Army West Point Athletics
2006 Army Sports Hall of Fame Members
June 30, 2006 | General
2006 Army Sports Hall of Fame Members
Army Sports Hall of Fame
Robert Paul Anderson
Class of 1960
Football (1957-59)
A two-time first-team All-America selection, running back Bob Anderson led Army in rushing during each of his three varsity seasons, and helped the Black Knights forge a 19-6-2 (.741) record over his career. Anderson teamed with Heisman Trophy winner Pete Dawkins to give the Black Knights a potent backfield combination in 1958 as Army captured its most recent Lambert Cup.
With Anderson compiling 564 yards as a junior, the Black Knights rolled to an 8-0-1 record in 1958. Anderson, who saw his senior season hampered severely due to an injury, graduated with 1,887 career ground markers and 21 rushing touchdowns. His yardage total listed second only to legendary Glenn Davis on Army's career rushing chart at the conclusion of his career, while that mark ranks 11th on the all-time ladder presently.
As a sophomore in 1957, Anderson burst onto the collegiate scene, amassing an eye-popping 987 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, nearly becoming only the second Army player to reach 1,000 yards in a season. Anderson averaged 109.7 rushing yards per game that year, including an Academy-record 214 ground yards against Utah. Anderson's performance versus the Utes remains the sixth-highest single-game rushing effort in Army grid annals. Anderson recorded five 100-yard rushing outings in his career.
A staunch two-way player, Anderson also led the Black Knights in interceptions in both 1957 and 1958. Additionally, Anderson lettered twice in baseball and in 1960 was presented the Army Athletic Association Trophy as the top athlete in his graduating class. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004.
Richard Carl Bowman
Class of 1949
Fencing (1947-49)
A two-time fencing All-American in the epee classification, Richard Bowman copped eastern and national epee championships as a senior in 1949 while helping Army to the NCAA championship. That title was the first NCAA-sponsored crown earned by an Academy team and would serve as Army's lone national championship until the rifle team earned its title in 2005.
As a junior, Bowman earned the Academy's Francis Beebe Trophy for excellence in foils, while he copped the Sands Trophy as the program's most valuable fencer following his impressive senior campaign of 1949. He also served as the Black Knights' team captain in 1949.
Following graduation, Bowman received his pilot wings in 1950 before logging a long and distinguished career in the Air Force. He ultimately reached the rank of Major General before retiring in 1981. In addition, he was the first fencing coach in the history of the Air Force Academy's program. He guided the Falcons for two years, building a record of 11-8 (.579) and leading Air Force to a first-place finish in the Western Region in 1957 and a runnerup showing one year later.
Peter Byron Cramblet
Class of 1970
Lacrosse (1968-70)
Pete Cramblet, who earned three first-team All-America citations during his career, graduated as the Army lacrosse program's all-time leading scorer, having compiled 150 points. He became the first Army player ever to reach 100 career goals, finishing with a then-record 107 tallies.
As a junior, Cramblet helped Army to a share of the 1969 national championship when the Black Knights finished 10-1, but it was his senior season that etched his name into the Academy's lacrosse lore. He amassed 33 goals and 19 assists, compiling 52 points, en route to earning two national awards. He capped his career in 1970 with the Jack Turnbull Award as the country's top attackman while also copping the Lt. Ray Enners Award as the nation's most outstanding player.
During his three seasons with the varsity, Cramblet helped the Black Knights forge a remarkable 25-6-1 (.797) record. A model of consistency on offense, Cramblet tallied a career-high 39 goals in 1969 while adding 35 tallies in 1968 and 33 markers in 1970. He presently ranks eighth on Army's career goals list and 10th on the all-time points ladder.
Cramblet was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1986.
Charles Dudley Daly
Class of 1905
Football (1901-02)
Head Coach: Football (1913-16, 1919-22)
After earning football letters at West Point in 1901 and 1902, Charles Daly returned to the Academy for two separate coaching stints, guiding the Black Knight gridders from 1913 to 1916 and again from 1919 through 1922. During his eight campaigns along the Army sideline, the Black Knights amassed a sparkling .804 winning percentage, forging a record of 58-13-3.
Daly directed the Black Knights to undefeated seasons in 1914, 1916 and 1922. Army's perfect 9-0 mark in 1914 was the first in the program's history. Daly's Army teams defeated Navy five times in eight meetings. And, it was Daly roaming the sideline for the Black Knights in 1913 when the Academy initiated its series with Notre Dame, beginning what would evolve into one of college football's most storied rivalies.
