Hall of Athletic Honor
A two-sport standout at Gettysburg, McCracken saw his first varsity football action as an offensive lineman in 1934, a season in which the Bullets posted a 6-3 record and earned a share of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference championship. Following two more varsity seasons, he was named to the Philadelphia Inquirer All-East team after his senior year and selected to play against the Philadelphia Eagles in a 1937 exhibition game. Among his teammates on that all-star squad were future coaching legend Vince Lombardi of Fordham and 1936 Heisman Trophy winner Larry Kelly of Yale.
After one season with the freshman basketball squad, he switched to the wrestling team in 1935. Despite never wrestling in high school, he lost only five matches in three varsity seasons as a heavyweight, earning conference runner-up status in 1936 and winning the Middle Atlantic Conference championship in 1937. As a team captain that season, he led the Bullets to a second-place finish at the MAC championship tournament.
A native of Freeport, Pa., he graduated in 1937 with a degree in mathematics.
