L to R: Brothers Donald Padden, Earl Roberts, Paul Baldridge, Roy Holcomb, and Hal Weingold

The 1943 Gallaudet’s men basketball team entered the annual Mason Dixon tournament with a pitiful record of 4-11. They were seeded eighth and because there were only seven locker rooms, the team had to change clothes in the hallway in plain view of their opponents. That was when the legendary “Iron Men” bonded and vowed to exact revenge on the basketball court. They defied odds when they defeated the second seeded Randolph-Mason by a score of 48-39. In the upcoming game, the Gallaudet players luxuriated in the newly-acquired locker room and defeated American University 45-40. Suddenly, they found themselves in the Championship game against University of Delaware and defeated them ever so narrowly in the overtime period.

The Iron Men played every second in the tournament without any substitution. The remarkable five men were: Paul Baldridge, Roy Holcomb, Don Padden, Earl Roberts, and Hal Weingold. The Associated Press recognized the skill and valor of these men by picking the five men for its all-conference, all-star team. Their glory is steeped in the rich history of Gallaudet University, and their feats are still commended by various people across the nation today.

But what truly makes it all special?

They were all members of the Kappa Gamma Fraternity.