Gene Berger was a husky center for the Syracuse basketball team for three seasons. He was a excellent all-around athlete also lettering in Track & Field and in Football (three times). Berger was a tackle on football team.

Berger was an immediate starter his sophomore season, bringing the Orangemen a strong presence inside. He would play center for most of his junior season. He would score 13 points to lead the team in a tough overtime loss to Notre Dame. However, late in the year, coach Lew Andreas had to compensate for the loss of two other starters, so he moved Berger to guard, and inserted sophomore Red Stanton into the starting center position. Berger would score 16 points as a guard, to help the Orangemen nip New York University 48-46.

Berger would struggle scoring early in his senior season. However, he came on strong down the stretch leading the team in scoring three late season victories, including a career high 17 points in a win over Rutgers.

Berger would join the US Navy in 1942 after he graduated and fight in World War II.

Berger would have a career as a naval aviator, rising to the rank of Commander in the U.S. Navy. He was killed in 1961 when his AD6 Skyraider plane crashed into the Pacific during maneuvers shortly after taking off from the USS Lexington aircraft carrier. [1]

©RLYoung 2015

[1] Syracuse Post Standard, September 16, 1961