American football, baseball player and coach
Tubby Raymond
|
Born
| (
1926-11-04
)
November 4, 1926
Flint, Michigan
, U.S.
|
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Died
| December 8, 2017
(2017-12-08)
(aged 91)
Pennsylvania
, U.S.
|
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|
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1946, 1948
| Michigan
|
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|
1949
| Michigan
|
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1950
| Clarksdale Planters
|
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1951
| Flint Arrows
|
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|
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Position(s)
| Quarterback
,
linebacker
(football)
|
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|
|
1951?1953
| Maine
(line)
|
---|
1954?1965
| Delaware
(backfield)
|
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1966?2001
| Delaware
|
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|
1952?1953
| Maine
|
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1956?1964
| Delaware
|
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Overall
| 300?119?3 (football)
164?72?3 (baseball)
|
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Bowls
| 4?1
|
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Tournaments
| Football
7?4 (NCAA D-II playoffs)
11?11 (NCAA D-I-AA playoffs)
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|
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Football
2
NCAA College Division
(1970?1971)
1
NCAA Division II
(1979)
3
Middle Atlantic
(1966, 1968?1969)
5
Yankee
(1986, 1988, 1991?1992, 1995)
1
A-10
(2000)
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|
Football
2×
AFCA College Division COY
(1971?1972)
|
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College Football Hall of Fame
Inducted in 2003 (
profile
)
|
|
Harold R. "Tubby" Raymond
(November 14, 1926 ? December 8, 2017) was an
American football
and
baseball
player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the
University of Delaware
from 1966 to 2001, compiling a record of 300?119?3. Raymond was also the head baseball coach at the
University of Maine
from 1952 to 1953 and at Delaware from 1956 to 1964, tallying a career
college baseball
mark of 164?72?3. He was inducted into the
College Football Hall of Fame
as a coach in 2003.
Playing career
[
edit
]
Raymond, a native of
Flint, Michigan
, played
quarterback
and
linebacker
at the
University of Michigan
under
Fritz Crisler
. He also played baseball at Michigan and was the captain of the baseball team in 1949.
[1]
He played
minor league baseball
in 1950 with the
Clarksdale Planters
and in 1951 with the
Flint Arrows
.
[2]
Coaching career
[
edit
]
Raymond began his football coaching career in 1951 as an assistant at the
University of Maine
. He moved to Delaware in 1954 as a backfield coach under
David M. Nelson
, who had also played at Michigan. Raymond succeeded Nelson as head coach in 1966. He retired after 36 seasons with a 300?119?3 record, three national titles (1971, 1972, 1979), 14
Lambert Cup
trophies, 23 post-season bids and four consecutive victories in the
Boardwalk Bowl
. After classifications were formed in the early 1970s, Delaware was a Division II program until elevating to Division I-AA in 1981. At the time of his retirement, more than half of Blue Hens' all-time victories in the 110-year-old history of their program had been tallied under Raymond tenure. On March 5, 2002,
K. C. Keeler
, former Blue Hens linebacker and head football coach at
Rowan University
, succeeded Raymond at Delaware.
Use of "Delaware Wing T" offense
A formation similar to the Flexbone, though much older, is known as the "Delaware Wing-T" was created by longtime
University of Delaware
coach and NCAA Rules Committee chairman
David M. Nelson
, and perfected by his successor Tubby Raymond. It has become a very popular offense with high schools and small colleges. It was designed at the time to be a mix between the single wing and T-formation. It took the motion and run-strength of the single wing, and the QB-under-center from the T. In this variation, there is only one wing back, with the other back lined up next to the fullback on the opposite side from the wing back. However, the Wing Back may also line up diagonally from the Tight End. He may be used as an extra blocker or a receiver. He may come in motion for running plays.
300th win
[
edit
]
Going into the 2001 season, Raymond needed just four wins to reach the 300 mark. At the first game of the season, a banner hung above the stadium listing the numbers 297, 298, 299 and 300. As each win was accomplished, the respective number was crossed off.
Raymond's 300th win came during the last home game of the season on November 10 with a 10?6 victory against the
Richmond Spiders
. As the clock wound down in the game, the crowd began chanting "Tubby, Tubby". Raymond made a short, humble speech and was carried off the field by his team as a construction worker climbed onto a cherry-picker to cross off the final number on the poster.
