University of Vermont Athletics

Dr. John C. Cunningham 1931 - Baseball, Football

Dr. John C. Cunningham, who was inducted into the UVM Hall of Fame in 1975, was considered one of the best friends the University of Vermont athletic program ever had, serving on the University's Athletic Council and Centennial Club. An outstanding football and baseball performer in his own right, he is perhaps best known for his contribution in hockey and his continual boosts he made in the growth of the Catamount hockey team in the 1960s and early 1970s. Dr. Cunningham, along with J. Edward Donnelly, was very instrumental in hiring men's hockey coach Jim Cross in 1965. Cross went on to elevate the hockey program to a national ranking.

Dr. Cunningham was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award of the Vermont Medical Society in 1969. Always active in fund raising drives at UVM, he was the head of the building fund for the chapel and was vice-president of UVM's Family Associates in 1967. Always active with the Newman Center of campus during his tenure as a faculty member with the Medical School, the Center changed its name to the Cunningham-Newman Center in 1972 in honor of Dr. Cunningham. In 1971, he was presented the University's Distinguished Service Award, presented annually by the Alumni Association. Dr. Cunningham was involved in many charitable and professional organizations, holding such high offices as president of the Vermont Ophthalmologic Society trustee of the Vermont Association of the Blind and a member of the Guidance Committee of the Vermont Association of Crippled Children. While a student at UVM, he was a member of Sigma Nu.