Alex Weyand

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Alexander Mathias "Babe" Weyand
Date of birth:	January 10, 1892
Place of birth:	Jersey City, New Jersey
Date of death:	May 10, 1982
Place of death:	North Bellmore, New York
Career information
Position(s):	T
College:	Army
College Football Hall of Fame

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.

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

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.

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 batallion 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. ^[1]