Ben Schwartzwalder Statue Joins Plaza 44 Statues in Unveiling Next Week

Back when Plaza 44 was originally supposed to be unveiled, the trio of statues we already knew about (Jim Brown, Ernie Davis, Floyd Little) was joined by a fourth statue nearby that remained covered and we all wondered who it might have been. Was it a statue to commemorate "The Other 44's" or perhaps something else altogether?

Turns out, it was a statue of legendary SU football coach Ben Schwartzwalder.

All four statues will be officially unveiled on November 14 at a ceremony that begins around 9:15 a.m. The Syracuse Orange football team plays the Clemson Tigers later that day in the Carrier Dome.

Schwartzwalder's inclusion has the potential to court a little bit of controversy. While he was the architect of Syracuse's golden age and the only national championship-winning coach in school history, he was also on the wrong side of history when it came to the fair treatment of African-American student-athletes. The Syracuse 8 had to lead a boycott against Schwartzwalder's program in order to get better medical care, academic support and racial integration on the coaching staff.

Perhaps it all depends on what you think the statues stand for. Are they merely to celebrate on-field excellence or should they represent everything about the person being honored? That's something we'll be discussing further on the site next week.