Elmer Oliphant
Encyclopedia
Elmer Quillen Oliphant, nicknamed Catchie or Catchy, Olie or Ollie (July 9, 1892 in Bloomfield, IN – July 3, 1975 in New Canaan, Connecticut
) was an American football
player.
in Washington, IN, but transferred to Linton High School in Linton, IN during his junior year. He graduated from Linton in 1910. Honors earned in high school included being named an All State End in Football and Captain of the State Championship Track
Team in 1910.
, member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity and
West Point – Class of 1918
(1920) and the Buffalo All-Americans (1921)
The track and football field area at Linton-Stockton High School
was called Oliphant Field from at least the date the school was occupied in 1922 (and perhaps as early as 1918) until 1980. He was selected as Indiana’s Finest Amateur Athlete by the Helms Foundation in 1958 and was selected for the FWAA Early-Day All-Time All-America Team in 1969.
Comic Book
Game
He was born in Bloomfield, Indiana
to Marion Elsworth Oliphant and Alice V. Quillen Oliphant in 1892. He began school in Bloomfield but the family moved to Washington, Indiana when he was eight or nine. Elmer Oliphant transferred to Linton High School from Washington High School during his junior year. His father’s gristmill partner had absconded with $62,000 in company funds. The family moved back to the Linton area and he worked part-time in the coal mines to help with family finances. Although the teams weren’t called “The Miners” when he graduated from Linton in 1910; he was a real Linton Miner.
He was nicknamed Catchy. That may be because he excelled as a catcher
, outfielder
and power hitter in baseball. It could also be because the dictionary has one meaning of catchy as “having the power to catch the attention.” Supposedly one time he was playing center field for the Linton team, called a time-out, hurried to the nearby cinder track and won the 100-yard dash. Then, he returned to his position in center field and the game continued. The Indiana Football Hall of Fame states that he was All-State End while at Linton High School. He scored a school record of 60 points as Linton defeated rival Sullivan by a whopping 128–0 score. This was listed in his obituary in the Indianapolis Star.
He was captain of the track team and led the team to the State Championship for 1909 – 1910. That trophy won May 21, 1910 and the Big Four Meet trophy won May 14, 1910 are still in the trophy case in the commons with Capt. Oliphant’s name engraved on them. Members of the team wore a diamond shape with a large “L” in the center on their shirts and that picture is also on display. This is still the only time Linton High School has had an Indiana State Championship.
He entered Purdue University, but not on a scholarship. Instead, he waited tables, carried laundry, stoked furnaces, and sold shoes to earn his way. He continued to develop strength and toughness by working as a coal miner during his summer vacation
s. An end as a freshman
, he was a starting halfback
for his final three seasons at the school and distinguished himself as a runner and kicker. In one game, he single-handedly beat Wisconsin by kicking a game winning field goal with a broken ankle to give the Boilermakers a 3–0 victory and then fainted in pain. Only 5’7” and 174 pounds, he belied his build with outstanding speed and power. In football, he helped turn Purdue's football into a winning program.
An excellent student (and perhaps to extend his time in football), he received an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point upon his graduation.
At West Point, he was the first cadet athlete to letter in four major sports and it required a special act of the Athletic Council to design a suitable varsity letter containing a gold star and three stripes for him. Back at the turn of the 20th century, the criteria to receive a letter was very strict. He also monogrammed in hockey, boxing, and swimming which meant that he wasn’t able to participate fully in those sports but was recognized. At that, he is listed as a Champion Boxer in the Corps of Cadets.
He still holds records that have never been broken. He has the individual record for scoring in a single football game at Purdue which was for 43 points in 1912. At West Point he is the season leader with 125 points in 1917 and holds an individual record for scoring with 45 points in 1916. During his college career, he scored 135 points at Purdue and 289 points at West Point and is identified as one of the greatest scorers in collegiate history. (2006 data)
While at West Point he won the Army Athletic Association Trophy. (He won in 1918. 2004 was the 100th year the trophy was given.) He also won the Edgerton Saber as football captain and the Army Athletic Association Saber as the outstanding athlete. Forty-four years after he left Indiana, the Helms Foundation asked sports writers and experts to select Indiana’s Finest Amateur Athlete and Oliphant was selected. In 1969, which was the 100th anniversary of the game, the Football Writers Association of America came up with two 11 man teams. The FWAA Early-Day All-Time All-America Team (1869 to 1919) includes Oliphant. He was the only member of that team still living and attended the ceremony. One team represented the first 50 years and the second team represented the next.
