National Football Foundation

His fighting spirit was encased in a 95-pound body when he was a high school freshman quarterback. At West Virginia, because of Ben Schwartzwalder's spirit, coach Greasy Neale made him first-string center at only 148 pounds. He coached high schools in West Virginia and Ohio 1933-41. He was a paratrooper in World War II, rose to the rank of major, and was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, four Battle Stars, and Presidential Unit Citation. Schwartzwalder coached Muhlenberg 1946-48 with a 25-5 record and Syracuse 1949-73 with a 153-91-3 record. He was Coach of the Year and Syracuse was national champion in 1959. He developed a string of fine running backs - Jim Brown, Ernie Davis, Floyd Little, Jim Nance, Larry Csonka. His given name was Floyd Burdette Schwartzwalder, but he was universally known as Ben. He was born June 2, 1909, in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and died April 28, 1993, in St. Petersburg, Florida.