In 1951, Daly became the first player or coach from West Point to be enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame, accepting his honor as part of the Hall's inaugural induction class. Daly was a founding member of the American Football Coaches Association and served as that organization's first president in 1922.
During his undergraduate playing days, which included stints as a quarterback at both Harvard and Army, Daly was named a first-team All-American four times (1898-1900 with the Crimson and 1901 at Army) before earning third-team plaudits at West Point in 1902.
In addition to the legacy Daly created on the gridiron, he also initiated a long-time family association with West Point that saw three of his sons, two grandsons and one great-grandson earn degrees from the Academy.
Donald Walter Holleder
Class of 1956
Football (1953-55)/Basketball (1953-56)
In perhaps the ultimate indication of a true team player, Don Holleder yielded his role as a first-team All-American end in 1954 to become Army's starting quarterback in 1955. Honoring a request from legendary coach Earl "Red" Blaik, Holleder switched positions to fill the void created by the graduation of three-year standout signal caller Pete Vann.
In 1954, Holleder had led the Black Knights with 17 receptions for 495 yards. But, four games into the 1955 campaign, and with Army saddled with a 2-2 record, critics had dubbed the shifting of Holleder as "Blaik's Folly." However, the move ultimately paid dividends as Black Knights won four of their final five games and notched a critical 14-6 season-ending win over arch-rival Navy in the process.
A three-year letterwinner on the gridiron, Holleder also earned three letters in basketball. He led the hardwood squad in rebounding (9.3 rpg.) as a junior in 1954-55.
Holleder was presented with the Nelson Award in 1955, given to the player who "by his conduct on the gridiron, demonstrates a high esteem for the football code and exemplifies sportsmanship to an outstanding degree." Holleder, a highly respected leader who had attained the rank of Major, was killed in action in Vietnam in October 1967. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1985.
Kevin Houston
Class of 1987
Men's Basketball (1983-87)
The most prolific scorer in Army men's basketball history, Kevin Houston graduated with an Academy-record 2,325 career points. A smooth-shooting guard, Houston led the nation in scoring as a senior, averaging an astounding 32.9 points per game during the 1986-87 campaign. His 953 points that season are 271 points higher than any other Black Knight before or since.
Following his remarkable senior year, Houston was named an honorable mention All-American by the Associated Press (for the second straight season) and United Press International, while also claiming third-team All-American plaudits from the National Association of Basketball Coaches. He became the first Army player to receive the Haggerty Award as the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association's Player of the Year.
Houston earned a bevy of additional plaudits during his career, including the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference's rookie of the year award in 1984 and its player of the year citation in 1987. He was a three-time All-MAAC honoree.
A four-time letterwinner, Houston appeared in 113 games, tying Randy Cozzens for the most games played by an Army player. His 53 points against Fordham on Feb. 28, 1987, remain the most markers scored by a Black Knight. Houston's 63 three-point baskets in 1986-87, which came in the first year that the three-point shot was instituted in the collegiate game, stood as Army's record for seven seasons. His .477 three-point percentage that winter has been bested just once in the 20 seasons since.
Colleen Marie McCabe
Class of 1991
Softball (1988-1991)
Considered the finest hurler ever to have toiled for Army's women's softball program, Colleen McCabe still holds each of the five career pitching records at West Point, even though 15 years have passed since her departure from the Academy. She is the Black Knights' all-time leader in appearances (121), strikeouts (705), innings pitched (750.1), wins (83) and earned run average (0.80).
In addition, four of the six seasonal standards she established remain untouched, including the wins (21), innings pitched (199.0) and earned run average (0.53) records she authored during her stellar senior season.
McCabe's arrival in 1988 heralded the onset of the most prolific four-year period in Army's women's softball program's history. During that stretch, with McCabe carrying the bulk of the pitching load, the Black Knights won 111 games and forged a .712 winning percentage. Competing at the Division II level in 1989, McCabe led the nation with 210 strikeouts. She anchored Army's move to the Division I ranks and was named the Patriot League's Most Valuable Player in 1991.
As a freshman in 1988, she became the first Army pitcher to throw a perfect game, tossing her gem against Manhattan. McCabe concluded her career by earning the Army Athletic Association Trophy in 1991.