He has been inducted into several Halls of Fame. The most recent induction occurred on October 6, 2004. He was in the inaugural group of sixteen inducted into the Army Sports Hall of Fame at West Point. A color copy of the plaque is on display in the commons at Linton-Stockton High School. The base of the plaque is black with a shape that has forms taken from castle architecture such as crenellation. This is perhaps to tie in the plaque to the team name which is “The Black Knights”. In 2006, of the 4.5 million who have played college football in the 138 year history of the game; only 813 players had been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
On graduation day, June 12, 1918, he married Barbara "Bobbie" Benedict. World War I
changed priorities at West Point and they reverted to purely military instruction during war time. Among his duties, he served in the U.S. Cavalry for one year at Fort Sill
in Oklahoma
. While in military service at West Point in 1919, he invented the intramural sports system as we know it today. The idea was copied by the Naval Academy
and was soon used in colleges and universities across the country. He was appointed track instructor at West Point by Douglas MacArthur who was the Superintendent after returning from World War I. MacArthur later was Supreme Allied Commander of the Southwest Pacific Theater of Operations (term used for all military activity in that area) during World War II
and accepted the surrender of Japan
in September 1945. Oliphant knew many generals including General Lucius Clay
, “Father of the Berlin Air Lift”, who roomed across the hall from him at West Point and General then President Dwight David Eisenhower who corresponded with him, calling him “Ollie” which was his college nickname.
Oliphant played for the Rochester Jeffersons in 1920 and the Buffalo All-Americans in 1921. They were some of the first members of what is now the NFL (National Football League). After the 1921 season, Oliphant retired from active participation in sports. He was the Athletic Director at Union College in Schenectady, New York for two years.
In 1925, Oliphant joined the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. Through tremendous drive and ambition, he became one of the highest salaried executives and headed the group insurance division in the New York area. He retired in 1957 and died in 1975.
Although he is virtually forgotten today, he was known to every sports fan in the first quarter of the 20th century. There is a 1955 Topps All-American collectible sports card with his picture and a Street and Smith comic book featured him in 1943 with a section “The Thrilling Story of West Point’s Most Famous Athlete Four Letter Man, Ollie Oliphant.” A board game that featured a picture of him inside a football shape on the cover is dated from 1933. It is titled "Oliphant Football Game" and was produced by The Coaches Game Inc. of New York City. In the 100 Greatest Players of All Time (in an article that thanks the College Football Hall of Fame for their help), he is #78. His name is mentioned in two well-known films “The Long Gray Line” (1955) and “Knute Rockne, All American” (1940)
His picture once hung in the Linton-Stockton High School gym and from 1918 (or at least 1922) until 1980, Oliphant Field (now Roy Williams Field) was the name of the athletic field (football and track area). In 2006, plaques were placed in the gym foyer representing those who are in the Indiana Football Hall of Fame from Linton, so his name is once again prominently displayed in the town of Linton, Indiana.
“You can’t ‘divide’ a boy –the mental, moral, and physical should go hand in hand, athletics, church, books.” (quote of Oliphant) As a plebe Oliphant was superintendent of Sunday School at West Point. He became the first to include the children of the colored soldier in the classes, in addition to opening the way for the children of all enlisted men. “I am happy to say this type of selection is still going on.” Elmer writes. In recent years Oliphant has been converted to Catholicism and at 66 years of age he works just as hard for the church as he did years ago as a Sunday School Superintendent.” This is from the Lafayette Journal & Courier (newspaper) June 18, 1958 Graham Crackers (column) by Gordon Graham
New Canaan, Connecticut
New Canaan is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, northeast of Stamford, on the Fivemile River. The population was 19,738 according to the 2010 census.The town is one of the most affluent communities in the United States...
) was an American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player.
High school
Oliphant originally attended Washington High SchoolWashington High School
Washington High School may refer to:*George Washington High School , in San Francisco, California*Washington High School , in Phoenix, Arizona*Washington High School in Fremont, California...
in Washington, IN, but transferred to Linton High School in Linton, IN during his junior year. He graduated from Linton in 1910. Honors earned in high school included being named an All State End in Football and Captain of the State Championship Track
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
Team in 1910.
