Don Wemple

Don Wemple
Date of birth(1917-10-14)October 14, 1917
Place of birthGloversville, New York, United States
Date of deathJune 23, 1943(1943-06-23) (aged 25)
Place of deathThe Hump, British India
Career information
Position(s)End
US collegeColgate
Career history
As player
1941Brooklyn Dodgers
Career stats

Don Wemple (October 14, 1917 – June 23, 1943[1]) was an American football player. He played one season in the National Football League for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

After playing college football at Colgate (where he was a team captain in 1937) and in the 1939 Chicago College All-Star Game (despite missing much of the game with a leg injury, Wemple elected not to pursue a professional career as he hoped to either become a coach or a businessman. Although he changed his mind in 1941 and signed with the Dodgers, he also enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces during the season.[2] In November, he caught the game-winning touchdown against the Washington Redskins.[3]

With World War II ongoing, the Army Air Forces summoned Wemple to active duty on January 13, 1942, and he received flight training in Georgia and Florida.[2] In September, he joined Robert Neyland's Eastern All-Army team that played NFL teams in exhibition games to raise money for the Army's relief fund, but never played due to other service obligations.[4][2]

Serving in the Pacific War, he died on June 23, 1943, when his plane was shot down on the Hump air route in India. In October, prior to their game against the New York Giants, the Dodgers unveiled a banner with 40 blue stars indicating their players in the military with Wemple's being the only gold star.[5] He was married to Doris Johnson who later married Don Harrell and died in New Smyrna Beach, FL in 2002.

  1. ^ Algeo, Matthew (September 2013). Last Team Standing: How the Steelers and the Eagles—"The Steagles"—Saved Pro Football During World War II. ISBN 9781613748855.
  2. ^ a b c Anton, Todd; Nowlin, Bill (November 15, 2013). When Football Went to War. Triumph Books. pp. 77–78. ISBN 978-1600788451.
  3. ^ "Washington Redskins at Brooklyn Dodgers - November 9th, 1941". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  4. ^ "Kimbrough and Harmon on Army all-star team". Times Leader. AP. June 13, 1942. Retrieved July 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Turkin, Hy (October 18, 1943). "Ol' Man Hein Still Rarin', Tearin' On". New York Daily News. Retrieved July 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.