Sunday, February 9, 2014
Alvin loved the Roanoke College Cross Country and Track & Field teams. His athletic accomplishments were legendary: he was Coach Homer Bast's first national level star. But, Alvin was more interested in sharing the spotlight with his teammates. The undefeated cross country squads of 1948 and 1949 achieved a great deal athletically, but it was the fact that the top four finished TOGETHER that brought them notoriety. That was created by Alvin's unselfish nature to put the team ahead of his own ego; he could have crossed the line first almost every time but chose not to. The cross country teams of the past 15 years have known Alvin for his generosity with his sponsorship of a team dinner at the end of the season. Most of the past 20 years he and Betty attended the track and cross country meets, with Alvin taking photos and giving them to me to distribute to team members a week or two later. Our team and the College has lost a dear friend.
