Ben Schwartzwalder, Honorary
Schwartzwalder, who was a 152-pound starting center at WVU, came to Syracuse in 1949 following campaigns of 9-1, 9-1 and 7-3 at Muhlenberg College. His first SU squad posted a 4-5 record but that was the last losing season the Orange would have for 23 years! When Schwartzwalder retired after the 1973 campaign, his SU coaching record stood at 153-91-3. Including three successful seasons at Muhlenberg, the Schwartzwalder ledger read 178-96-3, good enough to rank him high among the nation's coaching legends.
Along the way Ben's SU squads won a national championship (10-0 in '59) and four Lambert Trophies ('52, '56, '59 and '66) and participated in seven bowl games (Orange in '52 and '58, Cotton in '56 and '59, Liberty in '61, Sugar in '65 and Gator in '66). He was named Coach of the Year in '70, the latter being especially significant since his team lost its first three games to Houston (42-15), Kansas (31-14) and Illinois (27-0) by a 100-29 margin but came off the floor to win six of its last seven starts for a 6-4 record. Including in the SU stretch run that fall was a five-game win streak at the expense of Maryland (23-7), Penn State (24-7), Navy (23-8), Pittsburgh (43-13) and Army )31-29). Now that's some kind of winning streak!
And equally impressive were the athletes who blossomed under Schwartzwalder's "Orange Thumb," a total of 15 All-Americans, including three-time nominee Floyd Little and two-time honorees Ernie Davis and Pat Killorin. Who will ever forget the seemingly-endless string of backfield superstars Ben trotted out for the Archbold faithful? There are few colleges in the nation who can boast runners the likes of Jim Brown, Davis, Jim Nance, Little and Larry Csonka, five of the greatest ballcarriers the game has ever seen.
Along the way Ben's SU squads won a national championship (10-0 in '59) and four Lambert Trophies ('52, '56, '59 and '66) and participated in seven bowl games (Orange in '52 and '58, Cotton in '56 and '59, Liberty in '61, Sugar in '65 and Gator in '66). He was named Coach of the Year in '70, the latter being especially significant since his team lost its first three games to Houston (42-15), Kansas (31-14) and Illinois (27-0) by a 100-29 margin but came off the floor to win six of its last seven starts for a 6-4 record. Including in the SU stretch run that fall was a five-game win streak at the expense of Maryland (23-7), Penn State (24-7), Navy (23-8), Pittsburgh (43-13) and Army )31-29). Now that's some kind of winning streak!
And equally impressive were the athletes who blossomed under Schwartzwalder's "Orange Thumb," a total of 15 All-Americans, including three-time nominee Floyd Little and two-time honorees Ernie Davis and Pat Killorin. Who will ever forget the seemingly-endless string of backfield superstars Ben trotted out for the Archbold faithful? There are few colleges in the nation who can boast runners the likes of Jim Brown, Davis, Jim Nance, Little and Larry Csonka, five of the greatest ballcarriers the game has ever seen.
