2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004

Robert Kerper ‘50
Swimming & Track Champion
Hometown: Reading, PA
High School: West Reading (Wyomissing)
& Mercersburg Academy

Bob Kerper - a Distinguished Alumni of West Chester
University and member of the Sturzebecker Foundation Hall
of Fame - was a champion swimmer and runner while a
Golden Ram from 1946-50.

He was a Middle Atlantic States Intercollegiate Conference
Champion and record holder in the 150-yard backstroke
and 300-yard individual medley in both 1947 and 1948. He
was a medal winner in the Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming
Championships at Yale and Princeton and competed in the
National AAU and Intercollegiates representing West Chester.
In 1946 and 1947, Kerper twice won the two-mile run in
the State Track Conference Championships. Kerper won numerous
cross country races and set course records on more
than seven different college courses.

While in high school, Kerper captured the State PIAA
100-yard backstroke championship in back-to-back years
(1941 & 1942). At The Mercersburg Academy in 1943 he
won the national prep school backstroke championship.
Kerper’s swimming continued through his adult years as
well, winning two national championships at the master’s level.
He was elected to the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame
(Berks County Chapter) and the Berks County Aquatic Hall
of Fame for his stellar swimming career, and he has been
active in the YMCA for over 65 years where he has served
on the National Board of Directors.

During World War II, Kerper served in the U.S. Navy as
a physical training instructor. He won numerous awards for
volunteer community work. Kerper is a retired advertising
and public relations executive.