SPORTS News

Marine Corps Mourns the Death of Two Marine Sport Legends: Bob Mathias and Patty Berg

Marine Corps Sports Hall of Famers Bob Mathias and Patty Berg passed away on 2 September and 10 September.  Both Mathias and Berg served in the United States Marine Corps and went on to become legends in their respective sport.

Bob Mathias, a two-time Olympic champion in the decathlon and former U.S. congressman, died Saturday,  September 2, 2006. He was 75.

The U.S. Olympic Committee said in a statement that Mathias died in his home in Fresno, Calif. His brother said the cause was cancer.

Bob Mathias became the youngest Olympic gold medalist in a track and field event in 1948 in London, when he won the decathlon at 17. It was only his third decathlon competition, having qualified for the Olympics by winning two events in the United States.

At the 1952 Games in Helsinki, Finland, he became the first athlete to repeat as Olympic champion in the decathlon. Earlier that year, he played fullback for Stanford in its Rose Bowl appearance. Though the Washington Redskins drafted him, he never signed. Mathias also won the 1948 Sullivan Award as the nation's top amateur athlete.  In 1952, Mathias was named the Associated Press male athlete of the year.

After his graduation from Stanford in 1954, Mathias joined the Marine Corps and served on active duty from 1954 to 1956.  While on active duty he was assigned to Headquarters Battalion, 1^st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, California until his discharge as a first lieutenant in September 1956.  He then remained in the Marine Corps reserves and was promoted to the rank of Captain.

After retiring from sports, Mathias served as a Republican congressman representing California from 1967-74, serving four terms. Following his political career, Mathias became the first director of the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

He also is a member of the U.S. Olympic and national track and field halls of fame.  In 2002, Mathias was inducted into the United States Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame.

Mathias is survived by his wife, Gwen, and several children.

Patty Berg, the golf pioneer who won an LPGA Tour-record 15 major titles and was one of the 13 founding members of the tour in 1950, died Sunday, September 10th. She was 88.

She died at Hope Hospice in Fort Myers of complications from Alzheimer's disease, the LPGA Tour said.

Berg was the LPGA Tour's first president from 1950-52 and was the tour's money leader in 1954, '55 and '57. She ended her career with 60 victories and is a member of the LPGA Tour and World Golf Halls of Fame.

Berg won the 1938 U.S. Women's Amateur and swept the 1937-39 Titleholders as an amateur for her first three major victories. In 1943, Berg joined the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II serving as a procurement officer with the Eastern Procurement Division in Philadelphia, PA until 1945.

After turning pro, she won the 1946 U.S. Women's Open, four more Titleholders and was a seven-time winner of the Women's Western Open.

Berg was The Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year in 1938, '43 and '55. She was a top all-around athlete before turning to golf in her teens. 

The LPGA created the Patty Berg Award in 1978 for outstanding contributions to women's golf, an award she won in 1990. The Minnesota native is also a member of the All-American Collegiate Hall of Fame and the University of Minnesota Women's Athletic Department Hall of Fame.

Berg and the other LPGA founders were honored in 2000 with the Commissioner's Award. In 2002, she was the honorary chair for the 2002 Solheim Cup at her home course, Interlachen Country Club in Edina, Minnesota.  In 2003, Berg was enshrined into the Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame.  During her speech, Berg informed the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Michael Hagee, "I still have my uniform and dog tags&if you need me, I'm there.

The United States Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame honors former Marines who have excelled both on and off the athletic playing field. Established in 2001, Hall of Fame inductees will be enshrined in the National Museum of the United States Marine Corps at the Heritage Center near Quantico Virginia.

Twenty-one former Marines have been selected for the Hall of Fame since it was founded in 2001. Past inductees include baseball legend Ted Williams, International Boxing Hall of Fame member Ken Norton, and Pro Football Hall of Fame member Arthur Donovan Jr.  For more information, please visit www.usmc-mccs.org/sports.