Ray Poppelman
Raymond J. Poppelman (March 6, 1907 – February 28, 2003) was an American Marine and athlete. He attended the University of Maryland, where he played on the football and lacrosse teams. Poppelman was inducted into the University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988.
Biography
A native of
football team at Quantico in 1927.[3] The talents of Poppelman and Albert Woods, a Quantico teammate, attracted the attention of Maryland's head coach, Curley Byrd. Byrd dispatched scouts to watch all of Quantico's game, and according to Kings of American Football: The University of Maryland, 1890–1952, the base soon "was referred to as Maryland's 'farm team' and the Southern Conference passed a rule making play with a service team count in eligibility the same as play with another college."[4]
Poppelman attended the
Virginia Tech.[8]
In 1931, Poppelman helped Maryland beat
Washington & Lee, 13–7.[10] Maryland secured the state football championship with a defeat, 41–6, of Western Maryland. In that game, Poppelman tallied three times on carries of 31, 50, and 56 yards, "in addition to picking up much yardage on other excursions."[11] Poppelman finished the season with 1,350 rushing yards, which surpassed the previous school record of 1,255 set by Gerald Snyder in 1928.[12] He was named an honorable mention All-American.[13] The Baltimore Sun selected the entire Terrapins backfield, including Poppelman, for its All-Maryland team. It reasoned the unprecedented nature of that selection was due to the "complete dominance of State football by the University of Maryland during 1931" and "the manner in which that team swept aside all opposition in this territory".[14]
In 1932, he was credited with leading Maryland to a 63–0 rout of
Washington & Lee, 6–0, and tallied once against Johns Hopkins, 23–0.[17]
After the season, he was named to the All-South Atlantic team as a
triple threat ace" and "to Maryland what John Cain was to Alabama.[18] Poppelman was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity. He graduated from Maryland in 1933 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.[1]
He was inducted into the University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988.[19]
Published works
- More Than Luck: The Memoirs of Raymond J. Poppelman (2002)
References
- ^ a b c The Terrapin, p. 81, University of Maryland, 1933.
- ISBN 0-7864-4756-7.
- ^ "Quantico Football 1918 thru 1942"[permanent dead link] (PDF), Quantico Marine Athletes Reunion Group, p. 5, retrieved December 25, 2010.
- ^ Morris Allison Bealle, Kings of American Football: The University of Maryland, 1890–1952, p. 116, Columbia Publishing Co., 1952.
- ^ All-Time Letterwinners N-Z Archived 2011-10-27 at the Wayback Machine, University of Maryland, retrieved December 25, 2010.
- ^ All-Time Lettermen Archived 2011-10-27 at the Wayback Machine, University of Maryland, retrieved December 25, 2010.
- ISBN 1-58261-688-4
- ^ Bealle, p. 117.
- ^ Bealle, p. 118.
- ^ Bealle, p. 119.
- ^ Maryland Wins State Grid Crown, The Milwaukee Journal, December 6, 1931.
- ^ Ungrady, p. 43.
- ^ All-Americans, University of Maryland, retrieved December 25, 2010.
- ^ University Of Maryland Dominates The Sun Team; Entire Backfield And Three Linemen Chosen On Twenty-Second Annual Eleven--Helm, Captain, And Poppelman Best Bet, The Sun, December 13, 1931.
- ^ Maryland Smothers Washington College, Reading Eagle, September 24, 1932.
- ^ RAY POPPELMAN IS REINSTATED; Maryland Star, Dropped From Squad For Blow, Back After Apology, The Sun, October 27, 1932.
- ^ Bealle, p. 121.
- ^ a b Wade Ison, Third All-South Atlantic Grid Team Picked By Sports Writers; Outstanding Teams in Trio States Place Two Men Each on Eleven, Herald-Journal, December 18, 1932.
- ^ University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame All-Time Inductees, University of Maryland, retrieved December 25, 2010.