College attended
Purdue – Class of 1914, degree in Mechanical EngineeringMechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
, member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity and
West Point – Class of 1918
College honors
- At Purdue University: 7 official Varsity letters in football, basketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, baseballBaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
and track. Also swamSwimming (sport)Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
and wrestledWrestlingWrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
at Purdue. - At West Point: 11 official Varsity letters in football, basketball, baseball, and track. He also had 3 monograms in boxingBoxingBoxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
, swimming and hockeyHockeyHockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
. - He was the first at Purdue and West Point to letter in four major sports.
- Helms Athletic Foundation All-American in Basketball – 1913–1914 for Purdue and 1914–1915 for Army
- Walter Camp All-American in Football – 1915 (2nd team) and 1916 (1st team)
- First Team All American in Football – Consensus – 1916 & 1917
- All-Time All American Team in Football – Named by Knute RockneKnute RockneKnute Kenneth Rockne was an American football player and coach. He is regarded as one of the greatest coaches in college football history...
- Two Time All-Western (now Big Ten) – 1912 & 1913
- Army Athletic Association Trophy Winner – 1918
- Edgerton Saber and Athletic Association Saber – 1918
- Established World Record in 220-yard low hurdles on grass while at West Point.
- At Purdue, still holds Individual Record for Scoring in a game in 1912 with 43 points.
- At West Point, still is the Single Season Leader in Scoring at West Point with 125 in 1917 and holds the Individual Record for Scoring in a game in 1916 with 45 points.
Professional
Played for the Rochester JeffersonsRochester Jeffersons
The Rochester Jeffersons from Rochester, New York played in the National Football League from 1920 to 1925.Formed as an amateur outfit by a rag-tag group of Rochester-area teenagers after the turn of the century , the team became known as the Jeffersons in reference to the locale of their playing...
(1920) and the Buffalo All-Americans (1921)
Coaching experience
- Appointed track coach at West Point by Douglas MacArthurDouglas MacArthurGeneral of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
- Athletic Director at Union CollegeUnion CollegeUnion College is a private, non-denominational liberal arts college located in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents. In the 19th century, it became the "Mother of Fraternities", as...
, Schenectady, NY 1922–24 - AAU coach and helped prepare the Americans for the 1924 Olympics1924 Summer OlympicsThe 1924 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VIII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1924 in Paris, France...
in ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Special recognition
Identified as one of the greatest scorers in collegiate history. Credited with a total of 435 points in his college career – 135 at Purdue and 300 at Army.The track and football field area at Linton-Stockton High School
Linton-Stockton High School
Linton-Stockton High School is located in Linton, Indiana in Greene County. It is home to about 450 students. The mascot for this school is the Miner, and the school colors are red and blue. With Linton winning the majority of the games in recent years but Sullivan leading the series 51-41-2...
was called Oliphant Field from at least the date the school was occupied in 1922 (and perhaps as early as 1918) until 1980. He was selected as Indiana’s Finest Amateur Athlete by the Helms Foundation in 1958 and was selected for the FWAA Early-Day All-Time All-America Team in 1969.
Sports media
Card- 1955 Topps All-American Set, #45 Elmer Oliphant.
Comic Book
- January 1943 Vol. 1 No. 11 Doc Savage Comic – "Doc Savage Fights the Giants of Destruction" (title of this issue) with a section on: "The Thrilling Story of West Point’s Most Famous Athlete Four Letter Man Ollie Oliphant".
Game
- "Oliphant Football Game" from The Coaches Game Inc. dated 1933 which is a board game.
Halls of Fame
- Helms Athletic FoundationHelms Athletic FoundationThe Helms Athletic Foundation was an athletic foundation based in Los Angeles, founded in 1936 by Bill Schroeder and Paul Helms. It put together a panel of experts to select National Champion teams and make All-America team selections in a number of college sports including football and basketball...
Hall of Fame in 1953 or 1957 - National Football FoundationNational Football FoundationThe National Football Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 1947 by General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army Black Knights football coach Earl "Red" Blaik and journalist Grantland Rice...
