Rod Vitty
Clarence L. “Doc” Vitty, Class of 1920, was the sort of gentleman who makes a community work. A successful chiropractor in St. Johnsbury, Vt., Doc was active in several service clubs and coached youth baseball, football, and hockey. Along the way, he recruited many student-athletes from across Vermont for Norwich University.
One young man who didn’t follow Doc to Norwich was his son, Roderic. But Rod, who today lives in Quechee, Vt., with his wife Pat, loves Norwich just about as much as his father ever did.
Doc was a three-sport athlete who will forever be remembered as the first Cadet quarterback to throw the forward pass. He notched many noteworthy accomplishments on the gridiron: Leading Norwich to three consecutive shutout victories over Middlebury, quarterbacking the team to a shutout win over UVM, drop-kicking a field goal to give Norwich a 10–7 win over Boston University. As if that weren’t enough, on the baseball diamond he was Norwich’s top pitcher for four seasons.
I learned to sing ‘Norwich Forever’ before I could talk. I’m not kidding. That’s just about true.
~ Rod Vitty
“My father was life secretary of his class and he’s also in the Norwich Hall of Fame,” says Rod. “He was a great athlete, an outstanding football and baseball player who went on to play briefly for the Cardinals.”
As a boy, Rod tagged along with his father many times on trips to the Norwich campus. “I learned to sing ‘Norwich Forever’ before I could talk,” says Rod. “I’m not kidding. That’s just about true.”
While his older brother Deland attended Norwich in the early 1950s, Rod chose West Point, making his mark on the playing field, like his father, as a dominant pitcher. Rod graduated in 1955 and soon found himself in Europe, where he connected with Norwich again. Rod coached the 85th Infantry baseball team, and Bill Ouellette, NU ’54, was his catcher. More than half a century later, Rod and Bill still stay in touch.
Rod’s ties with the University were further strengthened when his son David selected Norwich. David, a 1989 graduate, was a standout wrestler and soccer player until sidelined by a knee injury.
Rod worked in the financial services industry for more than three decades. He now owns Vermont Heritage Press & Caber Publishing and serves as Vermont’s Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army.
To honor Doc, who passed away in 1976, Rod and Pat are directing their campaign gift to the new VIP Room in Phase II of the Athletic Complex. This space will house the University’s Hall of Fame.
“Norwich meant a great deal to my father,” says Rod. “This is one way I want to remember him.”
