American Legion Post 50 SAL 50 New York USA
| 2007 American Legion Sons of American Legion |
The American Legion
For God and country * PELHAM POST 50,
The Department of New York
Sons of the American Legion, Squadron 50
BOX 293, PELHAM, NY 10803
USA
For Immediate Release Contact: Ken Kraetzer (914) 450-9554 kgk914@aol.com
or John Chuhran, (914) 235-5523 or jtchuhran@aol.com
More Information available at www.legionpost50ny.com
Two PMHS Football Captains to be honored by Sports Hall of Fame on July 7th.
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PMHS and Morgan State stars gave their lives in Korea and Vietnam
Pelham, N.Y., June 12, 2007 – Pelham natives Lt. Col Eli Page Howard Jr. and Lt. Eugene Lee Evans,
both outstanding high school and college athletes who died during military service will receive
posthumous awards from the African American Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame at their dinner to be held in
New York City on July 7th.
The award was announced by Arif Khatib, Founder And President, African American Ethnic Sports Hall of
Fame, Global Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame based in Oakland, California. http:www.afrosportshall.com. Mr.
Khatib is also Publisher And Managing Editor of African American Sports Magazine. The induction
honorees that night will be Tony Oliva (Baseball), Wayne “Tree” Rollins (Basketball), Dr. Lillian Greene-
Chamberlain (Track & Field), Nate “Tiny” Archibald (Basketball), Pancho Gonzalez (Tennis), Mark
Breland (Boxing), Dr. Herbert Carnegie (Hockey), Ken Hudson (Basketball), Joe Bostic (Journalist), and
Matt Snell of the New York Jets (Football).
The Black Tie (Optional) awards dinner will be held on July 7th from 6:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. at the
Alhambra Ballroom located at 2116 Adam Clayton Powell Blvd. in Harlem (www.alhambraballroom.com).
Congressman Charles B. Rangel, a Korean War veteran is expected to provide welcoming remarks to the
event. A table representing Pelham is being organized, contact Ken Kraetzer of the Sons of the
American Legion at 914-450-9554.
This award came about due to the stories of Lt. Evans and Col. Howard being found by a research effort
that was contributed to by Pelham Memorial High School Social Studies teacher Maria Thompson and her
students, and the honors provide by Pelham and the two most recent memorial Day ceremonies in
Pelham at which their stories were read.
1st Lieut. Eugene Lee Evans, US Army was a four letter athlete during his years at Pelham Memorial
High School in New York, a graduate of the class of 1945. He played three years of varsity football and
was captain of the 1944 team. Known as “Dippy” to his friends, he was selected as All-County and All-
Metropolitan football end, in basketball he was All-County center, he led the baseball team with a batting
average of .444, and was the star high jumper of the school track team. He was chosen a member of the
Student Council and was elected Secretary of his class in 1945. After service in the US Marine Corps, Lt.
Evans enrolled at Morgan State College in Baltimore, where he was an end on the undefeated football
team which won 19 games and the National and CIAA championships in 1949. Prior to graduation he
served as a student assistant in the Physical Education dept. at PMHS.earning praise from Supt. Of
Schools W.W. Fairclough and Principal F. Hamilton Whipple. At his graduation at Morgan State in June
1951, he received his commission as a 2nd Lieut.of the United States Army. The next April he was sent
to Korea as a member of the 32nd Regiment of the 7th Infantry Division, where he was killed in service
leading his troops across enemy lines on July 19,, 1952.
Lt. Col. Eli Page Howard, Jr. US Army, known as “Tim” was a co-captain of the undefeated 1945
Pelham Memorial High School football team which outscored its opponents 183 to 13. The PMHS
yearbook, described him as the “Touchdown King” After service as US Marine, Howard joined his Pelham
friend and teammate, Eugene “Dippy” Evans at Morgan State College in Baltimore. In college he made
Cadet Commander in the ROTC program and was a four year letterman in both basketball and football.
With “Dippy” Evans at end, Tim Howard was the quarterback and co-captain of Morgan State’s 1949
national champions of historically African-American colleges. In 1974 he was named to the Morgan State
Athletic Hall of Fame. After his commissioning Col. Howard went on to serve in Korea, Germany and two
tours in Vietnam. In Vietnam during 1969, while leading the 3rd Battalion of the 196th Light Infantry
Brigade, his helicopter was shot down near Da Nang, during a battle so intense, it took US forces five
days to fight their way to the crash site. Lt. Col Eli Page Howard is interred at section 39 of Arlington
National Cemetery, in the row behind his father, a WWI veteran. He is honored on panel 19W row 68 of
the Vietnam Wall.
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Col. Eli P