Blue White Illustrated

A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS One of the towering figures in PSU's athletic history, Jesse Arnelle was a two-sport All-American and a passionate civil rights advocate who made a lasting impact on his alma mater J E S S E A R N E L L E | 1 9 3 3 - 2 0 2 0 esse Arnelle, who passed away in late October at age 86, is not the only Penn State athlete to have out- standing success on and off the field as a student and major accomplishments in his chosen career, but he is certainly among the athletes at the top of the list. Math genius John Urschel is in that category, and there are dozens, perhaps hundreds, of others, depending on what criteria one uses. Urschel made his mark in football and in the classroom. Arnelle was no academic slouch. However, he is best remembered off the field as a high- profile student leader and a two-sport athlete – still Penn State's only first- team All-America basketball player, as well as an honorable mention All-Amer- ican in football. As far back as Arnelle's undergraduate days, Ebony magazine had a perceptive analysis of Arnelle that held true all his life. "Matured far beyond his 21 years, Arnelle possesses Bunche-like talents in diplomacy, a perceptiveness usually characteristic of elder statesmen, and a wonderful sense of humor," the Ebony writer stated in a 1955 article, referenc- ing the renown political scientist and diplomat Ralph Bunche. "[Penn State President] Dr. Milton S. Eisenhower, brother of U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, sums up Arnelle's character when he says: 'His instincts are right.'" Basketball made Arnelle famous as a college athlete, but in high school he was being recruited solely because of his football skills. One of those instincts was to trust Joe Paterno, who was recruiting him for Brown University in the winter of 1949-50, as Arnelle told this writer in an extensive inter- view in 2005. Arnelle grew up in New Rochelle, N.Y., about 40 miles north of midtown Manhattan, with two slightly older brothers. Although he told me nei- ther his father, Hugh, nor mother, Lynne, "had much education," some re- cent articles claimed his father was a former Hampton Institute football star. True or not, Jesse said his parents "had ambitions for their three sons." He idol- ized his father, who was a voracious reader of books, magazines and newspa- pers. "I enjoyed being with my dad and picked up on some of the things he did," Arnelle said. Arnelle's parents could J HOOPS STANDOUT Arnelle was recruited by Joe Pa- terno to play football at Penn State, but Elmer Gross wanted him to give basket- ball a try, and he went on to become a first-team All- American for the Lions. Photo courtesy of Penn State Athletics

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