Purdue ICONS: The Others Receiving Votes

First off, I need to thank the 32 people who responded with a ballot to ranks their top 25 Purdue Sports personalities of all time. I have to categorize it as sports personalities now instead of athletes because multiple memorable coaches, athletic directors, and other figures made an appearance on the final list. This turned out exactly like I hoped it would: with a clear upper echelon, but with several athletes represented.

All told, 86 different Purdue personalities received at least a 25^th place vote on one ballot. I don't want to give anything away, but there is a clear and even poetic connection between the #1 ICON and one of the three that only received one vote.

So here is how I am going to do this. I am going to do one entry here as the "Others Receiving Votes" category. I will then do an entry or two giving a bit more information about the 50-26 rated personalities. Starting at #25, each person will receive their own entry.

This has been fun to tabulate, and everyone who sent in a ballot thought it was a wonderful idea. Here are the others receiving votes:

1 Vote:

Seth Morales - Football wide receiver who made probably the most famous catch in Purdue football history. He may not be higher on the list, but he is definitely one of the most memorable players.

Bobby Riddell - The famous Bobby Buckets, who went from walk-on freshman starter on an awful team to the Sweet 16. He was a fan and Paint Crew favorite. I still remember hearing the Paint Crew out in Arizona chanting his name when he hi a late three during the loss to UConn in 2009.

Corissa Yasen - Nine-time All-American and 10-time Big Ten champion in Track and Field who also played one year on the women's basketball team and one year in the WNBA with the Sacramento Monarchs. Tragically, she killed herself via drug overdose in 2001 at the age of 27.

2 Votes:

Elmer Oliphant - A man possibly worthy of a Profile in Badassery, Oliphant graduated from Purdue in 1914 before going to West Point during World War I. he holds the individual record for scoring in a game with 43 points, and he earned seven varsity letters in football, basketball, baseball, and track. He later earned 11 letters at West Point. His individual scoring record in a game has stood for 99 years and may never be broken.

Niko Koutouvides - One of my favorite all-time Boilers and an anchor of the defense from 2000-2003. He is still kicking around with the Buccaneers in the NFL. I loved screaming "I'VE GOT KOUTOUVIDES!" back in the day.

Stacey Lovelace - One of the top women's basketball players and a member of the 1994 Final Four team. She has enjoyed a long career in the WNBA with seven different teams including the Indiana Fever.

3 Votes:

Tony Butkovich - Like Alex Agase, he spent most of his career at Illinois but played football for a year at Purdue in 1943 where he led the nation in rushing as a bruising fullback. He gave up a chance at the NFL (11^th pick overall) to enlist in the Marine Corps during World War II, but was Killed in Action on Okinawa. Definitely a Profile in Badassery candidate.

Darryl Stingley - A football wide receiver who was paralyzed by Jack Tatum while playing for the Patriots in 1978. At the time of the hit, he had a contract on the table that would have made him one of the highest paid receivers in the NFL. He was a first round pick of the Patriots in 1973.

Brian Alford - Another receiver, he was part of the Purdue football resurgence in 1997 as Billy Dicken's top receiver. He set single season records for receptions and yards and was a 1^st team All-American by the Football news. He was drafted by the Giants, but never panned out.

Steve Scheffler - He was a freshman with the Three Amigos in 1988 (a team that I still don't understand how they lost to Kansas State). Hew as Big Ten Player of the Year and set the NCAA Field goal percentage record at 68.5%. Played for the Hornets, Kings, Nuggets, and Sonics in a seven year NBA career.

4 Votes:

Moose Skowron - Moose is the current Community Relations Representative with the White Sox at the age of 80 and a former Purdue baseball player that batted .500 during his sophomore season. He had a 13 year MLB career for five teams and was an 8-time All-Star selection. He also won five World Series with the Yankees.

5 Votes:

Shaun Phillips - Purdue's all-time sacks leader with 33.5 sacks, including 14.5 as a senior. He also had two TD's in goal line situations as a tight end. He has 381 tackles and 56.5 sacks for the Chargers and made the 2011 Pro Bowl.

8 Votes:

Russell Cross - A 6'10" center in1981, he set a freshman record with 540 points as Purdue placed third in the NIT. He left Purdue a year early to pursue a career in the NBA, where he lasted only one season with the Warriors.

9 Votes:

George Ade - An American Humorist and supporter of Purdue. He wasn't an athlete, but his financial support helped build Ross-Ade Stadium which bears his name.

