Walter F. Downey was an athlete, WWI and WWII veteran and prominent civil servant.

Early life and education

Downey was born into a poor, working-class, Irish-American household in Dorchester, Massachusetts on January 8, 1899. At a young age, Downey showed his athletic prowess in both track and field as well as football. After service as an enlisted man in the US Navy during WWI (stateside), Downey attended Boston College

Boston College

Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...

 on a full athletic scholarship (he was a sprinter and quarterback), only to have that scholarship taken away from him after breaking a leg. In 1920, Downey, an alternate sprinter, was a member of the US Olympic Team at the 1920 Summer Olympics

1920 Summer Olympics

The 1920 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event in 1920 in Antwerp, Belgium....

 in Antwerp, Belgium. Upon return to the United States, Downey attended and later graduated from Fordham University

Fordham University

Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...

 (Class of 1922), where he was a member of the track and field team, as well as the football team, where he stood out as a star quarterback. Upon graduating from Fordham, Downey played professional football for several seasons, as a quarterback with teams such as the Hartford Blues

Hartford Blues

The Hartford Blues of the National Football League played only in the 1926 NFL season, with a record of 3-7. The team was based in Hartford, Connecticut but played at the East Hartford Velodrome.-Origins:...

 and the New York Giants

New York Giants

The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

.

Career

In the 1920s and 1930s, Downey worked as a Special Agent for the US Government, and traveled throughout the Midwestern US investigating banks. At the outbreak of WWII, while living in New York, Downey was given a commission as a 2nd Lt. in the US Naval Reserve, served stateside and finished the war as a Lt. Cmdr.
After the War, Downey headed the US War Assets Commission, which was based in New York and was later made Regional Head of the General Services Administration

General Services Administration

The General Services Administration is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. The GSA supplies products and communications for U.S...

 (GSA), a post which he held until his death. Downey retired from the Naval Reserve as a Cmdr. and is buried in Fort Snelling National Cemetery

Fort Snelling National Cemetery

Fort Snelling National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the city of Minneapolis in Hennepin County, Minnesota. It encompasses , and as of April 24, 2007 had 172,001 interments.- History :...

, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Downey was survived by his wife Eldyn (Tinnesand) (died 1985), daughter Barbara Anne Bigley (died 1986) and son Patrick Cole Downey (died 1987).