Unusual Nicknames: Newburgh (NY) Free Academy Goldbacks

Technically, Walter Allison is not the reason why Newburgh (New York) Free Academy’s (NFA) athletic teams are called the “Goldbacks;” the true origin is said to have come from the dark-colored “sweaters” early NFA teams wore during competition that featured a large gold “N” emblazoned on the back.

However, Allison’s story of heroism, sacrifice and school pride is the reason the Goldbacks name – and more specifically, the jersey – have meant so much to generations of NFA students, student-athletes, alumni and benefactors.

Allison played on the Goldbacks football team for two seasons, beginning as a reserve offensive lineman in 1915 before rising to become the team’s starting center for the 1916 season, for which he earned his varsity letter.

Only a few months later, as the United States prepared for its involvement in World War I, Allison enlisted in the New York State National Guard and was called into action in February 1917 to guard New York City’s water supply from a possible foreign attack. He spent the next year stationed in various places along the Eastern Seaboard before being sent to aid the Allied Forces in Brest, France, on May 10, 1918.

Private Allison was an exceptionally brave soldier, volunteering to be the “runner” for his unit – the 107th Infantry Regiment of Company E in the 27th Division – as well as the Company’s mail orderly, a position that frequently required him to “(creep) through barbed wire, dodge machine gun bullets and clouds of poison gas” to bring back letters for his fellow comrades.

On September 29, 1918, Private Allison was mortally wounded in the stomach while engaged in fighting along the Hindenburg Line, a battle that was later described as “the blow that decided the war for the Allies, especially (because of) the New Yorkers.” According to a historical account, it is believed Allison was killed while attempting to save his company commander, who had been hit by enemy gunfire.

When Allison’s body was retrieved, a startling discovery was made that revealed just how much his hometown – and especially his time at NFA – had meant to him. There, among his personal effects taken from the battlefield, was his Newburgh Free Academy football jersey.

If the story of Allison’s jersey ended there it would already be more than deserving of its place in the Goldback legacy, but its most unbelievable chapter was yet to come.

Sometime later, Chester Greatsinger, a fellow NFA football player who had joined the war effort in France, made a request to his Quartermaster for extra clothing. By sheer happenstance and in a remarkable twist of fate, the article Greatsinger received as fulfillment for his request was none other than Allison’s jersey. He recognized the sweater’s gold “N” immediately, and after asking for more information on the previous owner, was shocked to find that it had belonged to someone he knew.

Fortunately, Greatsinger returned home at the conclusion of the war with Allison’s sweater in tow, and later presented it to members of NFA’s Academy Athletic Association, who were “deeply moved by the sentiment.”

Allison’s story quickly became the primary example of what it meant to be a Goldback, and his name has been associated with the moniker ever since. The jersey Greatsinger presented more than a century ago still hangs outside the athletic director’s office, alongside a picture of Allison in his military uniform.