The Franklin D. Roosevelt
Presidential Library and Museum
presents a conversation
and book signing with
Jim Noles author of
UNDEFEATED: FROM BASKETBALL
TO BATTLE: WEST POINT’S
PERFECT SEASON 1944
Thursday, November 16, 2023 at 2PM
In-person: Wallace Center at the
FDR Presidential Library and Home
CLICK HERE to register
Online: Streamed live to
the official FDR Library
YouTube and Facebook accounts
HYDE PARK, NY -- The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum will present a conversation and book signing with Jim Noles, author of UNDEFEATED: FROM BASKETBALL TO BATTLE: WEST POINT’S PERFECT SEASON 1944, at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 16, 2023. The event will be held in the Henry A. Wallace Center at the FDR Presidential Library and Home and streamed live to the official FDR Presidential Library YouTube and Facebook accounts. This is a free public event, but registration is required to attend in-person. CLICK HERE to register.
Synopsis:
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.
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. 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.
Please contact Cliff Laube at (845) 486-7745 with questions about the event.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Presidential Library and Museum
Designed by Franklin Roosevelt and dedicated on June 30, 1941, the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum is the nation's first presidential library and the only one used by a sitting president. Administered by the National Archives and Records Administration since 1941, the Library preserves and makes accessible to the American people the records of FDR's presidency. The Roosevelt Library's mission is to foster a deeper understanding of the lives and times of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and their continuing impact on contemporary life. This work is carried out through the Library's archives and research room, museum collections and exhibitions, innovative educational programs, and engaging public programming. For more information about the Library or its programs call (800) 337-8474 or visit fdrlibrary.org.
