Waddy Young

Walter Roland Young (September 14, 1916 – January 9, 1945) was a professional football player who later served in World War II.

Waddy Young
refer to caption
Young (far left, pulling wagon) and his B-29 crew "Waddy's Wagon"
Personal information
Born:September 14, 1916
Ponca City, Oklahoma, United States
Died:January 9, 1945(1945-01-09) (aged 28)
Tokyo, Japanese Empire
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school:Ponca City (OK)
College:Oklahoma
Position:End
NFL Draft:1939 / Round: 3 / Pick: 20
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Military career
AllegianceUnited States United States
Service/branchUnited States Army seal U.S. Army Air Corps
Years of service1942-1945
Rank Captain
Unit21st Bomber Command, 73rd Bomb Wing, 497th Bombardment Group, 869th Bombardment Squadron
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsBronze Oak Leaf Cluster
Air Medal

Football career

Young was the first consensus All-American football player out of the University of Oklahoma. He led the team to its first Big Six Conference championship as well as its first bowl berth ever, the 1939 Orange Bowl. He also starred as a heavyweight wrestler for the Sooners. After college, he played professionally for the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National Football League, where he played in the league's first televised game.[1] He was drafted in the third round of the 1939 NFL Draft.[2]

Military career

In 1941, he voluntarily gave up his NFL career to join the United States Army Air Corps, and received his wings in August.[3] After working as an observation group pilot for the First Ground Air Support Command at Pope Field, Young became a pilot of B-24 Liberator bombers;[4] he had hoped to fly fighter planes but was disallowed due to his size.[5]

For 1942, Young was a member of a B-24 anti-submarine patrol launched from Mitchel Field that took part in the Battle of the Atlantic against the Luftwaffe.[6][7] As the NFL season approached, he played for Wallace Wade's Western All-Army football team;[8] he suffered an injury in an exhibition against the Washington Redskins but returned in time for the following week's game against the Chicago Cardinals.[9] Young continued to serve in the European theater through 1943, seeing particular combat in the Bay of Biscay. Between June 1 and December 29, he flew 25 missions and received a bronze oak leaf cluster on his Air Medal in November.[10]

After being rejected for the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt program, Young was transferred to the Pacific theater in 1944, where he flew a B-29 Superfortress. He was the captain of Crew A-5, 21st Bomber Command, 73rd Bomb Wing, 497th Bombardment Group, 869th Bombardment Squadron, nicknamed "Waddy's Wagon". The crew was one of the first B-29 units to bomb Tokyo.[1][11]

On January 9, 1945, Waddy's Wagon was returning from a bombing mission on the Nakajima Aircraft Company in Musashino, Tokyo, when Young spotted a B-29 piloted by friend and 1st Lt. Ben Crowell from Crew A-6 with severe damage from a kamikaze attack. Young attempted to protect the plane from further attacks but both aircraft collided, and all crew involved were killed.[6][12] The final radio transmission from Waddy's Wagon said, "We are okay."[13]

Young was inducted posthumously into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1986 and named the recipient of the Robert Kalsu Freedom Award, presented by the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame, in 2007.[14] The University of Oklahoma Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps Arnold Air Society squadron and Silver Wings chapter is named in honor of Waddy Young.[15]

Personal life

While living in New York City and playing professional football prior to America's entry into World War II, he met Maggie Moody, a well-known blonde model who attended Oklahoma A&M, and the two fell in love. During halftime of a Brooklyn-New York Giants game in which he was playing, Young had the public address announcer voice his proposal to Maggie, who was sitting in the stands, and the two were later married.

References
  1. "Remembering Waddy Young". Oklahoma Sooners. May 28, 2012. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  2. "1939 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  3. "Waddy Young gets lieutenant bars and silver wings". The Kaw City News. August 21, 1941. Retrieved July 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Waddy Young is now smashing at U-boats". Brooklyn Eagle. August 19, 1942. Retrieved July 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Wilson, Bob (January 3, 1944). "Sport Talk". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved July 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Anton, Todd; Nowlin, Bill (November 15, 2013). When Football Went to War. Triumph Books. pp. 79–80. ISBN 978-1600788451.
  7. Feldman, Saul (November 17, 1943). "Sooner Writes Fame In Skies Over Europe". The Oklahoman. Retrieved July 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Lt. Young To Be On Army Gridiron; Mrs. Young Here". Cushing Citizen. August 5, 1942. Retrieved July 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Army Gridders Look for Four Straight Wins". Burlington Daily News. AP. September 3, 1942. Retrieved July 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "'Waddy' Young Enjoying Rest In Florida". The Norman Transcript. December 9, 1943. Retrieved July 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Captain Waddy Young Pilots B-29 In Air Raid Over Tokyo". Cushing Citizen. November 26, 1944. Retrieved July 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. Takaki, Koji; Sakaida, Henry (October 20, 2012). B-29 Hunters of the JAAF. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1782005322.
  13. Tramel, Berry (August 6, 2007). "Young a war hero, kind man: Ex-Sooner, killed near Tokyo in 1945, has been gone 62 years but never forgotten". The Oklahoman. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  14. "Waddy Young". National Football Foundation. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  15. "Silver Wings – Walter R. "Waddy" Young Chapter". University of Oklahoma. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
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