Worcester Academy - Notable Alumni

Notable Alumni

Notable faculty and alumni of Worcester Academy include:

• William H. Bates 1936, U.S. Congressman
• John Barrett 1883, American Diplomat
• H. Jon Benjamin 1984, actor, comedian
• George Boardman the Younger, 1846, missionary
• George B. Boomer 1847, Civil War General
• Ralph A. Doc Carroll, 1909, Major League Baseball player, Philadelphia Athletics, 1916.
• Bill Cooke 1970, National Football League player
• General Norman Cota 1915, portrayed by actor Robert Mitchum in the 1962 movie classic "The Longest Day"
• Alta Dantzler 1996, DMA, Mezzo-Soprano
• Jim Davis 1962, Chairman, New Balance Athletic Shoe
• William Stearns Davis 1896, historian and educator
• Clarence Dillon 1904, co-founder of investment bank Dillon, Read & Co., father of C. Douglas Dillon
• John F. Dryden, 1857, Founder Prudential Insurance, U.S. Senator
• Arthur Duffey 1899, Olympic Sprinter, 1900 Paris
• Harry B. Ellis 1940, Correspondent, Author of books on the Middle East
• Bernie Friberg 1919, Major League Baseball player
• General Hugh J. Gaffey 1916, Patton's Chief of Staff
• Harold D. "Chick" Gagnon, 1919, Major League Baseball player Detroit Tigers
• Willis Goldbeck, 1910, movie producer and writer
• Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor 1893, founder and first editor of National Geographic magazine
• Herman Gundlach 1931, Harvard football captain, Boston Brave lineman, NFL
• Bruno Haas 1915, Philadelphia Athletics pitcher and NFL player
• Alan Haberman 1947, supermarket executive credited with popularizing the barcode
• Ned Harkness 1939, college and professional hockey coach
• Brian Herosian, 1969, former N. F. L. player with the Baltimore Colts and C.F.L. player
• Louis Jean Heydt, 1921, stage and movie actor
• Abbie Hoffman 1955, social and political activist in the 1960s
• Tom Holland 1962, film director
• John Hope 1890, educator and founder of Atlanta University
• Ernest Martin Hopkins 1896, President of Dartmouth College
• Frank Reed Horton 1914, founder Alpha Phi Omega fraternity
• Tony Hulman 1920, Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner
• Lyman Jewett 1840, Baptist missionary who translated the Bible into Telugu
• Edward Davis Jones 1873, co-founder of Dow Jones
• Liz Jung, 1979, crack 'ho.
• Arthur Kennedy 1930, stage and screen actor
• Stephen Knapp 1965, artist
• Stefan Lano 1970, conductor
• Dick Lasse 1954, N. F. L. football player and college coach
• Armand LaMontagne 1958, sculptor of prominent athletes
• Andy Lee, 1998, Korean film star
• Doug Leeds 1965, advertising/media executive and Broadway benefactor
• Arnold L. Lehman 1962, Director of the Brooklyn Museum
• Lou Little 1912, college football coach
• Michael LoPresti Jr 1967, former Massachusetts State Senator
• Andrew Mamedoff, Battle of Britain pilot
• John W. Mayhew 1904, All-American football player and coach
• Roy McGillicuddy 1915, aka Roy Mack son of Connie Mack; co-owner of the Philadelphia A's
• Rep. Jim McGovern 1977, U.S. Congressman
• Charles E. Merrill 1904, co-founder of Merrill Lynch
• Alfred Henry Miller, 1923, N. F. L. football player Boston Bulldogs, 1929
• Paul Mitchell, 1968, Major League Baseball pitcher
• Neil Patel (political advisor), 1987, publisher of the Daily Caller
• Jessica Phillips 1989, Broadway actor
• Wesley Piermarini 2000, rower, mens double scull, 2008 Olympics, Beijing, China
• Arthur Pope 1899, Persian Art Scholar and Administrator
• Cole Porter 1909, Broadway composer
• Sidney Hollis Radner, 1937 magician and expert on Houdini
• Naomi Schaefer Riley 1994, Wall Street Journal Editor
• Frank Rooney 1940, business executive
• Hervey S. Ross 1946, insurance executive, Academy benefactor
• Donald "Dee" Rowe 1947, basketball coach
• Thomas M. Salmon 1982, Vermont State Auditor
• John Edward Sawyer 1937, President of Williams College
• Dennis Shulman 1968, clinical psychologist, psychoanalyst, author, rabbi, and Democratic Party nominee for the United States Congress in New Jersey's Fifth Congressional District
• Mark Slade 1957, TV actor
• Charles Starrett 1922, the "Durango Kid"
• Ira Stoll 1990 Author and Former Managing Editor of the New York Sun
• Jacob Stroyer 1872, Ex-slave, minister, and author
• Henry A. Sullivan 1917, composer
• Prince Nandiyavat Svasti 1927, member of the Thai Royal Family and grandson to King Rama IV (1851–1868), a.k.a. Mongkut, the king of Siam depicted in the musical, The King and I
• Royal C. Taft 1872, Governor of Rhode Island
• Stanley F. Teele 1924, Fourth Dean of Harvard Business School
• Eli Thayer 1840, founder of the Oread Institute and the New England Emigrant Aid Company
• Webster Thayer 1876, Massachusetts judge, presided over the trial of Sacco and Vanzetti in 1920.
• Michael Tien 1968, Deputy, National Peoples Congress, Hong Kong and International clothing retailer
• Willard Tibbetts 1922, bronze medalist in the 3000 meter race in the 1924 Paris Olympics
• William Toomey 1957, gold-medal winning decathlete in the 1968 Summer Olympics
• Howard Trivers 1926, Career diplomat and father of Robert Trivers.
• Benaiah L. Whitman 1883, President of Colby College and George Washington University
• Walt Whittaker 1913, Major League Baseball pitcher
• Lewis Wilson 1939, first Batman in the movies

In certain instances, student-athletes attend Worcester Academy solely for their senior year, or for a single postgraduate year, to increase their exposure to college coaches or to improve their academic standing. Notable student-athletes include:

• David Ball 2003, New York Jets
• Colt Brennan 2003, quarterback for the University of Hawaii, voted third in 2007 Heisman Voting
• Mo Cassara 1993, Head Basketball coach, Hofstra University
• Rick Carlisle 1979, former NBA player, current coach of the 2011 NBA champion Dallas Mavericks
• Jeff Cross, 1980, former NBA player
• Patrick Downey 1993, former NFL player for the NE Patriots, San Diego Chargers, and Washington Redskins
• Obinna Ekezie 1995, former NBA player
• Mark Fidrych 1974, former Detroit Tiger
• Jarrett Jack 2002, Golden State Warriors of the NBA
• Mark Johnson 1986, former Major League Baseball player for the LA Angels, NY Mets, and Pittsburgh Pirates
• Mike Malone 1989, Assistant coach Golden State Warriors
• Donnie Nelson 1982, former NBA and international basketball coach, current President–GM of Dallas Mavericks basketball operations
• Joe Philbin 1980, head coach for the Miami Dolphins
• Sean Ryan 1998, National Football League player, San Francisco 49ers
• Craig Smith 2002, former NBA player, now with Hapoel Jerusalem B.C.
• Tim Welsh 1980, former Providence College coach and sportscaster
• Mike Wilhelm 1986, Assistant Coach, Chicago Bulls