Hank Whisher was not originally chosen for the 1952 bobsled team, but braked for Fred Fortune when his original brakeman, Jack Helmer, was injured. A huge man at 6-5 (196 cm) and 320 lbs. (145 kg), Whisher played football at Ithaca College, graduating in 1951 and is a member of the Ithaca College Hall of Fame. He later earned a masters’ degree from Ithaca in 1958. Whisher was the 1947 North American 2-man champion with driver Joseph Meconi, representing the AuSable Forks American Legion Bobsled Club. Whisher had a brief try-out for pro football with the Philadelphia Eagles, but later became a teacher and track coach at Niskayuna High School in Niskayuna, New York. A track meet was named in his honor at the school.
United States