Wabash College Athletics

Bennie DeVol came to Wabash in the fall of 1924 from nearby Lebanon and left the College four years later as an athletic legend.

Part of DeVol's legend was formed on the hard wood, where he earned four varsity letters and was a three-year starter on some of Wabash's most outstanding basketball teams ever. As a sophomore, Bennie played forward along side fellow hall of famers Red Robinson and Shang Chadwick on Wabash's "Wonder Five" team of 1924-25. That team truly was the greatest in the midwest and likely the nation. The only blemish on the 18-1 season came in the team's second game at the University of Wisconsin, where the Badgers nipped the Little Giants. That "Wonder Five" went on to defeat Iowa at Iowa City, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, Evansville, and Kentucky. Wabash's January 6 victory over Kentucky by a 57-10 margin accurately shows the level of play of DeVol and his mates. Wabash whipped the Irish twice that season and De Vol was the key man in both victories, scoring the go ahead basket in a 40-30 win at Notre Dame, then scoring 10 points in a 38-29 win in Crawfordsville.

DeVol was named all-state in basketball three straight seasons and captained Pete Vaughan's team as a senior, a team that posted a 13-8 record with a 39-31 win over Northwestern in Evanston. Said the Chicago papers, "Wabash was the greatest team ever seen on the Evanston floor."

De Vol's fast-paced, showman style had fans amused at arenas all over the midwest. Says The Wabash, "Side by side with Red Robinson was little Benny DeVol. Speedy, clever, and accurate, he delighted thousands of spectators with his floor work. Indeed, those Little Giants played before huge crowds, crowds that saw De Vol lead the team in scoring two straight seasons. But De Vol was a well rounded athlete who earned a total of 13 letters in football, basketball, baseball, and track. He played both catcher and shortstop in baseball. He led the '26 team to a 10-6-1 record by hitting .333, which included a four-for-four outing in a 12-1 win over Rose-Hulman. After two seasons of football, DeVol stepped behind the scenes to serve the gridders as trainer, and he was also involved in Lambda Chi Alpha, the "W" Men's Club, and the Little Giants' Club. He left Wabash for a short stint in semi-professional baseball in Anderson, before working for Delco for 37 years. He passed away in June of 1964 at age 59.