James Eberwine (1983) - Hall of Fame - University of Akron Athletics

James Eberwine

Induction:
1983
Class:
1956

1953-56
Rifle
‘56
Teamed with Robert McMillan, George Tomi and others, James Eberwine, who was a member of Akron Garfield High School’s national championship riflery team in 1950, came to UA in 1952 to form the first team and put the University on the map in riflery in the early 1950’s. The team, coached by M/Sgt. Richard Kelly was dominant from the start, breezing through the 10-match schedule undefeated, and in the process, captured the Lake Erie Intercollegiate Rifle Conference (LEIRC) championship in its first year of existence. Eberwine averaged 374.7 out of 400 that first season. However, the team wasn’t finished as it sought titles of national scope. Journeying to Buffalo, N.Y., the UA sharpshooters won the National Rifle Association (NRA) Eastern Collegiate Sectional Championships with a 1,410 score out of possible 1,500. Eberwine fired a 285 score to finish sixth in the individual standings. That 1,410 held up as the highest team sore and the Zip added the NRA National ROTC Championship to its growing list of titles. Thanks to Eberwine’s performance as a sophomore, the Zips again captured the LEIRC Championship with an 8-1 record, won the Buffalo sectional title and repeated as National ROTC Championships. Coming through with some of the best shooting of his college career, Eberwine paced the LEIRC with a 283 average and fired a 285 score to finish number one at Buffalo. The team won the LEIRC Championships in 1955 with 14-0 mark and again in 1956 with a 13-0 record as well as NRA Eastern Sectional title both years. The 1956 sectional remains special to Eberwine, who was last to shoot and came through with a team high 288 score to nip Cornell for the title. Entering the US Army, Eberwine held several national records and was a member of the 1958 US World Championship Rifle Team and a member of the 1959 Gold Medal winning US Pan American Games Rifle Team. Currently, Eberwine is a hospital director in Austin, Texas.