Beyond its imposing bell towers and A-list alumni such as Matt Damon or Natalie Portman, Lowell boasts an impressive list of famous athletes in various sports. From Olympic medallists to NFL tight ends, here are some of the best athletes to live in Lowell House over the years.
Though Lowell House does not have an official mascot, it does have Felicia Pasadyn ’22. Pasadyn won an astounding 10 Ivy League titles across individual and relay events and was named to 12 All-Ivy teams. She holds seven different program records and has competed in nine separate NCAA events. This is all considering Covid-19 interfered significantly with her collegiate career, which would certainly have otherwise featured even more accolades.
Before attending Harvard, Pasadyn was an Ohio state champion while swimming at Brunswick High School, where she was also the valedictorian of the class of 2019.
Since her graduation, Pasadyn has pursued becoming a doctor and is currently getting her MD at NYU’s Grossman School of Medicine. However, the Lowellian wasn’t done with athletics. The super-athlete recently qualified for the 2028 US Olympic Trials… for the Marathon.
Lowell was home to track star and world record holder Milton Green, class of 1936. After transferring to Harvard from Cornell in 1934, Green led the Crimson to some of its most successful track seasons in program history. In 1934, he tied the world record in the 45-meter high hurdles with a time of 5.80 seconds. Green captained the Harvard track team during the 1935-1936 season, and after a successful senior campaign, was a favorite for the US Olympic team for the 1936 Summer Olympics.
The 1936 Olympics were, infamously, held in Berlin, Germany, by the Nazi regime. Green, who was Jewish, chose to boycott the games alongside his Harvard teammate Norman Cahners. Green joined the US Navy during World War II, where he was a lieutenant commander in an anti-submarine warfare unit.
Green is a member of the Harvard Athletic Hall of Fame and the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. He passed away at the age of 91 in 2005.
One of the most decorated athletes in Harvard football history, Pat McInally is another proud alumnus of Lowell House. McInally primarily played wide receiver for the Crimson, becoming Harvard’s all-time leader in receiving yards at the time of his graduation, cum laude, in 1975. He also played punter for the Crimson. He was named to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2016.
McInally was selected in the fifth round of the 1975 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He moved on to the Cincinnati Bengals the following year, serving as the team’s punter for the next 10 seasons. Included in that span was Cincinnati’s first Super Bowl appearance in 1981, a season in which McInally was named to the Pro Bowl, becoming the first Harvard alum to play in both the Pro Bowl and the Super Bowl.
McInally is most famous for being the only NFL player to have a verified perfect 50 score on the Wonderlic Test (though fellow alum Ryan Fitzpatrick ’05 has been rumored to have done the same). The test is a fast-paced, cognitive test akin to an IQ test, where 20 is considered around average intelligence. Wonderlic later hired him as the lead manager of its marketing.
McInally isn't the only Lowell alum in the NFL; Anthony Firkser ’17 keeps the fist and arrows in the league, playing last season for the Detroit Lions. After graduating from Harvard seventh in career touchdown receptions, 10th in career yards gained, and with three All-Ivy League selections, Firkser was signed as an undrafted free agent by the New York Jets.
He was destined for better things, however, and would become one of only nine Crimson alumni to participate in a Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX. His best season came in 2020 with the Tennessee Titans, where he played in all 16 games and caught 39 passes for 387 yards.
While at Harvard, Firkser concentrated in applied mathematics and won the football team’s Joe Restic Award for leadership, scholarship, and integrity. Firkser was arguably a better basketball player than football player in high school, serving as a two-time captain, four-year letter winner, and member of the 1,000-point club for Manalapan High School.
Lowell was home to one of Harvard’s all-time greats in water polo, Yoshi Andersen ’16. Andersen was the first player in program history to earn all-conference honors all four years of her career, while being named an ACWPC All-America honorable mention during three of those seasons. She was named a captain in her senior season. Andersen graduated as the Crimson’s all-time leader in career goals scored with 248 and second in assists with 158.
—Staff writer Maxwell P. Friedman can be reached at [\[email protected\]](/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5439352c233138387a32263d313039353a14203c3137263d39273b3a7a373b39).