Stuyvesant Math Team, Fall 1944
Top row, left to right
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Bottom row
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Photograph courtesy of Mel Hausner, from Indicator, January 1945
From the Indicator:
The gentlemen whom the photographer tried to portray above constitute the Math Team. These mental athletes pack more power than the greatest of Stuyvesant's elevens in the best days of football. Theirs is a power far greater than that which swept aside the Clinton line. Theirs is a power that can move mountains– power of mathematics. This aggregation represents our school in the interscholastic math competitions. We may well be proud of them and their record.
Stuyvesant's teams have always made good, and this team is no exception. A great deal of time, effort, and patience is necessary to finish in the highest ranks of the Interscholastic Mathematics League, as is the custom of the Pegleg Mathmen. Much of the credit for the successful record compiled during the past two terms must go to Herman Zabronsky, winner of the Breckenridge Award for highest honors in mathematics, who acted in the dual capacity of captain and coach. Of course the chain is no stronger than its weakest link. The mathematical prowess of each of the other six boys on the first team contributed greatly to its success. Melvin Hausner's ingenuity, Seymour Ostransky's ken of calculus, and the all-around efficiency of Frank Scalora, Robert Spinelli, Leo Sartori, and Eugene Pflumm garnered the high team scores which are the pride and joy of Mr. Sternberg, the faculty advisor of the team. The superior ability and knowledge of these boys is well in keeping with the tradition established by a long line of superb Stuyvesant Math Teams. The high total of meet points amassed by Mr. Sternberg's charges is proof that some of the best mathematicians in the city go to Stuyvesant. In continuing the ancient idea of mathematical competition, the Math Team is doing an invaluable service.