Bill Mallory

Bio

If there was such a person as the true All-America, it must have been Bill Mallory, Yale's excellent fullback of the early 1920's, Mallory was an inspirational leader who was willing to make the sacrifices to become a scholar and athlete. When he left Yale in 1923, Mallory was voted the outstanding man in his graduating class. As a sophomore, Mallory led the Bulldogs to an 8-1-0 record, marred only by a loss to arch rival Harvard. However, there would be no blemishes on the Yale eight-game campaign two years later. After a 6-3-1 record in 1922, the Yalies found perfection in 1923, out-scoring the competition, 230-38. Mallory, a native of Memphis, was the backfield thrust in that spectacular campaign, running, blocking and catching passes with an ease and fluid motion rarely seen in a fullback. Years later, Mallory became a U.S. Army Air Force intelligence officer and rose to the rank of Major during World War II, gaining wide-spread acclaim for his "Operation Mallory", a tactical plan which cut 22 of 24 bridges spanning the Lo River in Lombardy, thus helping to cut German supply lines into Italy. Mallory was taking off from Italy in 1945, on his way home for discharge, when his plane crashed and he was killed.

Career Highlights

• 1923 Consensus All-America