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30 Facts About Challenger Astronaut, Ronald McNair

Tim Flight December 28, 2019 20 min

Ronald McNair - Dr. Ronald McNair — McNair on board the Challenger, 1984. Berkeley

26. As well as academically, McNair excelled as a sportsman

The football pitch at Ronald E. McNair High School in Stockton, California. Brock USA

At school, Ronald excelled in all subjects. ‘We all knew that Ron was smarter than the rest of us’, remembered a school friend in 1986. ‘His determination made the rest of us eager to study hard’. However, his brilliance didn’t stop there. Far from being a stereotypical nerd, Ronald also trounced his peers on the sports field at Carver High School. He was Carver’s star player in basketball, baseball and American Football. Somehow he also found time to play saxophone in the school band. In fact, his musical talent was so great he even considered a degree in music.

Written by

Tim Flight

I am a freelance historical and literary writer based in West Yorkshire, UK. I read for a funded PhD in English at the University of Oxford (Magdalen College) and graduated in 2016. I am a former lecturer in Medieval English Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London. My publications include peer-reviewed articles in academic publications, and pieces in mainstream magazines such as History Today and Fortean Times. For more information, please see www.drflight.co.uk