10 Votes:

David Ross - The other half of Ross-Ade Stadium. Ross was a major benefactor and 1893 graduate of Purdue. He made the proposal with Ade to buy the land for Ross-Ade Stadium and made many of the initial contributions for it.

11 Votes:

Jim Everett - One of the more unsung members of the Cradle of Quarterbacks because he only took Purdue to one Bowl game, Everett had a solid NFL career with the Rams, Saints, and Chargers. He was the #3 overall pick in the 1986 NFL Draft and did what many people have wanted to do: Shove Jim Rome to the floor.

Carolyn Peck - Peck did what no other basketball coach at Purdue has ever done: Win the NCAA Tournament. She was only there for two seasons, but led the Boilers to the 1999 NCAA title.

Ray Edwards - While I w as not a fan of Edwards when he played at Purdue because of his tendency to celebrate the mundane when we were down by 20, he is a famed member of the Den of Defensive Ends. He currently has 29.5 sacks in five years with the Vikings.

Bernard Pollard - Pollard is famous for causing Tom Brady's knee injury, but he was the celebration buddy with Edwards at Purdue. He was known as a hard hitter... 15 yards past the line of scrimmage after the opposing team had gotten the first down.

12 Votes:

Joy Holmes - In many circles Harris is more well known as the mother of possible 2012 commit Gary Harris. She is a former Purdue basketball great though that also played a year in the WNBA with Detroit.

13 Votes:

Akin Ayodele - Akin is one of my favorite players from my time at Purdue, and I even had class with his girlfriend many moons ago. He's one of our best defensive ends, but converted to linebacker in the NFL where he has had a solid career with the Dolphins, Bills, Cowboys, and Jaguars.

Lin Dunn - Dunn was head coach on the 1994 Final Four women's team and is the current coach of the Indiana Fever in the WNBA. She was fired after the 1996 season in the midst of an NCAA scandal, however.

14 Votes:

Keena Turner - Turner only appeared on two ballots, which stunned me, especially when I had him in the top 15 on mine. Turner played for 11 years with the 49ers and won four Super Bowl rings, one of the few NFL players to do so.

15 Votes:

Noble Kizer - Purdue's head football coach from 1930-36, he won consecutive Big Ten titles in 1931 and 1932. He played in college for Knute Rockne at Notre Dame. His 42-13-3 record is one of the best percentage-wise in school history.

Jennifer Jacoby - Jacoby was Miss Basketball in 1991 at Rossville before coming to Purdue and being part of the 1994 Final Four team. She is currently the head coach at Miami University.

John Standeford - Standeford was the all-time receptions leader at Purdue for one season before Taylor Stubblefield passed him. He went on to have an okay NFL career, winning a Super bowl for the Colts practice squad before playing extensively with the 0-16 Lions.

16 Votes:

Guy Mackey - The reason we call it Mackey Arena. Mackey was the long-time athletic director at Purdue that helped transition us from the post-war era into the 70s.

Herm Gilliam - Gilliam was a two-time team MVP and a member of Purdue 1969 NCAA runner-up team with Rick Mount. He left Purdue as the #5 scorer all-time and enjoyed an eight year NBA career.

19 Votes:

Chad Austin - He could have gotten a ton of votes just for hitting the buzzer beater at Assembly Hall that silenced a raucous crowd in overtime. That's most people's famous memory.

Charles Murphy - Known as "Stretch", he won the 1926 Indiana State title before joinging John Wooden at Purdue in the 30s. His Purdue career was 53-13 and he was a two-time All-American as Purdue was the dominant team of the early 30s.

20 Votes:

Travis Dorsch - Dorach was an All-American kicker and Punter at Purdue, winning the 2001 Ray Guy Award before being drafted by the Bengals. No one has scored more points than Dorsch for Purdue, who was the starting kicker all four years in school.

Tim Stratton - Stratton was the winner of the 2000 John Mackey Award as the safety valve for Drew Brees. Some thought he would go pro, but he returned for his senior season and it ended up being a bad move as he went undrafted.

21 Votes:

Nick Hardwick - Hardwick has gone from walk-on to Pro Bowl Center for the Chargers. He has played in San Diego since 2004 and is the center of their offensive line.

25 Votes:

Kara Patterson - Patterson holds the American record in the javelin throw at 66.67 meters, set last year when she broke the old record by 2 ½ meters. She qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and is favored to compete in London in 2012.

Larry Brumbaugh - The first Purdue Pete, as profiled in last week's Profiles in Badassery.