David Michael Merhar
Class of 1969
Hockey (1966-69)
Dave Merhar led Army's hockey team in scoring during each of his three seasons with the varsity, but it was his explosive senior campaign that earned him national acclaim. Merhar erupted for an NCAA-record 57 goals and tallied 50 assists during the 1968-69 season, becoming the first collegiate player ever to surpass 100 points in one year. His 107 points that winter still remain the sixth-highest one-year total recorded in NCAA history while only one player has ever registered more than 57 goals in a season.
Still today, 37 seasons after his graduation, Merhar holds four NCAA records and three Academy standards. His NCAA marks include: points per game in a season (3.82 in 1969); points per game in a career (3.63 from 1967-69); goals per game in a season (2.03 in 1969); and goals per game in a career (1.42 from 1967-69).
His 229 career points rank fifth all-time at Army, while his 117 assists stand tied for eighth on the seasonal chart. He lists third on the Black Knights' career scoring ladder with 112 goals and is one of just four Army players who have reached 100 goals in a career.
Richard Vincent Oehrlein
Class of 1964
Squash (1961-64)/Men's Tennis (1962-64)
Equally adept at handling either a tennis racquet or a squash racquet, Richard Oehrlein carved a superb athletic career at West Point prior to his graduation in 1964. A three-year letterwinner in both sports, Oehrlein served as the squash team captain as a senior in 1963-64.
Over his three varsity seasons, Army's squash team forged a 31-10 (.756) record and defeated Navy all three years. During Oehrlein's senior season, the Black Knights crafted a sterling 12-2 record en route to tying Princeton for second place at the national tournament. Army's dozen wins that winter came in succession, after an 0-2 start, while nine of the 12 were via shutout.
Playing at number one singles over his final two years, and teaming with brother Walter at number one doubles throughout much of his final two seasons, Richard Oehrlein was instrumental to the team's 38-10 (.792) showing over his three varsity campaigns. At one point, Oehrlein built a 30-match win streak, which was snapped late in his senior season. He was 16-0 during dual meets as a junior, and competed at the NCAA Championships in both singles and doubles in 1963.
Army's tennis squad defeated Navy during each of Oehrlein's three seasons, while the Black Knights' 1962 victory was its first over the Mids since 1949.
Walter Henry Oehrlein
Class of 1965
Squash (1962-65)/Men's Tennis (1963-65)
The only individual national champion in the history of Army's squash program, Walter Oehrlein closed out his brilliant career with the 1965 crown. A two-sport star at the Academy, Oehrlein earned three varsity letters each in squash and tennis.
Oehrlein led Army to national runnerup finishes in squash in both 1964 and 1965. Over his three campaigns with the varsity, the Black Knights posted a 32-9 (.780) record and forged three successive victories over arch-rival Navy. The 1964 squad was 12-2, having won a dozen consecutive matches en route to a single-season Academy record for victories.
The tennis team enjoyed similar success during Oehrlein's tenure, compiling a three-year mark of 40-8 (.833). Oehrlein, who served as team captain in 1965, advanced to the NCAA Tournament in singles and doubles in both 1963 and 1964.
Oehrlein, enshrined in the College Squash Association Hall of Fame in 1998, served a three-year stint as head men's tennis coach at Air Force (1969-71), where he helped the Falcons to a 38-28 (.576) record.
Stephen Charles Reich
Class of 1993
Baseball (1990-93)
A highly decorated performer, Steve Reich was one of the finest pitchers to toe the rubber for the Black Knights' baseball program. Reich posted a career record of 19-10, while crafting a 2.49 earned run average. His win total stands tied for fifth on Army's career chart while his ERA lists sixth.
Reich still holds Army records for career strikeouts (259) and strikeouts in a seven-inning game (17, versus Air Force). He also tied the Academy standard for strikeouts in a nine-inning contest, fanning 17 batters in his final collegiate contest. Additionally, Reich stands second on the career innings pitched ledger (260.2).
Reich was at his best in service academy contests, where he forged an unblemished 6-0 mark in six starts, while pitching to a 1.71 ERA. He was 4-0 with a 0.96 ERA over his career against Navy. He earned a plethora of accolades during his time in the "Black, Gold and Gray." He was a three-time league all-star and became the first Black Knight to be named Patriot League Pitcher of the Year (1993). A freshman All-American in 1990, Reich was tabbed first-team All-Eastern College Athletic Conference and first-team Northeast All-American in 1993. He was selected to play for Team USA following graduation and also spent a brief stint in the Baltimore Orioles farm system.
A helicopter pilot, Reich was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2005.
