The words under the photo of “Johnny” Kress in the 1928 Didascaleion were prophetic of a man whose academic and professional career has truly embodied the ideals of the Cortland Physical Education Program.
“He always shoulders his share of every job, plays a hard and square game,” the yearbook proclaimed.
At Cortland, Kress was a member of the football team (’25 and ’27) and earned the Outstanding Football Player Award in 1927. He was on the soccer team (’26) and the lacrosse team (’26, ’27 and ’28), and he also served as a student head coach for the wrestling team. Kress received the coveted Beta Phi Epsilon Award, a mark of excellence, in physical education.
Immediately after graduation, Kress embarked on a teaching and coaching career which would span the next 44 years. From 1928-1931, he was at Franklin Academy in Malone. In 1931, he returned to his native Rochester. Between 1931 and 1942, he taught and coached at Edison Tech High School. In 1942, Kress was asked to coach and teach at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he spent the next three decades.
“My Cortland experience led to specialization in individual physical education, including specific and remedial exercise,” said Kress. “The application of this knowledge has helped me in my efforts to help others who would have been confined to wheelchairs without this specific assistance.”
At an age when most men think of retirement, Kress continues to play “a hard and square game.” As an RSVP volunteer, he works with the elderly at the Mansion and Alice Hyde Nursing Homes in Malone. He helps with the recreational activities and rehabilitation of stroke victims. Not only does he aid the elderly, but he volunteers his knowledge to assist the young as a physical education instructor for grades 3 through 6 at Bishop Smith School.
Kress has been the district chairman for the Boy Scouts of America, a member of the Board of Directors of the Franklin County Red Cross and also is on the Board of Directors of the Malone Fish and Game Club. He holds a master’s degree from Columbia University.
John and his wife, Joan, have six children.
UPDATE: Kress passed away on Aug. 25, 2001 (date not confirmed)
