SUNY Cortland Athletics

Ross Phelps came to Cortland State Teacher’s College from Henderson, N.Y., in the fall of 1939 and quickly involved himself in all facets of college life. Phelps played four seasons as a soccer fullback and halfback and three years on the tennis team as a first doubles and second singles player, and served as a co-captain on both teams. He also worked as a basketball public address announcer in his junior and senior years, and he sang as first tenor with the Men’s Glee Club and acted in the Masquers Club.
 
In the second semester of his senior year in 1943, Phelps was called into military service. He participated in the highly competitive Air Force cadet pilot training program and was top turret remote control gunner on a B-29 Bomber in the South Pacific with the Army Air Corps. He served in the Army from 1943-46 and was a “Silver Wings” recipient. He returned to Cortland to complete his bachelor’s degree work in the summer of 1946.
 
Phelps earned a master’s degree at St. Lawrence University in 1948, and from 1946-52 served as a physical education teacher and coach in Romulus, N.Y., and Sag Harbor, N.Y. He coached baseball, basketball and football at Romulus Central School and Pierson High School, and wrote a sports column in Sag Harbor.
 
In 1952, he was named the director of guidance for the Montgomery County BOCES — a position he held until 1963. During that stretch, he coached varsity soccer at St. Johnsville High School from 1953-55. In 1968, Phelps joined the staff of the Rensselaer/Columbia/Greene Counties BOCES as its director of guidance. He was the organization’s occupational center director from 1971 until his retirement 10 years later. He received the BOCES Superintendent and Board Recognition Award from RCG-BOCES in 1981 for his 13 years of service as a counselor and administrator at that institution.
 
Phelps currently resides in Barrington, Rhode Island, and also resided for many years in the winter in Naples, Florida, and was active in community service in both areas. He was also a regular on both the golf course and tennis courts into his early 90s and competed in both sports for 26 years after his retirement.

UPDATE: Phelps passed away on Nov. 13, 2019, at age 98.