Dave Nelson and Tubby Raymond local roster connections
The Dave Nelson and Tubby Raymond era spanned 49 years of Delaware Blue Hens football. The Admiral Dave Nelson ran the ship for 14 years from 1952-66. Tubby took over and was at the helm for 35 years through the 2001 season.
The Wing-T offense was beautiful to watch in its precision and deception. Most high school teams in Delaware copied some semblance of the Wing-T, but the Blue Hen playbook was deep and laden with assignment rules for every position.
Downstate Delaware has always been a place to connect the dots from extended families to sports where paths have crosshatched over the generations.
The University of Delaware has always been in the forefront of technology, from recording and achieving sports histories to developing a friendly, interactive athletic website.
Listed below are five decades of names by town that are connected to downstate either by birth or later-life residence. Most names just appear once, even if the athlete played four years or if the athlete left after one year.
You may notice Joe Biden playing on the same 1962 team as William Wagamon of Milton, or Charlie Boy Hudson of Georgetown, a teammate of Ray Sweeney of Wilmington in 1972.
A Delaware resident and sports fan can get lost for days inside those rosters. Google “all-time Delaware football rosters” if you want to treat yourself to 100 years of solitude and fun.
1952 - Thomas Hocker, Lewes; James Johnson, Milford
1953 - James Cooper, Lewes; Ralph Snowberger, Milford
1954 - Bobby Moneymaker, Seaford; Ralph Snowberger, Milford; Tommy Thomas, Seaford
1955 - Frank Waller, Laurel
1956 - Jack Ellis, Laurel
1957 - John Coffin, Georgetown; Alvin Huey, Milford; Howard Moyer, Dagsboro
1958 - Ben Salloway, Smyrna
1959 - Harold Grosh, Seaford
1960 - Vern Walsh, Claymont; Lenny Nelson, Newark; Irvin Handy, Seaford; Ron McCoy, Smyrna
1961 - Don James, Delmar
1962 - Joe Biden, Wilmington; Don James, Delmar; Don Powell, Delmar; James Smack, Milford; William Wagamon, Milton
1963 - John Dege, Seaford; Larry Sharp, Milford
1964 - Bill Drueding, Bloomsburg, Pa.
1965 - John Miller, Westmont, N.J.
1966 - Jack Holloway, Wilmington; Mike McGlinchey, Newark
1967 - Tom Dimizio, Philly
1968 - Tom Leonard, New Castle; Joe Purzycki, Newark, N.J.
1969 - Jim Colbert, Levittown, Pa.; Bob Pittard, Georgetown; Dale Daugherty, Delmar
1970 - Jeff Cannon, Georgetown
1971 - Scotty Reihm, Middletown; Ed Romanowski, Levittown, Pa.; Herky Billings, Middletown; William Booth, Georgetown
1972 - Charles Hudson, Georgetown; Ray Sweeney, Wilmington
1973 - Larry McNair, Dover; Nate Beasley, Dover; Paul Jones, Rehoboth; Ron Allen, Milford; Doug Parker, Seaford
1974 - Fred Sposato, Lewes; Mike Cannon, Georgetown
1975 - Dave Raymond, Newark; Paul Schweizer, Wilmington; Alan Ameche, Malvern, Pa.
1976 - Mike Schonewolf, Reading, Pa; Tony Glenn, Wilmington
1977 - Guy Ramsey, Dover; Jaime Young, Milford
1978 - Vance Belcher, Seaford; Joe Booth, Georgetown
1979 - K.C. Keeler, Emmaus, Pa.; Mike Young, Milford
1980 - Chris Boozer, Towson, Md.; Bob Cairo, Pearl River, N.Y.
1981- Maury Jarmon, Selbyville; Greg Robertson, Seaford
1982 - Dan Reeder, Newark; Gary Cannon, Holmdel, N.J.; Brad Taylor, Dover
1983 - Frank Dowd, Seaford
1984 - Darrell Booker, Willingboro, N.J.
1985 - Frank Mofffett, Camden; Rich Gannon, Philadelphia
1986 - Bryan Bossard, Dover; Hudson Keller, Dover
1987 - Kent Buckson, Camden; Tom Bockius, Newark
1988 - Bill Vergantino, Levittown, Pa.; Ray Hatch, Dover; Randy Organ, Dover; Mike Muehleisen, Newark
1989 - Chris Johnson, Newark; Dale Fry, Middletown
1990 - Jamie Oxford, Dover; Doug Joyce, Gaithersburg, Md.
1991 - Dale Fry, Middletown
1992 - Pat Mulhern, Wallingford, Pa.
1993 - Aaron Kellam, Laurel; Mike Feldman, Smyrna; Corey Smith, Laurel
1994 - Rob Myers, Camden; Joe Warren, Georgetown; Kenny Bailey, Harrington; John Green, Frederica; Rob Tattersall, New Castle; Kurt Hussong, Georgetown; Todd Lawson, Harbeson
1995 - Rob Myers, Frederica; Buckie Booth, Georgetown
1996 - Clifford Lawson, Harbeson
1997 - Matt Nagy, Manheim, Pa.; George Gibbs, Felton
1998 - Sam Postlethwait, Dover; Nate Irvin, Millsboro; Jeff Eanes, Dover; Mike Simpson, Frederica; Brad Travis, Lewes
1999 - Butch Patrick, Newark; Josh Hershelman, Georgetown; Eric Fleetwood, Seaford.
