Why would a picture of a West Point freshman practicing his punts, circa 1912, with his face half-hidden and the football not even in the frame, make the countdown? Maybe the credit line will give you a hint.
(Associated Press photo via The Eisenhower Library)
That partially obscured punter is Dwight Eisenhower, Class of 1915 (“The Class the Stars Fell on“), future general, future supreme allied commander, future two-term president. But before all that, he lettered at Army in 1912. A knee injury — reportedly suffered trying to track down a halfway-decent running back out of Carlisle named Jim Thorpe — cut his career short. He became a “yell leader” for the Cadets instead, according to his biography at his foundation’s website, which also includes this graduation photo.
Check back over the weekend for more presidents — it’s convention season, after all.
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