Hall of Fame in 1955 - College Football Hall of FameCollege Football Hall of FameThe College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
in 1955 - Indiana Football Hall of FameIndiana Football Hall of FameThe Indiana Football Hall of Fame is a sports museum and hall of fame in Richmond, Indiana. It honors persons associated with high school, college and professional American football in Indiana. It also works to establish scholarships and endowments to promote football in the state of Indiana...
in 1975 - Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997
- Kappa Sigma Fraternity Hall of Fame, Chi Chapter of Purdue in 1997
- Army Sports Hall of Fame (U.S. Military Academy at West Point), their Inaugural Class in 2004
Full story
He was born in Bloomfield, Indiana
Bloomfield, Indiana
Bloomfield is a town in Richland Township, Greene County, Indiana, United States. The population was 2,405 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Greene County.Bloomfield is part of the Bloomington, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area....
to Marion Elsworth Oliphant and Alice V. Quillen Oliphant in 1892. He began school in Bloomfield but the family moved to Washington, Indiana when he was eight or nine. Elmer Oliphant transferred to Linton High School from Washington High School during his junior year. His father’s gristmill partner had absconded with $62,000 in company funds. The family moved back to the Linton area and he worked part-time in the coal mines to help with family finances. Although the teams weren’t called “The Miners” when he graduated from Linton in 1910; he was a real Linton Miner.
He was nicknamed Catchy. That may be because he excelled as a catcher
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
, outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
and power hitter in baseball. It could also be because the dictionary has one meaning of catchy as “having the power to catch the attention.” Supposedly one time he was playing center field for the Linton team, called a time-out, hurried to the nearby cinder track and won the 100-yard dash. Then, he returned to his position in center field and the game continued. The Indiana Football Hall of Fame states that he was All-State End while at Linton High School. He scored a school record of 60 points as Linton defeated rival Sullivan by a whopping 128–0 score. This was listed in his obituary in the Indianapolis Star.
He was captain of the track team and led the team to the State Championship for 1909 – 1910. That trophy won May 21, 1910 and the Big Four Meet trophy won May 14, 1910 are still in the trophy case in the commons with Capt. Oliphant’s name engraved on them. Members of the team wore a diamond shape with a large “L” in the center on their shirts and that picture is also on display. This is still the only time Linton High School has had an Indiana State Championship.
He entered Purdue University, but not on a scholarship. Instead, he waited tables, carried laundry, stoked furnaces, and sold shoes to earn his way. He continued to develop strength and toughness by working as a coal miner during his summer vacation
Summer vacation
Summer vacation is a vacation in the summertime between school years in which students and instructors are off school typically between 6 and 12 weeks, depending on the country and district.-Students:In some countries, students participate in programs such as organized sports, summer camps, and...
s. An end as a freshman
Freshman
A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...
, he was a starting halfback
Halfback (American football)
A halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...
for his final three seasons at the school and distinguished himself as a runner and kicker. In one game, he single-handedly beat Wisconsin by kicking a game winning field goal with a broken ankle to give the Boilermakers a 3–0 victory and then fainted in pain. Only 5’7” and 174 pounds, he belied his build with outstanding speed and power. In football, he helped turn Purdue's football into a winning program.
An excellent student (and perhaps to extend his time in football), he received an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point upon his graduation.
At West Point, he was the first cadet athlete to letter in four major sports and it required a special act of the Athletic Council to design a suitable varsity letter containing a gold star and three stripes for him. Back at the turn of the 20th century, the criteria to receive a letter was very strict. He also monogrammed in hockey, boxing, and swimming which meant that he wasn’t able to participate fully in those sports but was recognized. At that, he is listed as a Champion Boxer in the Corps of Cadets.
He still holds records that have never been broken. He has the individual record for scoring in a single football game at Purdue which was for 43 points in 1912. At West Point he is the season leader with 125 points in 1917 and holds an individual record for scoring with 45 points in 1916. During his college career, he scored 135 points at Purdue and 289 points at West Point and is identified as one of the greatest scorers in collegiate history. (2006 data)
While at West Point he won the Army Athletic Association Trophy. (He won in 1918. 2004 was the 100th year the trophy was given.) He also won the Edgerton Saber as football captain and the Army Athletic Association Saber as the outstanding athlete. Forty-four years after he left Indiana, the Helms Foundation asked sports writers and experts to select Indiana’s Finest Amateur Athlete and Oliphant was selected. In 1969, which was the 100th anniversary of the game, the Football Writers Association of America came up with two 11 man teams. The FWAA Early-Day All-Time All-America Team (1869 to 1919) includes Oliphant. He was the only member of that team still living and attended the ceremony. One team represented the first 50 years and the second team represented the next.
