We’ve been following Duke Basketball for quite some time now, and while it’s a proud and storied program, there haven’t been many Jewish players to wear the Blue Devil uniform. A few names do stand out: the legendary Art Heyman, the reliable Bob Fleischer, and of course Jon Scheyer — a key player on Duke’s 2010 national championship team who now leads the program as head coach.
Aside from those three, maybe Robbie West rings a bell? Honestly, we’re not entirely sure.
But recently, Boswell pointed us to an earlier Jewish Duke player who just passed away at the remarkable age of 102 — and calling his life “interesting” might be putting it lightly.
Marshall Rauch suited up for Duke during World War II, back when Cameron Indoor Stadium (then called Duke Indoor Stadium) was only three years old. Growing up during the Great Depression, Rauch once sold pigeons in high school to get by. He chose Duke because some of his friends were heading south for college, according to a Wall Street Journal piece.
The article is well worth reading in full, but here are a few highlights from his extraordinary life:
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Joined the Army Air Corps to avoid infantry duty but was reassigned after discovering he got severe airsickness. He ended up fighting in France.
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Married in 1946, right after the war, and remained married until 2010, when his wife passed away.
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Founded and grew the world’s largest Christmas ornament company.
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Served in the North Carolina House of Representatives.
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Held a seat on the UNC Board of Governors.
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Even mentored NBA star Baron Davis, among others.
It’s not strictly a basketball story, but the Duke Brotherhood runs deep — and this man’s remarkable life is one we thought deserved to be remembered.