The following is an excerpt from Raymond's speech to Delaware fans after his 300th victory:
"I have to apologize for paraphrasing, but I feel a little bit like
Lou Gehrig
. I'm the luckiest man on the face of the earth. First, I'd like to thank the Delaware fans who have been here for so many years. I know there are things that happen that you don't like. There are things that happen that I don't like. But the thing that's there all the time is you. You're at every football game. You're excited about being here, and you truly made Delaware football something we can all be proud of. Thank you very much."
Delaware lost its final game of the season on the road against
Villanova
and, that winter, Raymond announced his retirement, ending his career at an even 300 wins.
Awards and honors
[
edit
]
In 1993, the
Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame
inducted Raymond.
[3]
On August 29, 2002, Tubby Raymond Field was dedicated in Raymond's honor at
Delaware Stadium
, which was opened in 1952.
On January 12, 2018, the University of Delaware hosted a celebration of Raymond's life at the
Bob Carpenter Center
. Speakers included University president
Dennis Assanis
, former Vice President
Joe Biden
(who played freshman football at Delaware), NFL MVP
Rich Gannon
(who played quarterback at Delaware), and Raymond's sons Chris and David.
[4]
Political activity
[
edit
]
Raymond became involved in
Delaware
politics, and remained active even after retiring to
Landenberg, Pennsylvania
. Because he was well-known and liked in Delaware, his endorsement was sought out by candidates. Raymond was a staunch conservative; he described himself as "just to the right of
Genghis Khan
."
[5]
Despite his conservative views, Raymond long supported Democrat
Jack Markell
more out of loyalty than because of political views. As a boy, Markell grew up seven houses away from the Raymonds and the two remained friends. When Markell ran for state treasurer, Raymond taped radio ads supporting him. In 2007, Markell named Raymond an honorary co-chair of his 2008 gubernatorial bid.
[6]
Markell became the 73rd Governor of Delaware in January 2009.
Painting
[
edit
]
Raymond was an accomplished painter. While coaching at Delaware, he began a tradition of painting a Blue Hen player each week of the season. Even after retiring from coaching, he continued to paint each senior Blue Hen player.
[7]
Family
[
edit
]
Harold was married to Diane and previously Sue. Harold had three children with his first wife Sue, who became deaf as an adult after a bout with
Meniere's disease
and died from a brain tumor in 1990.
[8]
The children were:
David
(the original
Phillie Phanatic
),
Chris
(former head football coach at
Colby College
) and Debbie. Harold also adopted Diane's daughter, Michelle.
Head coaching record
[
edit
]
Baseball
[
edit
]
Below is a table of Raymond's yearly records as a collegiate head baseball coach.
[9]
[10]
[11]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Michigan Baseball Captains"
.
University of Michigan Official Athletic Site
.
CBS Interactive
. Retrieved
October 12,
2010
.
- ^
"Harold Raymond Minor League Statistics & History"
.
Baseball-Reference
. Sports Reference LLC
. Retrieved
October 12,
2010
.
- ^
"Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame in Wilmington, Delaware - 1993"
.
www.desports.org
.
- ^
Tresolini, Kevin (January 12, 2018).
"Personal reflections of ex-Delaware football coach Tubby Raymond are a treasure"
.
The News-Journal
.
- ^
Miller, Beth (July 29, 2007).
"Democratic rivals jockeyed to get big names on their side"
.
The News Journal
. Archived from
the original
on September 2, 2007.
- ^
"Democrat Jack Markell Announces Initial Honorary Co-Chairs of his Campaign for Governor"
(Press release). Archived from
the original
on September 27, 2007.
- ^
"Featured Artist: Harold 'Tubby' Raymond"
. Go-star.com. Archived from
the original
on September 17, 2004.
- ^
Malooley, Jake (April 13, 2021).
"Googly eyes, Sasquatch suits and a runaway booger: Welcome to the Mascot Hall of Fame"
.
ESPN.com
. Retrieved
April 13,
2021
.
- ^
"Baseball"
(PDF)
. University of Maine. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on January 22, 2015
. Retrieved
June 20,
2014
.
- ^
"2014 Delaware Baseball Media Guide"
. Delaware Sports Information. Archived from
the original
on March 15, 2015
. Retrieved
June 27,
2014
.
- ^
"NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Record Book"
(PDF)
. NCAA. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on June 6, 2014
. Retrieved
June 5,
2014
.
External links
[
edit
]
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# denotes interim head coach
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