He has been inducted into several Halls of Fame. The most recent induction occurred on October 6, 2004. He was in the inaugural group of sixteen inducted into the Army Sports Hall of Fame at West Point. A color copy of the plaque is on display in the commons at Linton-Stockton High School. The base of the plaque is black with a shape that has forms taken from castle architecture such as crenellation. This is perhaps to tie in the plaque to the team name which is “The Black Knights”. In 2006, of the 4.5 million who have played college football in the 138 year history of the game; only 813 players had been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
On graduation day, June 12, 1918, he married Barbara "Bobbie" Benedict. World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
changed priorities at West Point and they reverted to purely military instruction during war time. Among his duties, he served in the U.S. Cavalry for one year at Fort Sill
Fort Sill
Fort Sill is a United States Army post near Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.Today, Fort Sill remains the only active Army installation of all the forts on the South Plains built during the Indian Wars...
in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. While in military service at West Point in 1919, he invented the intramural sports system as we know it today. The idea was copied by the Naval Academy
Naval Academy
-Institutions:* The United States Naval Academy* The Indian Naval Academy of India* The Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy of Bulgaria* The Imperial Japanese Naval Academy* The École Navale of France* The Britannia Royal Naval College of the United Kingdom...
and was soon used in colleges and universities across the country. He was appointed track instructor at West Point by Douglas MacArthur who was the Superintendent after returning from World War I. MacArthur later was Supreme Allied Commander of the Southwest Pacific Theater of Operations (term used for all military activity in that area) during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and accepted the surrender of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in September 1945. Oliphant knew many generals including General Lucius Clay
Lucius Clay
Lucius Clay may refer to:*Lucius D. Clay , American military governor of Germany after World War II*Lucius D. Clay, Jr. , American commander of the Air Defense Command...
, “Father of the Berlin Air Lift”, who roomed across the hall from him at West Point and General then President Dwight David Eisenhower who corresponded with him, calling him “Ollie” which was his college nickname.
Oliphant played for the Rochester Jeffersons in 1920 and the Buffalo All-Americans in 1921. They were some of the first members of what is now the NFL (National Football League). After the 1921 season, Oliphant retired from active participation in sports. He was the Athletic Director at Union College in Schenectady, New York for two years.
In 1925, Oliphant joined the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. Through tremendous drive and ambition, he became one of the highest salaried executives and headed the group insurance division in the New York area. He retired in 1957 and died in 1975.
Although he is virtually forgotten today, he was known to every sports fan in the first quarter of the 20th century. There is a 1955 Topps All-American collectible sports card with his picture and a Street and Smith comic book featured him in 1943 with a section “The Thrilling Story of West Point’s Most Famous Athlete Four Letter Man, Ollie Oliphant.” A board game that featured a picture of him inside a football shape on the cover is dated from 1933. It is titled "Oliphant Football Game" and was produced by The Coaches Game Inc. of New York City. In the 100 Greatest Players of All Time (in an article that thanks the College Football Hall of Fame for their help), he is #78. His name is mentioned in two well-known films “The Long Gray Line” (1955) and “Knute Rockne, All American” (1940)
His picture once hung in the Linton-Stockton High School gym and from 1918 (or at least 1922) until 1980, Oliphant Field (now Roy Williams Field) was the name of the athletic field (football and track area). In 2006, plaques were placed in the gym foyer representing those who are in the Indiana Football Hall of Fame from Linton, so his name is once again prominently displayed in the town of Linton, Indiana.
Quotes
“If the Indiana moon was shining, he’d hurdle or hand vault a few fences. Farmers coming into town told about the running-leaping figure in white that scared their horses and cows.” This is about his high school years and refers to what he would do when he had finished his 15 hour day of coal mining in the summer time. “Ollie always has liked to talk at length about his exploits. But he’s aware of it and sometimes kids himself. “McEwan and Cowboy Meacham and myself,” he says, “all taught Sunday school to the kids on the Post. One Sunday morning a little girl was asked by her daddy after she got home: What did you learn today, honey? “Daddy,’ she said, “I learned all about Jesus Christ and Elmer Q. Oliphant.” It is from Gridiron Grenadiers (1948) by Tom Cohane“You can’t ‘divide’ a boy –the mental, moral, and physical should go hand in hand, athletics, church, books.” (quote of Oliphant) As a plebe Oliphant was superintendent of Sunday School at West Point. He became the first to include the children of the colored soldier in the classes, in addition to opening the way for the children of all enlisted men. “I am happy to say this type of selection is still going on.” Elmer writes. In recent years Oliphant has been converted to Catholicism and at 66 years of age he works just as hard for the church as he did years ago as a Sunday School Superintendent.” This is from the Lafayette Journal & Courier (newspaper) June 18, 1958 Graham Crackers (column) by Gordon Graham