Waddy Young
Encyclopedia
Walter Roland Young was an American football
player and World War II
veteran
. He was killed in a plane crash in Tokyo
.
On a warm fall day in 1986, the halftime program of a University of Oklahoma football game included a ceremony involving a man whose name few in the packed stadium had ever heard. As his story was told, fans began to pay attention. “The first consensus All-American football player in Oklahoma history . . . led his team to its first conference championship ever . . . first bowl birth ever, in the 1939 Orange Bowl . . . played pro football for the then-formidable Brooklyn Dodgers . . . voluntarily gave up his NFL career to become a member of the elite flying club who piloted America’s B-17 Flying Fortress bombers in World War II Europe . . . flew the full schedule of 25 missions against mighty German armed forces . . . volunteered to go back into combat in the Pacific Theater against Japan . . . earned command not only of a gigantic new B-29 Super Fortress, but of an entire squadron of them.”
Then, having gained virtually the entire stadium’s attention, the public address announcer told of how, with the war nearly over, Walter A. “Waddy” Young, returning from a successful bombing mission over Tokyo, turned his unharmed aircraft around and flew back into harm’s way to help a besieged fellow plane . . . never to return.
Like so many of the truest American heroes, whose stories have long since been forgotten, if ever they were known, Waddy Young, despite his memorable accomplishments, does not appear in many history books. But in his generation, he proved a giant on the fields of athletics and war alike. In the one-platoon days when college football players’ faces were their face masks, he played both tight end and defensive end for OU, establishing a reputation for himself at the latter as one of the hardest-hitting defenders in the country. He also starred as the Sooners’ heavyweight wrestler. Young was still practicing with the football team for its upcoming Orange Bowl contest against Tennessee when the OU matmen ventured to Stillwater for their annual Bedlam match with OSU. When he and his crimson-clad mat teammates emerged from the locker room prior to the match, to the hoots and boos of thousands of OSU fans—many directed specifically toward Young—he turned the chorus of insults into laughter, then applause, by juggling a trio of oranges—then won his match.
While living in New York City and playing professional football prior to America’s entry into World War II, he met Maggie Moody, a stunning, well-known blonde model and fellow Oklahoman from Cushing (and Oklahoma A & M) who had a beautiful face and a tragic past. The two fell deeply in love and married. Like he did so many things, Waddy Young proposed to her in a memorable fashion. During halftime of a Brooklyn-New York Giants game in which he was playing, just as his team returned to the field, Young had the public address announcer voice the Sooner native’s proposal to Maggie, who was sitting in the stands.
Of such singular moments did Walter A. “Waddy” Young leave his mark on innumerable people, and carve a legacy that may be remembered, after all.
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 and 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...
veteran
Veteran
A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...
. He was killed in a plane crash in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
.
External links
On a warm fall day in 1986, the halftime program of a University of Oklahoma football game included a ceremony involving a man whose name few in the packed stadium had ever heard. As his story was told, fans began to pay attention. “The first consensus All-American football player in Oklahoma history . . . led his team to its first conference championship ever . . . first bowl birth ever, in the 1939 Orange Bowl . . . played pro football for the then-formidable Brooklyn Dodgers . . . voluntarily gave up his NFL career to become a member of the elite flying club who piloted America’s B-17 Flying Fortress bombers in World War II Europe . . . flew the full schedule of 25 missions against mighty German armed forces . . . volunteered to go back into combat in the Pacific Theater against Japan . . . earned command not only of a gigantic new B-29 Super Fortress, but of an entire squadron of them.”
Then, having gained virtually the entire stadium’s attention, the public address announcer told of how, with the war nearly over, Walter A. “Waddy” Young, returning from a successful bombing mission over Tokyo, turned his unharmed aircraft around and flew back into harm’s way to help a besieged fellow plane . . . never to return.
Like so many of the truest American heroes, whose stories have long since been forgotten, if ever they were known, Waddy Young, despite his memorable accomplishments, does not appear in many history books. But in his generation, he proved a giant on the fields of athletics and war alike. In the one-platoon days when college football players’ faces were their face masks, he played both tight end and defensive end for OU, establishing a reputation for himself at the latter as one of the hardest-hitting defenders in the country. He also starred as the Sooners’ heavyweight wrestler. Young was still practicing with the football team for its upcoming Orange Bowl contest against Tennessee when the OU matmen ventured to Stillwater for their annual Bedlam match with OSU. When he and his crimson-clad mat teammates emerged from the locker room prior to the match, to the hoots and boos of thousands of OSU fans—many directed specifically toward Young—he turned the chorus of insults into laughter, then applause, by juggling a trio of oranges—then won his match.
While living in New York City and playing professional football prior to America’s entry into World War II, he met Maggie Moody, a stunning, well-known blonde model and fellow Oklahoman from Cushing (and Oklahoma A & M) who had a beautiful face and a tragic past. The two fell deeply in love and married. Like he did so many things, Waddy Young proposed to her in a memorable fashion. During halftime of a Brooklyn-New York Giants game in which he was playing, just as his team returned to the field, Young had the public address announcer voice the Sooner native’s proposal to Maggie, who was sitting in the stands.
Of such singular moments did Walter A. “Waddy” Young leave his mark on innumerable people, and carve a legacy that may be remembered, after all.