Leading Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump had quite the reputation in high school according to his former classmates. Trump allegedly was known for fighting and being a star out athlete according to classmates that spoke with Business Insider.
Trump arrived at the New York Military Academy in 1959 and graduated in 1964, and in that short period of time rose through the ranks of the academy becoming one of the highest ranked cadets and winning several awards.
Trump was a standout athlete in soccer, football, and baseball. Trump’s roommate Arthur Schoenewaldt believes that Trump was so good at baseball that he could have played professionally saying, “He was intelligent, he presented himself well, he was athletic. I even heard from some of the coaches and stuff he could have played professional baseball.” (RELATED: Trump: ‘I’m Not Getting Out, I’m Going To Win’ [VIDEO])
Classmate Ted Levine agrees with Schoenewaldt. Levine told Business Insider that, “He was just the best, a good athlete, a great athlete. He could have probably played pro ball as a pitcher. I think he threw 80 miles an hour. I was the catcher. He made my hand black and blue every day … Could he play football? Could he play soccer? He could do anything he wanted. He was physically and mentally gifted.”
Another side of Trump that classmates remember is his willingness to fight. Classmate Jack Seraphin claims that Trump ordered him to meticulously memorize the serial number on his M1 rifle, and would quiz him. “He made me memorize my serial number of my M1 [rifle] and I still remember it this way. Operationally, he was very well organized,” Seraphin said. (RELATED: Trump On Afghanistan: ‘We Made A Terrible Mistake Getting Involved There In The First Place’ [VIDEO])
According to other classmates, Trump embraced the “Lord of the Flies” mentality the school fostered. Levine said him and Trump fought with tensions escalated too high. “OK, a couple of fights, but you know, that’s common ground in that school. [It was] a little ‘Lord of the Flies,'” Levine told Business Insider. Levine added that, “If you were the new guy, you know, the old guys kicked your ass.. Eventually you became on the other end.”
He also made it clear that Trump wasn’t necessarily any more violent than any other student, but fighting was just a normal part of life at the New York Military Academy. Hazing was not something Trump appeared to have much interest in according to Levine, and was only interested in physical confrontation when the situation presented itself.