Hobart and William Smith Colleges Athletics

A superb three-sport athlete, Kraus was a four-year letterman in lacrosse and a three-year letterman in football and basketball. The son of legendary coach Babe Kraus, Jon was a two-time honorable mention All-American in lacrosse.

Kraus served as the lacrosse team captain in 1955. The dangerous attackman finished the campaign as the Statesmen’s leading scorer with 25 goals and 20 assists and was selected to play in the North-South Game. Kraus notched a career-high six goals in the 1954 season opener, a 15-5 win over Hamilton.

In basketball, Kraus played forward, leading the Statesmen to three consecutive winning seasons, including back-to-back 12-5 campaigns in 1953-54 and 1954-55.

A quarterback on the football field, Kraus earned the starting job as a junior, leading the Statesmen to a 5-1 record. The following season he completed 22 of 69 passes for 430 yards and six touchdowns, leading Hobart to its first undefeated season with an unblemished 8-0 record.

An outstanding member of the campus community, Kraus earned a spot in the Orange Key and Chimera honor societies and served as vice president of the Kappa Sigma fraternity. He also participated in the campus ROTC program, earning the Arnold Air Society Honorary Award. He graduated with an economics degree.

Kraus is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel. During a 30-year military career, Kraus flew classified combat missions in the SR-71 during Vietnam, as well as Cold War missions in B-47s and B-52s. His Air Force citations include the Legion of Merit, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, and four Air Medals.