scored upon.
10.
Ben Schwartzwalder's teams went to seven bowl games and won four Lambert Trophies.
11.
Ben Schwartzwalder had a knack for developing excellent running backs through their college careers, including Heisman Trophy winner Ernie Davis, Jim Brown, Floyd Little, Jim Nance, and Larry Csonka.
12.
Ben Schwartzwalder had a significant history of recruiting and developing black players during the 1950s and 1960s when many other major programs refused to do so.
13.
Ben Schwartzwalder coached the first African-American to win a Heisman Trophy and maintained team unity and cohesiveness in a racially charged environment to defeat the all-white Texas Longhorns in the 1960 Cotton Bowl Classic and win a national championship.
14.
In 1973, Ben Schwartzwalder retired from coaching and moved to St Petersburg, Florida.
15.
Ben Schwartzwalder is buried in the Onondaga County Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Syracuse, NY.
16.
In 1967, Ben Schwartzwalder was elected president of the American Football Coaches Association.
17.
Ben Schwartzwalder was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1982.
18.
Ben Schwartzwalder is portrayed by actor Dennis Quaid in the 2008 Universal Pictures film The Express: The Ernie Davis Story, a biographical film about Syracuse University Heisman Trophy winner Ernie Davis.