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John Carlyle Herbert Bryant '28
As a student-athlete at Episcopal, "Herbie" Bryant was recognized and admired for his versatility and talent as captain of the varsity basketball team and the varsity football team and as a member of the varsity baseball team and the varsity track team.
"In Herbie, Episcopal High School had one of the best forwards in the state," wrote a member of the 1927-28 basketball team. "He was big and strong enough to more than hold his own in a rough-and-tumble game; his goal shooting placed him high among the leading prep school scorers; and his exceptional shiftiness and speed made him a floor man who was hard to guard."
Mr. Bryant's "exceptional shiftiness and speed" led him to excel as an outfielder on the varsity baseball team as well. "He was so eager for the ball that he would frequently invade the territory of the fielder next to him," reads the 1928 Whispers. "Herbie's strength to the team was not only as a fielder, for he swung a mean bat also. When he landed squarely on the ball-as he had a habit of doing-it took a long ride."
Recognized as a leader in the EHS community, Mr. Bryant also served as a Senior Monitor and member of the Fairfax Literary Society, Missionary Society and Hop Committee.
After graduating from EHS, Mr. Bryant furthered his athletic career at the University of Virginia where he is still the only athlete in the history of the university to earn a varsity letter in five different sports: football, track, basketball, baseball and boxing. In 1931, he was named Best All-Around Athlete in the South by sports writers. In 1932, Mr. Bryant received an honorable mention in the All-American and All-Southern Conferences in football.
Mr. Bryant went on to achieve what many great athletes only dream of: he qualified for the 1932 Olympics in heavy- weight boxing and the 1936 Olympics in both the shot-put and discus. However, because of the Great Depression, he chose to forfeit his place on both teams.
After his death in 1983, Mr. Bryant was inducted into the State of Virginia Hall of Fame in 1984. In 1985, Bryant Hall, an athletic facility on the U.Va. campus that houses locker rooms and a varsity athlete dining room, was named in memory of Mr. Bryant, one of the university's best athletes and a longtime benefactor of the athletic program at U.Va.
Mr. Bryant was former chairman of the O'Sullivan Corp., a plastics manufacturer in Winchester, Va. He is being inducted into the EHS Athletic Hall of Fame posthumously.
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"In Herbie, Episcopal High School had one of the best forwards in the state," wrote a member of the 1927-28 basketball team. "He was big and strong enough to more than hold his own in a rough-and-tumble game; his goal shooting placed him high among the leading prep school scorers; and his exceptional shiftiness and speed made him a floor man who was hard to guard."
Mr. Bryant's "exceptional shiftiness and speed" led him to excel as an outfielder on the varsity baseball team as well. "He was so eager for the ball that he would frequently invade the territory of the fielder next to him," reads the 1928 Whispers. "Herbie's strength to the team was not only as a fielder, for he swung a mean bat also. When he landed squarely on the ball-as he had a habit of doing-it took a long ride."
Recognized as a leader in the EHS community, Mr. Bryant also served as a Senior Monitor and member of the Fairfax Literary Society, Missionary Society and Hop Committee.
After graduating from EHS, Mr. Bryant furthered his athletic career at the University of Virginia where he is still the only athlete in the history of the university to earn a varsity letter in five different sports: football, track, basketball, baseball and boxing. In 1931, he was named Best All-Around Athlete in the South by sports writers. In 1932, Mr. Bryant received an honorable mention in the All-American and All-Southern Conferences in football.
Mr. Bryant went on to achieve what many great athletes only dream of: he qualified for the 1932 Olympics in heavy- weight boxing and the 1936 Olympics in both the shot-put and discus. However, because of the Great Depression, he chose to forfeit his place on both teams.
After his death in 1983, Mr. Bryant was inducted into the State of Virginia Hall of Fame in 1984. In 1985, Bryant Hall, an athletic facility on the U.Va. campus that houses locker rooms and a varsity athlete dining room, was named in memory of Mr. Bryant, one of the university's best athletes and a longtime benefactor of the athletic program at U.Va.
Mr. Bryant was former chairman of the O'Sullivan Corp., a plastics manufacturer in Winchester, Va. He is being inducted into the EHS Athletic Hall of Fame posthumously.
