UpDate - Vol. 15, No. 32, Page 7
May 16, 1996
Delaware Hall of Fame inducts four with UD ties
Four athletes with ties to the University athletic department
were inducted into the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame May 16 during the
annual banquet at the Du Pont Country Club.
Members of the UD community included former football standout and
current trustee Harold "Buck" Thompson, the late golf coach and
administrator Raymond B. "Scotty" Duncan, former trainer and tennis
coach Roy "Doc" Rylander and the four-sport athlete Irvin "Ace"
Taylor.
With the addition of these four, a total of 30 men and women with
ties to the University of Delaware-as athletes, coaches,
administrators and broadcasters-have been honored.
The 1996 honorees are:
Harold "Buck" Thompson, who was a three-year varsity standout for the
Fightin' Blue Hens football team in 1941-46 and a member of teams
that posted a three-year record of 25-0-1 and won the 1946 small
college national title. Thompson, who earned All-American honors in
1946, still holds UD records for longest kickoff return and longest
run from scrimmage. He later went on to play for the Brooklyn
Dodgers in the All-American Football Conference.
C. Roy "Doc" Rylander, who is considered a pioneer in the field of
athletic training. He joined the UD faculty in 1946 and served as
head athletic trainer, head men's tennis coach and head gymnastics
coach. He retired as head athletic trainer after the 1987-88
season. He was inducted into the National Athletic Trainers Hall of
Fame in 1986. As tennis coach, he led the Blue Hens for 41 years
from 1953 until his retirement after the 1993 season, the longest
tenure of any head coach in UD history. He posted a record of 343-
176-1 and led his 1974 team to the Middle Atlantic Conference
title.
Raymond B. "Scotty" Duncan, who was recognized as one of the most
respected golf coaches and administrators in the country. A 1948
graduate of Delaware, Mr. Duncan was a letterwinner in football,
basketball, baseball and track. He coached the Blue Hen golf team
from 1964 until his death in 1990 and never had a losing season in
27 years, compiling a record of 365-94 with six East Coast
Conference titles and a 1977 Eastern Intercollegiate Golf
Association title. Mr. Duncan joined the UD athletics staff in 1955
and retired as associate director of athletics in 1989. The NCAA
District II/EIGA tournament is now known as the Scotty Duncan
Memorial Tournament.
Irvin "Ace" Taylor, a member of the Class of 1930, won letters in
football, basketball and baseball and also competed for the soccer
team during his athletic career at Delaware. He was Delaware's
first ever Outstanding Athlete in 1930 as a senior. An end in
football, he was named to Delaware's all-time team in 1989.
-Scott Selheimer