| Undefeated: From Basketball to Battle: West Point's Perfect Season 1944 Contributor(s): Noles, Jim (Author) |
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ISBN: 161200511X ISBN-13: 9781612005119 Publisher: Casemate OUR PRICE: $26.96 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: November 2018 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | Military - United States - History | Military - World War Ii - Biography & Autobiography | Military |
| LCCN: 2018277905 |
| Physical Information: 1.1" H x 6.3" W x 9.1" (1.20 lbs) 272 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 1940's - Holiday - Veteran's Day - Holiday - Memorial Day |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: In 1943, the West Point basketball team, the Cadets, had only managed a 5-10 record, and for the 1944 season coach Ed Kelleher's hopes in reversing Army's fortunes rested on his five starters. They consisted of three seniors - team captain "Big Ed" Christl, John "Three Star" Hennessey, and class president Bobby Faas - and two juniors, Dale Hall and Doug Kenna. At the academy, Kelleher molded his cadets into a new kind of team, and, as the new season opened in January of 1944, Kelleher's strategy paid handsome dividends. By the end of January, West Point was 6-0; by the end of February, the team boasted a 13-0 record. Of course, during those weeks, it only took a glance at the newspaper headlines to be reminded that there were far bigger contests than intercollegiate basketball afoot in the winter of 1944. The cadets would not be able to play in the NIT or NCAA national tournaments for a likely national championship. The world was at war, the U.S. Army needed its finest on the front line more than on the court, and the three seniors were soon destined for other battles. Hennessey endured weeks of front-line fighting, battling from the waist-deep snow of Alsatian forests to the bombed-out rubble of German cities. Christl, a fearless forward observer for his field artillery battalion, made it all the way to Austria, where he would lose his life in the final week of the war in Europe. Three months later, Faas was shot down over Japan and forced to bail out over the Pacific Ocean. Coach Kelleher would die overseas on his own special assignment with the Army. In the years that followed, the Army's basketball team would never again have a chance to play in the NCAA tournament and, in the modern era, few remember West Point's perfect 1944 season. Although West Point's home basketball court is named the Edward C. Christl Arena, and the National Invitational Tournament's trophy is named after his coach, Edward A. Kelleher, too few people fully appreciate why. But after reading Undefeated, they will. |
Contributor Bio(s): Noles, Jim: - Jim Noles graduated from United States Military Academy at West Point, New York in 1990 with a degree in International History. Commissioned in the Army's Aviation Branch, Jim served at Fort Rucker, Alabama, and Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he became a pilot-in-command in UH-1H Huey helicopters. Jim is a prolific author and his books include two WWII histories Mighty by Sacrifice: The Destruction of an American Bomber Squadron, August 29, 1944, and Twenty-Three Minutes to Eternity: The Final Voyage of the Escort Carrier USS Liscome Bay (University of Alabama Press). In addition to his books, Jim's articles and opinion pieces have appeared in such publications as the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Birmingham News. |