The content of this site was generated automatically using Claude Code and Mnemotron-R, based on OCR data from Spectator (1947–2025) and other college archival materials hosted at the Internet Archive. It it intended as a proof of concept for the Mnemotron-R project, and has not been reviewed for completeness or accuracy by a human reviewer.
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Bill Fivaz
Overview
Bill Fivaz (Hamilton College class of 1956) was a multi-sport athlete at Hamilton who became one of the leading numismatists in the United States. He is co-author of the Cherrypickers’ Guide to Rare Die Varieties of United States Coins, the standard reference work for identifying rare die varieties in U.S. coinage, which has gone through multiple editions. His Hamilton career spanned football, basketball, baseball, and lacrosse.
Relevance to Research
Fivaz appears in 57 corpus files from 1952 through 1957, making him one of the most frequently mentioned student athletes in the mid-1950s Spectator coverage. As a three- or four-sport athlete and a member of Delta Upsilon fraternity, he was a prominent figure in Hamilton’s mid-1950s student community. His later career as a nationally recognized numismatist represents a notable post-Hamilton trajectory.
Notes
Role: Student athlete; numismatist; co-author of the Cherrypickers’ Guide to Rare Die Varieties Key events:
- Enrolled at Hamilton College as a freshman in fall 1952
- Member of Delta Upsilon fraternity; elected vice-president of Delta Upsilon, January 1956
- Football: Played end and received passes at quarterback; starting end throughout his career; co-captain in fall 1955 alongside Earl Cline
- Basketball: Freshman center in 1952–53 season; among leading scorers in 1954–55 season (second in scoring at mid-semester with 99 points, 14.2 average); contributed to team surges in final minutes of close games
- Baseball: Competed for catching and outfield positions throughout career; participated in spring baseball through senior year
- Lacrosse: Active as a varsity lacrosse player
- Hamilton class of 1956
- Ran for class officer positions (spring 1955: candidate for unspecified office, losing to Smalley)
- Post-Hamilton: Became a prominent coin dealer and expert in die variety attribution; co-authored Cherrypickers’ Guide to Rare Die Varieties with J.T. Stanton, now in its fifth edition; a leading reference in the numismatic hobby
Corpus highlights: - November 1952 (spec-1952-11-14): “freshman end Bill Fivaz” starting for Hamilton football in the Hamilton–Rochester game - November 1952 (spec-1952-11-21): Listed as freshman center for the basketball team under coach Patrick - October 1952 (spec-1952-10-17): Scored a touchdown pass reception from senior Bob Olwine in the Wagner game - January 1956 (spec-1956-01-13): Elected vice-president of Delta Upsilon at a house meeting - November 1955 (spec-1955-11-04): Co-captain of the football team; helped lead a pep rally with D.T. - May 1955 (spec-1955-05-06): Ran for class office; finished behind winner Smalley
Related Sources
No individual source pages yet in wiki/sources/ for the Spectator 1952–1957 issues.