Alfred M. Partin ’50

Alfred M. Partin ’50, a four-year starter on Cornell’s wrestling team that won two national championships in 1947, died Oct. 17, 2018, at age 96. artin served in the U.S. Navy from 1942-46 and enrolled at Cornell College in 1946, using the G.I. Bill. He placed in the top six in the 1948 U.S. Olympic trials at 160.5 lbs.; third in the 1949 National AAU meet at 190 lbs.; and placed second in the 1950 National AAU Meet at 195 lbs. He also was the champion in the 175-pound weight class in the 1946 AAU Championships.

Partin was hired as head wrestling coach at the University of Nebraska in 1950. He coached the Cornhusker grapplers for four years before taking the head football and wrestling jobs at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, in 1954. Partin earned a master’s degree in school administration from Bradley University and served as director of physical education at Knox until his retirement in 1983. He also served as an alderman in Galesburg. Partin is a member of the NCAA Wrestling Hall of Fame, the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame, and the Athletic Hall of Fame at Cornell and Knox colleges.

He and his wife, Genevieve Callinan Partin ’48, lived in Florida for many years. He was living in Champaign, Illinois, at the time of his death. Partin is survived by his wife, a daughter, a son and daughter-in-law, and three grandsons.