Army West Point Athletics
23 Letters: Galiffa and Wilson Among Hall of Fame Class
September 10, 2007 | General
Editor's Note: This is the fifth in a series of stories profiling the Kenna Hall of Army Sports inductees, Class of 2007. Each week, goARMYsports.com will take a look at these outstanding athletes and their accomplishments, leading into the induction on Sept. 28.
The 2007 Class of the Kenna Hall of Army Sports boasts an impressive array of accomplishments, talents and milestones.
Two of those honorees will be inducted posthumously but their successes on the “fields of friendly strife,” will be documented forever. Between the two of them, they earned 23 varsity letters.
Arnold Galiffa and “Lighthorse” Harry Wilson, along with Thomas Cafaro, Carl Ullrich, Alma Hulse, Barry DeBolt and Col. Charles Oliver will be enshrined into the Kenna Hall of Army Sports during a “black tie” ceremony Sept. 28 at West Point. The group will also be honored during the football game against Temple the next day.
The Army Sports Hall of Fame is a subset of the Kenna Hall of Army Sports, a comprehensive museum display of Army's proud intercollegiate athletic program. It is located on the third floor of Kimsey Athletic Center, Army's mammoth football training facility that opened during the spring of 2003.
Galiffa, a graduate of the Class of 1949, was a three-sport standout at Army where he earned a whopping 11 varsity letters. He lettered four times in both basketball and baseball and three times in football.
Football may have been his best sport, though, and he was inducted in the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame in 1983. He was named a first-team All-American quarterback by five different agencies in 1949 and led that team to a 9-0 record and a fifth Lambert Trophy in six seasons.
He set Academy season records for completions (50), attempts (97) and touchdowns (13) in 1949 and graduated as the school’s all-time leader in completions (119), attempts (260), yards (1,947) and touchdowns (21). He was recognized as the male athlete of his class, winning the Army Athletic Association Award in 1950.
Galiffa was a three-year starter at quarterback and held the Army record for longest pass completion (83 yards) from 1949 until 1987. The Black Knights were 31-2-4 during his four years, and recorded three undefeated seasons. He was a member of Army teams that beat Navy in three different sports in one year and was selected the football team’s most valuable player as a senior.
He was also stellar on the baseball diamond as a first baseman and on the hardwood as a starting forward in basketball during his senior season before serving in the Korean War. Galiffa still ranks fourth on Army’s all-time career touchdown passes list with 21. His 13 scoring tosses in 1949 still stands as the third-best in Army’s illustrious football record books.
Galiffa went on to play professional football for the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers.
Wilson, a 1927 graduate, established a 50-year-old Academy record by earning 12 varsity letters, four each in football, basketball and lacrosse He was also an All-American in all three of those sports, including a first-team halfback in 1926. He was chosen as a first team All-American in basketball following the 1926-27 season and earned first-team (1926) and second team (1928) All-American accolades in lacrosse.
Wilson was inducted into the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame in 1973 and the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1963.
Army’s football team registered a sparkling 28-5-3 record during his career. He scored both touchdowns in a 14-7 win over Navy in 1927, and in 1928, was honored with the Army Athletic Association Award.
Tickets for the event are available to the public and can be purchased by calling Army's External Operations Office at 845-938-2322. Proceeds will be directed to a fund that supports the daily care, maintenance and growth of the Kenna Hall of Army Sports and Army Sports Hall of Fame.
