Fans celebrate Tubby Raymond at Wilmington event

Guest of honor Harold R. “Tubby” Raymond is flanked by two of his former players--K.C. Keeler (left), now UD head football coach, and Rich Gannon, Oakland Raiders quarterback.

12:25 p.m., Jan. 27, 2004--Legendary University of Delaware football coach Harold R. “Tubby” Raymond, a newly inducted member of the College Football Hall of Fame, was honored by more than 600 enthusiastic Fightin’ Blue Hen fans during a special event held Saturday evening at the Bank One Center on the Riverfront in Wilmington.

The event attracted a number of high-profile guests, including Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner, Philadelphia Phillies manager Larry Bowa, former Brigham Young University football coach Lavelle Edwards, Villanova University football coach Andy Talley and UD football coach K.C. Keeler.

Also on hand were a number of former UD players, including quarterbacks Jeff Komlo, Scott Brunner and Rich Gannon.

The master of ceremonies was Harry Kalas, the beloved voice of the Philadelphia Phillies and NFL Films.

Welcoming guests to the event were students from the tuba section of the UD Marching Band and UD’s mascot YoUDee.

Raymond, who entered the banquet hall on the back of a roaring motorcycle before addressing the crowd, joked that his has been the “longest retirement process known to mankind.”

“When I won my 300th game, they had a party. When I retired, they had a party. When they named Tubby Raymond Field, they had a party. When I was inducted into the Hall of Fame, they had a party. When they presented my bust, they had a party,” Raymond said. “I’ve been enshrined, endowed and engraved. The only things left are to be euthanized and eulogized.”

Growing serious, Raymond said he has been privileged to be part of the University of Delaware football family. “It has been a wonderful experience and a wonderful life,” he said.

Gannon, who last season was named the National Football League’s most valuable player after leading the Oakland Raiders to the Super Bowl, said Raymond’s greatest accomplishment is not enshrinement in the College Football Hall of Fame but the impact he had on his players.

“To win 300 games is unbelievable,” Gannon said, “but more important is how he shaped the lives of so many young men at the University of Delaware. He taught us valuable lessons about courage, commitment, integrity, competition and toughness.”

Larry Bowa, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies

Gannon pointed to the high graduation rates among UD players, noting that young men who played under Raymond had gone on not just to the NFL but to careers in business, politics, law and medicine.

“It’s great to be back in the state of Delaware,” Gannon said in prefacing his remarks. “I love this place.”

Talley, whose Villanova team’s rivalry with UD is so intense he was named an “Enemy of the State” in a Sports Illustrated poll last year, said “It has been a great pleasure and honor to coach against Harold Raymond.”

Talley said Raymond is a “Renaissance man, a legend, an icon, a man for all seasons,” adding, “It is a privilege to say he is my friend.”

Minner thanked Raymond for building a “fabulous football program” that is enjoyed by UD students and alumni and members of the community alike.

She noted that Raymond, even though since retired, had a hand in the 2003 NCAA Division I-AA championship.

That title was won under Keeler, who was a linebacker on Raymond’s 1979 NCAA Division II championship team.

Giving a nod to his former player, Raymond said the Division I-AA title “is a wonderful addition to the Delaware tradition.”

Article by Neil Thomas
Photos by Kathy F. Atkinson

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