To the editor:
As a GWHS alumnus, the Out of the Attic article in the July 21 Alexandria Times, “GW High School: Now a state landmark,” brought back favorable memories. The GWHS football field probably hosted a third historic event which was surprisingly not recognized.
During the same era when the Quantico Marines defeated Virginia Tech in the football game pictured, the field hosted what was most likely the first integrated college football game in Virginia as the Penn State freshman team played the U. S. Naval Academy Plebes in the fall of 1952.
If my childhood memory is correct, the Penn State team featured an elusive African American halfback, possibly the future NFL Hall of Famer Lenny Moore. While this event may be judged historic today, I do not recall any publicity of this fact at that time. Perhaps the Office of Historic Alexandria can verify if this recollection is factual.
-Gerald B. File, GWHS ’57, Alexandria
