The Athlete you should know is…

Know Your Medal of Honor Recipients:

Staff Sergeant John R. Crews (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on April 8, 1945 near Lobenbacherhof, Germany. His citation reads:

He displayed conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty on 8 April 1945 near Lobenbacherhof, Germany. As his company was advancing toward the village under heavy fire, an enemy machinegun and automatic rifle with rifle support opened upon it from a hill on the right flank. Seeing that his platoon leader had been wounded by their fire, S/Sgt. Crews, acting on his own initiative, rushed the strongpoint with 2 men of his platoon. Despite the fact that 1 of these men was killed and the other was badly wounded, he continued his advance up the hill in the face of terrific enemy fire. Storming the well-dug-in position single-handedly, he killed 2 of the crew of the machinegun at pointblank range with his M 1 rifle and wrested the gun from the hands of the German whom he had already wounded. He then with his rifle charged the strongly emplaced automatic rifle. Although badly wounded in the thigh by crossfire from the remaining enemy, he kept on and silenced the entire position with his accurate and deadly rifle fire. His actions so unnerved the remaining enemy soldiers that 7 of them surrendered and the others fled. His heroism caused the enemy to concentrate on him and permitted the company to move forward into the village.

Chief Gunner’s Mate Frank William Crilley (US Army) received his first Medal of Honor for his actions on April 17, 1915. His citation reads:

For display of extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession above and beyond the call of duty during the diving operations in connection with the sinking in a depth of water 304 feet, of the U.S.S. F-4 with all on board, as a result of loss of depth control, which occurred off Honolulu, T.H., on 25 March 1915. On 17 April 1915, William F. Loughman, chief gunner's mate, U.S. Navy, who had descended to the wreck and had examined one of the wire hawsers attached to it, upon starting his ascent, and when at a depth of 250 feet beneath the surface of the water, had his lifeline and air hose so badly fouled by this hawser that he was unable to free himself; he could neither ascend nor descend. On account of the length of time that Loughman had already been subjected to the great pressure due to the depth of water, and of the uncertainty of the additional time he would have to be subjected to this pressure before he could be brought to the surface, it was imperative that steps be taken at once to clear him. Instantly, realizing the desperate case of his comrade, Crilley volunteered to go to his aid, immediately donned a diving suit and descended. After a lapse of time of 2 hours and 11 minutes, Crilley was brought to the surface, having by a superb exhibition of skill, coolness, endurance and fortitude, untangled the snarl of lines and cleared his imperiled comrade, so that he was brought, still alive, to the surface.

Quartermaster Thomas Cripps (US Navy) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on August 5, 1864 on board the USS Richmond. His citation reads:

As captain of a gun on board the U.S.S. Richmond during action against rebel forts and gunboats and with the ram Tennessee in Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864. Despite damage to his ship and the loss of several men on board as enemy fire raked her decks, Cripps fought his gun with skill and courage throughout a furious 2-hour battle which resulted in the surrender of the rebel ram Tennessee and in the damaging and destruction of batteries at Fort Morgan.


The book I’m reading right now is The Last Great Game: Duke vs. Kentucky and the 2.1 Seconds That Changed Basketball by Gene Wojciechowski. I’m not done with it yet, but already I can give it a full I’m just sayin… recommendation. This book is great. I don’t want to give anything away, but the book talks a lot about Duke and Kentucky… especially the couple of years leading up to that game… and, of course, that game. Like I said, this is a great book. It might help that I remember watching that game with my cousin Louis at my aunt and uncle’s house. It might also help that the ’92 Duke team is one of my two favorite basketball teams of all time (second only to the 2007 Winthrop team). So maybe I find it more interesting than some others… but if you like college basketball (or any kind of basketball… or me) then I think you’ll like this book. I will say I’m not sure how this game “changed basketball”… that seems a little overly dramatic… but it may have been the last great game (assuming you’re willing to overlook some of the great games Winthrop has played in over the past decade or so).




The I’m just sayin… Know Your South Carolina Athlete

Tony Elliott: Ok, so I may have already talked about Tony on this blog before… but he’s worth talking about again. If you were to Google his name you’d see a lot of stuff about football. This is understandable since he ended up playing football for Clemson. Every now and then you’ll see an article that says he was a stand-out football and basketball player at James Island High School. This, friends, does not do him justice. He was a starter on the football, basketball and baseball teams. I’m not 100% sure of his high school accolades, but I’m 99.99% sure he won a Region Championship at least 1 time in all three sports. I’m also 99.99% sure he made the “All-Region” team at least 1 time in all three sports. I know he made the Lowcountry All-Stars in baseball his senior season because I remember we were on the same team and shared a room at CSU. He was a Centerfielder/Pitcher in baseball. In football, he was a Wide Receiver and (I think, but I’m not 100% sure) a Defensive Back. I don’t remember what he played in basketball. I believe he was a guard or “wing” type player. It is my heart-felt belief that the only reason he didn’t play basketball and/or baseball at the college level is because he didn’t want to. By the way, did I mention he was an honors student? Lest you think that I think Tony is perfect, I will point out he was born in California… not South Carolina… so there’s that. Really, he’s not perfect… but he’s a lot closer than I am. He attended the Air Force Academy after graduating from James Island but left after realizing… well… it was the Air Force Academy. He ended up going to Clemson in the fall of 1999 as a walk-on. He lettered four times as a Wide Receiver from 2000-2003. He graduated in 2002 with a degree in Industrial Engineering… with a 3.55 GPA. He was a First Team Academic All-ACC selection his senior year. He started 4 games as a senior because the coaching staff was too stupid to start him in every game. I don’t remember all of his stats and frankly, don’t feel like looking them up right now. Chances are, they wouldn’t do him justice. I can tell you that he was voted by his teammates to be a team captain his senior season (he was the only unanimous selection as captain that season). In a survey of Clemson players his senior season, he was named the team’s “most respected player”. That is not something to be taken lightly. After graduating from Clemson, he spent two years in the business world before getting into coaching. He has coached at S.C. State, Furman and Clemson. While at Furman, he coached All-SoCon performer Adam Mims… which had to feel a little weird to him since he played football and baseball at James Island with an Adam Mims (no relation). He’s now the Running Backs coach at Clemson. If it were me, I’d have him as the Receivers Coach. Not because I think he’s a bad Running Backs Coach… I don’t… but because I think he’d do better than the Receivers Coach they have now. Anyway, that’s what you need to know about Tony Elliott. Oh, that… and the fact that he was named to the I’m just sayin… All-Time Clemson Football Team.