Robert Cummins
Robert “Skip” Cummins is one of the top all-around athletes from Grove City High School who went on to a brilliant college football career.
At Grove City, Skip was the starting quarterback for the
Eagles in 1970 and ’71. But it was in track, where he really excelled.
He competed in the javelin, 110 high hurdles and 220 hurdles.
As a junior, he set a school record in the javelin with a heave of 203 feet, breaking the 1930 record by more than 30 feet. In 1972, he was a state champ setting a school and PA state Class B mark of 223 feet. That record under old javelin measurements still exists today.
A two-time Mercer County Invitational and District 10 javelin champ, Skip was second in the country in National Junior Olympics. He won the GCHS Athletic Award.
Matriculating to Dartmouth College, he shined as rover/linebacker and started on the freshman team. He was a varsity starter his next three years and helped the team win Ivy League titles in ’74 and ’75.
He was honored as a two-time All-Ivy linebacker and was twice named to the weekly ECAC All-Star squad.
In javelin at Dartmouth, he set a college record of 245 feet and qualified for the NCAA Championship as a freshman, breaking the previous mark set by Olympian Malcom Metcalf in 1932 by over 22 feet.
He moved the record to 248 and was a 2-time All-Ivy Outdoor Team and 4-time All-ICAA team honoree. He was Florida State Relays Champ, 3-time New England champ and 2-time NCAA qualifier.
Skip was an honorary member of the Bourges Athletic Club, when he was studying in France in 1973.
He is a member of the Dartmouth “Wearers of the Green” Athletic Hall of Fame and one of only 6 football players in history named First
Team All-Ivy in at least two sports.
He was an avid skier and snowboarder and competed in auto racing in a variety of cars. He drove in the Rolex Series at Laguna Seca and ARCA at
Talladega.
He coached Little League and football, and his son Max won a scholarship as defensive end for the University of Texas.
A professional venture capitalist and CEO of an implantable medical device company, he wrote a book “Mastering You
From the Inside Out; Survive and Thrive Personally and Professionally.”