Class Note 1945. As you read these notes, the Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy, are right around the corner. In a past article in the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine the following was shared: “Dartmouth and the Winter Olympics have a long history, dating back to the first Olympic Winter Games, in Chamonix, France, in 1924. Rhodes Scholar John Carleton, class of 1922, represented Dartmouth at those inaugural Winter Games, participating in both the international jumping and cross-country events.” Since those first Winter Games, the College has seen Dartmouth athletes participate in every single one of the Winter Olympics (see details on pages 48 and 49). Additionally, Dartmouth has sent more representatives to the Winter Games than any other Ivy League school.
Had it not been for the war, I am sure that Hockey Hall of Fame brothers Jack ’44, Bill ’46, and Joe ’49 Riley would have represented Dartmouth in the winter games. Although not members of the class of 1945, I know many classmates knew Bill and Jack and fondly remembered playing with them for the great Dartmouth coach Eddie Jeremiah. Bill Riley was one of the great all-time scorers in college hockey. Jack went on to coach at West Point and later piloted the 1960 U.S. Olympic gold medal winners in Squaw Valley. As a member of the class of 1946, Bill Riley’s career at Dartmouth was interrupted by World War II military service. He was a major factor in the Big Green’s march to the NCAA finals in both 1948 and 1949. During his time in Hanover, Dartmouth compiled a remarkable record of 68-11-2. In that timeframe he scored five goals in a game against Northwestern and Princeton, four vs. Boston College, and had 10 hat trick games! Hockey historian S. Kip Farrington placed him on his all-time Dartmouth team for the period 1945-70. Here’s to the current women and men of Dartmouth who are wearing the green in Thompson Arena ice rink in 2026.
—Martha Johnson Beattie ’76, 6 North Balch St., Hanover, NH 03755; (603) 667-7611; mbeattie76@gmail.com