William C. "Zuke" Supplee (December 21, 1903 – July 1966) was an American educator and college athlete. He attended the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of ...

where he played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

and

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for the

Maryland Terrapins The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 19 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divis ...

, and competed in

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

. In 1923, he received second-team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

football honors, which made him the first Maryland player honored as such.

Early life and college

Supplee was born in Washington, D.C. In 1922, he enrolled at the

. During his initial year, he competed on the freshman track and football teams. Supplee earned varsity football

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each of the next three seasons. In 1923, Supplee was named a second-team All-American by the

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, which made him the first Maryland football player to receive All-America honors. His performances during the team's win against Penn and its narrow loss to period powerhouse,

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, have been cited as the main reasons for his selection. He also received an All-America honorable mention from Walter Camp. In 1924, he was selected to the All-South Atlantic and the All-Maryland football teams, the latter of which was composed of the state's best players. Walter Camp again named Supplee an honorable mention All-American.''Reveille''
Class of 1925, University of Maryland. In his final season in 1925, he served as the football team's captain. Despite all of his athletic endeavors, Supplee excelled in his academic studies. One of his professors said of him, "To those who slander the American athlete as being a poor student and inferior intellect, I should like to point out Supplee as Maryland's refutation." Supplee graduated in 1926 with a Bachelor of Science degree in education.''Reveille''
Class of 1926, University of Maryland yearbook.

Later life

He later earned a doctorate and served on the university's faculty as a chemistry professor in the 1940s and 1950s.''Terrapin''
Class of 1948, University of Maryland yearbook.''Terrapin''
Class of 1941, University of Maryland yearbook.''Terrapin''
Class of 1950, University of Maryland yearbook. He also served on the university's athletic board. Supplee and his wife, Grace, had two daughters. He drowned in 1966 at Rocky Gorge Reservoir in

Laurel, Maryland Laurel is a city in Maryland, United States, located midway between Washington and Baltimore on the banks of the Patuxent River. While the city limits are entirely in northern Prince George's County, outlying developments extend into Anne Arunde ...

at the age of 63. His wife, Grace died in 2000. In 1982, Supplee was posthumously inducted into the

University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame The University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame was established in 1982 by the M Club Foundation to honor student-athletes, coaches, and administrators who made significant contributions to athletics at the University of Maryland. The Hall of Fa ...

.Maryland Athletics Walk of Fame and History
, "Traditions", University of Maryland Terrapins Athletics official website, retrieved 23 December 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Supplee, Bill 1903 births 1966 deaths Maryland Terrapins football players American male hurdlers Players of American football from Washington, D.C. Maryland Terrapins men's basketball players Maryland Terrapins men's track and field athletes University of Maryland, College Park faculty All-Southern college football players Deaths by drowning in the United States American men's basketball players