United States Merchant Marine Academy

O'Hara Hall, the multifaceted athletic building in the southeast corner of the Academy, is named for Edwin J. O'Hara.  O'Hara was the second Midshipmen to receive the Distinguished Service Medal, the Merchant Marine's highest honor, and the first to give his life while earning it.

O'Hara, an 18-year old Californian, was assigned to the Liberty ship Stephen Hopkins. The Stephen Hopkins was alone and traveling westbound in the South Atlantic in September, 1942, when it encountered two German commerce raiders. Though the Hopkins carried only one four-inch gun and other light armament, its crew decided to fight rather than to surrender. With his ship aflame and near sinking and with the rest of the crew killed, O'Hara began single-handedly loading and firing the ship's remaining shells. Astoundingly, O'Hara scored hits on both enemy ships, sinking one and damaging the other. When the Hopkins finally sank, O'Hara went down with her. O'Hara's medal was presented to his mother on March 15, 1943. One year later, and a dedication day was held in the building which would bear his name.

O'Hara Hall serves as the home arena for the men's and women's basketball, men's and women's swimming and diving, men's and women's volleyball, and wrestling teams. Physical education classes are also conducted in O'Hara Hall with a row of offices on the west end of the building accommodating the physical education and athletic department staffs. Construction in the late 1970's added a swimming and diving facility, wrestling room, lockerrooms, and racquetball courts. Recently, the lobby was refaced along with necessary construction to the front of the building to aid in O'Hara Hall's handicap accessibility.

Also located in O'Hara Hall is the Thomas J. Hughes and Robert J. Lavinia Conference Room, donated by the two Alumni, for Physical Education and Athletic Department meetings and conferences. Located downstairs is the team media room, locker rooms, and equipment room. In addition, O'Hara Hall is home to the Kings Point Athletic Hall of Fame and the Blue and Gray Fitness Center.

 
On Wednesday, October 10, 1990, O'Hara Hall took on a new look when the gymnasium was dedicated to Captain James Walter Liebertz, Director of Athletics at Kings Point from 1950-1972. Liebertz began his Kings Point career as head coach of the track and field team in 1945. Two months later, he became an Assistant Athletic Director, and on January 1, 1950, Liebertz was named Director of Athletics, a position he held for over 22 years. As the Kings Point Director of Athletics, Liebertz was responsible for increasing the varsity athletic program from five sports to 16 varsity teams. He fought for and saw the split sea year program implemented and also began the tradition of the Annual Varsity Awards Dinner. In December of 2017, the gym floor received it's first ever face-lift. For more information on the new gym floor, click here.

The Sue Petersen Lubow Pool, which is located on the north side of Edwin J. O'Hara Hall, is a six lane competition pool with a separate diving well. Each lane is seven feet wide, with a the depth of water ranging between four and seven feet. The diving well measures a depth of 11 feet and is equipped with a one-meter and three-meter board. The pool's temperature is kept between 79-82 degrees Fahrenheit. A trampoline and hot tub are located on the pool deck to assist in additional training. With the addition of the new starting blocks, the depth of the water and the good gutter system, the O'Hara Hall pool is one of the fastest in the conference.

The pool can hold up to 350 spectators, with bleachers located in close proximity to the swimming and diving pool, providing for exciting competition.

 
The football, soccer, and lacrosse field, set inside the Academy's newly surfaced eight lane track, is named for the first Superintendent of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Captain James Harvey Tomb.  His background features the successful blend of two maritime careers; 27 years as a naval officer and 15 years as an educator of Merchant Marine Midshipmen.

An Annapolis graduate and expert marksman, Captain Tomb had a distinguished naval career that included command of the former coastal liner Aroostook during the laying of the 'North Sea Mine Barrage,' which bottled up the German fleet in World War I. Retiring from service in 1925, he was named head of the New York State Nautical School.

As a member of the 1930 Committee on Training of Merchant Marine Officer Personnel, he strongly supported the need for a national shoreside training facility.  In 1939, when the U.S. Merchant Marine Cadet Corps was searching for an Atlantic Coast location, he allowed the cadets to stay temporarily at his New York Merchant Marine Academy at Fort Schuyler in the Bronx.

His experience as a marine educator and administrator made Capt. Tomb the Academy's choice as the first Superintendent in 1942. Arriving at Kings Point by boat from Fort Schuyler on April 15, 1942 at the age of 66, he immediately tackled the crucial task of overseeing the physical construction of the Academy. He relinquished command of the Academy on October 16, 1943, just over two weeks after the school was dedicated. He retired to private life and died on September 23, 1946.

In the summer of 2000, Tomb Field received a "face-lift" with the installation of FieldTurf's state-of-the-art synthetic system. While most turf systems are simply a carpet with an underpadding, FieldTurf is a synthetic turf designed to create an artificial surface that duplicates the conditions of real grass. This surface looks like grass, feels like grass, and plays like grass. The turf is nonabrasive and allows athletes to slide, pivot, and twist their cleats in the surface.

  

To the south of Tomb Field stands Upper and Lower Roosevelt Fields. The two fields honor Presidents Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Upper Roosevelt is occasionally used as a practice field for football and lacrosse. Lower Roosevelt, now the Raymond J. Bartoszek '86 Field at the Dean White '45 WWII Merchant Marine Officer Complex, is the area that contains the Mariners' baseball diamond and is also used as an soccer field. Early in 2017, USMMA announced that Lower Roosevelt Field will undergo major renovations after the Academy received a $4 million gift through the USMMA Alumni Association and Foundation (AAF). The plan included a full turf field upgrade, lights, bleachers, scoreboards, a press box and dugouts. The project was completed before the 2021 Championship Baseball Season.

 


  

 
Adjacent to Upper and Lower Roosevelt Fields stands Brooks Field House. The Field House contains a fully-equipped athletic training facility and the football and baseball lockerrooms.  Officially, Brooks Field House was dedicated on May 1, 1996 before nearly 125 Kings Pointers. Jack Brooks '44 made possible the full interior renovation of the Field House through an endowment gift to the Athletic Association. Brooks, a native of San Francisco, graduated from the San Mateo, CA Cadet School, a pre-Academy training facility, in 1944 prior to going to sea. He currently is a successful marine engineer, real estate developer, lawyer, and part owner of the NFL's Oakland Raiders.

Sporting over 8,600 pounds of free weights, the USMMA weight rooms are an inseparable part of the athletics program. Renovated in the spring of 1994, it houses 11 power racks and a complete Nautilus Fitness Complex.  Complementing the weight room is the Blue and Gray Fitness Center overlooking Liebertz Gymnasium. The fitness center features life-cycles, stairmasters, a Nordic Trak, and rowing machines.

The main athletic training room is housed in O'Hara Hall, home of the Mariners' athletic programs. The athletic training room is dedicated to the prevention, care, and rehabilitation of the USMMA's intercollegiate student-athletes. This athletic training room supports the football, men's and women's basketball, swimming and diving, track and field, softball, lacrosse, softball, volleyball, tennis, and wrestling teams. Equipment is state of the art and is continually upgraded to stay abreast of the rapidly changing field of sports medicine. This facility has separate treatment, hydrotherapy, rehabilitation, and taping areas. The treatment area is equipped with two electrotherapy units, two ultrasound units, cryo-compresion unit and a hydrocollator. Two whirlpools and an ice machine are located in the hydrotherapy room. The rehabilitation area consists of stationary bikes, an UBE, Swiss exercise balls, a shuttle system, and lower extremity range of motion.