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1956 Melbourne Summer Games
3342 Athletes, 67 Countries, 145 Events

As the first Olympic Games held on the southern hemisphere, Melbourne played host to 3,314 athletes from 72 nations. The 1956 Games were the latest in Olympic history, as they took place between November 22 and December 8. Absent were boycotters Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Spain, and Switzerland. Present was the United States basketball squad, led by University of San Francisco teammates, future Boston Celtics, and future HallofFamers Bill Russell and K.C. Jones. The team won all eight games by at least 30 points. After ending a successful NBA career in 1967, Jones began coaching. He was an assistant coach for the Harvard men during the 197071 season, becoming the first AfricanAmerican man to coach a Crimson team fulltime.

The Yale heavyweight varsity eight had the honor of representing the United States in Melbourne. In doing so, they became the first American eight to lose a race finishing third in the opening round. They persevered in later races, however, and still won the gold.

Two more Leaguers present in Melbourne won rowing medals. John Welchli (Brown '50) won silver as a part of the American four. John B. Kelly, Jr. (Penn '50) won bronze in the single sculls. Kelly became President of the United States Olympic Committee in 1985 but tragically died of a heart attack 22 days after taking the office.

Fellow Cornellian, fencer Eugene Hamori who did post graduate work in Ithaca won gold as part of Hungary's powerful sabre team. He defected from Hungary after the Games and came to the United States. Hamori went to the 1964 Tokyo Games as an American. After receiving his doctorate from Penn, he began teaching at the Tulane University medical school in 1972 a position from which he recently retired. His chief interest was the thermodynamics of biochemical reactions. Hamori is a member of the United States Fencing Hall of Fame.