James E. Goldsmith (2015) - Hall of Fame - University of Akron Athletics

James E. Goldsmith

Induction:
2015
Class:
1958

1952-56

Rifleman James E. Goldsmith was considered the third-best shooter on the highly successful UA rifle teams of 1952-56. Goldsmith now becomes only the sixth rifle inductee in the 41-year Hall of Fame history and joins fellow teammates Jim Eberwine, a 1983 inductee, and 2002 inductee Bob McMillan on that list with his posthumous induction.

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It was an easy transition for Goldsmith when he arrived on campus in 1952, for it was a hop, step and jump from the high school he attended, Central. In addition, he knew several of the UA’s riflemen from previous junior rifle competition and as a member of the American Legion Post 209 rifle team. In fact, earlier in the year Goldsmith had teamed with Eberwine on the Akron Sharpshooters squad to capture the 1952 National Junior Rifle Championship. It was also fortuitous that in ’52 riflery became a varsity sport as UA helped form the Lake Erie Intercollegiate Rifle Conference (LEIRC) made up of such schools as Case Tech, Gannon (Pa.), John Carroll, Kent State, Oberlin, and Youngstown.

It was a time when all male students, without military experience, were required to take Reserved Officers Training (ROTC). As a result, under the guidance of UA’s rifle coach, Army Master Sargent Richard Kelly, Goldsmith and his teammates dominated collegiate rifle in the Midwest and Eastern United States. Over the 1952-56 years, Akron won 58 consecutive and 93 of 94 matches before dropping its final two matches in Reno, Nevada, despite firing its highest score in four years, 1420, against West Coast powers California (1441) and Nevada (1435).

For most of his UA career Goldsmith trailed Eberwine and McMillan in shooting average. However, during Goldsmith’s first season, that included a career-high 384, the Zips went undefeated with a 10-0 record in the Lake Erie Intercollegiate Rifle Association Championships for their first of four consecutive championships and won four consecutive National Rifle Association Intercollegiate Eastern Sectional titles.

During his 1953-54 sophomore season, Goldsmith was instrumental in UA compiling a 40-1 record for the first two seasons. Goldsmith was on the UA team that captured the 1956 William Randolph Hearst National ROTC Championship. He fired a 280 score in the Eastern Collegiate to close out his stellar career.

Goldsmith went onto serving honorably for over 20 years as a career Infantry Officer in the U.S. Army, rising to the rank of Major. After retiring from the Army, he worked in finance for the County in Rochester, N.Y., where he lived with wife, Barb “Bunny” Goldsmith, before passing away in 2014.