George Washington University Athletics
GW Athletics Vault: Football Retrospective
2/11/2021 8:35:00 AM | General
Feb. 9, 2021 marked the 200th anniversary of the U.S. Congress' establishment of The George Washington University's charter. GW Athletics is proud to be part of the university's bicentennial celebration, honoring the historic milestone with a variety of initiatives meant to highlight the best of the Buff and Blue, including these regular features looking into the GW Athletics Vault. To learn more about the #GW200 festivities, visit the university bicentennial page.
Buried in the annals of GW Athletics storied history lies an extraordinary season on the gridiron, capped by a shutout Sun Bowl win on New Years Day 1957.
GW accumulated 217 wins in program history, competing among the likes of rivals Maryland, Virginia, Virginia Tech and West Virginia, primarily in the Southern Conference from the late 1800s to 1966. The program once shared a home with the Washington Football Team of the NFL, competing at what was D.C. Stadium before it was renamed after Robert F. Kennedy.
Playing against top-level competition when the team enjoyed considerable success in the 1930s and 1950s, the program's highlight was that 13-0 win to cap the 1956 season, but that was hardly the only high point.
Dating back to as early as 1881 when the team began competition by playing against local high schools and club competition, GW built a program that in the 1930s and 1940s gained nationwide media attention with opponents the likes of Alabama on the schedule in 1932, with a win over Iowa and a tie against Oklahoma that same year.
The greatest gridiron standout may have been running back Alphonse "Tuffy" Leemans, who set program records in single-season rushing yards, career rushing yards and carries. Later a two-time All-NFL player for the New York Football Giants, Tuffy is now enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Head Coach William Reinhart, also GW's all-time winningest basketball coach and fourth-winningest baseball coach, helmed the football program between 1938 and 1941. Other highlights included Head Coach Eugene "Bo" Sherman being named Southern Conference Coach of the Year in 1956, while center Steve Korcheck took home Conference Player of the Year honors.
Running back Dick Drummond earned All-Southern Conference honors three times from 1961-63 and staked a unique place in local sports history when he scored four times in the first night game ever played at D.C. Stadium, while Garry Lyle enjoyed glory days at GW before plying his trade in the National Football League.
The most consequential alumnus of all was Norman Neverson, the first Black student-athlete to earn a scholarship thereby fully integrating GW Athletics. While at GW, Neverson found success on the field as an All-America defensive end and was a participant in the original March on Washington in 1963.
GW's last football game came on Thanksgiving Day in 1966, but not before 31 former student-athletes and Coach Reinhart put together careers that would lead them to the GW Athletic Hall of Fame. For a full list of the program's Hall of Fame alumni, click here.