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Maybe being voted All-Mad Bowl in the 1950s at Virginia didn't carry the same prestige as All-America honors in football, but when Alex Hamilton ('56) was a student-ath- lete at UVa, it was a big deal. "The fraternity system at UVa was very strong," Hamilton said. "Many fraternities were located on Madison Lane that overlooked the bowl, which was named Mad Bowl, where many intramural sports were played. "When we won the championship in [touch] football, we had referees and decent crowds all the way through the season. I was All-Mad Bowl my senior year. "Winning my letter in lacrosse was a big deal," Hamilton continued. "But people would remember you for being All- Mad Bowl in the mid-'50s. It would ring a bell for people of my generation." As Hamilton indicated, he did play lacrosse for the Cava- liers. "The fact I won my letter in lacrosse is something I couldn't do today," Hamilton admitted. "UVa had kids from the Baltimore and Philadelphia areas that grew up playing lacrosse. And then there were people like me where the first game in which they played was the first game they ever saw. In other words, this squad had to be filled out with athletes who couldn't make it at other sports." He was glad to be on the roster for a trip overseas. "The highlight of my lacrosse career was going to Eng- land with the team to play English lacrosse clubs," he said. "I got to go because it was in the summertime and a lot of our best players had graduated and didn't want to make the trip. We sailed on a ship from Montreal with only college students as passengers and we worked out twice a day on the ship. It took 11 days to get to England from Montreal. So, as you can imagine, we had some fun on the journey. "We were encouraged to celebrate with our competition after the games. I only played in one game," Hamilton continued, "but I scored my only goal in my lacrosse career." While Hamilton still follows the lacrosse team, he's been an ardent supporter of the football and men's basketball teams. In fact, he's had football season tickets for the past 40 years and men's basketball season tickets for the last 21 years. Even more noteworthy is the fact that Hamilton has been a VAF donor for 44 consecutive years. — Mike Scandura Hamilton — pictured here with his wife, Betsy — has been a VAF donor for 44 consecutive years, a football season ticket holder for 40 years and a men's basketball season ticket holder for 21 years. PHOTO COURTESY ALEX HAMILTON wahoo nation ALEX HAMILTON i11-14.Cavalier Sports.indd 4 6/3/14 4:40 PM