Donald Edgar Durdan (September 21, 1920 – June 28, 1971) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. He played collegiately for the

Oregon State Beavers The Oregon State Beavers are the sport, athletic teams that represent Oregon State University, located in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Division I ...

Early life

Durdan was born in

Arcata, California Arcata (; ; ) is a city adjacent to the Arcata Bay (northern) portion of Humboldt Bay (United States), Humboldt Bay in Humboldt County, California, United States. At the 2010 United States Census, 2020 census, Arcata's population was 18,857. A ...

and attended Eureka High School, where he played

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

on the

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

team. In 1935, Durdan's team was not only undefeated, but they did not allow their opponents to score a single point. Durdan went on to

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

, where he started in

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

, and

, and was a member of

Pacific Coast Conference The Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) was a collegiate athletic conference in the United States which existed from 1915 to 1959. Though the Pac-12 Conference claims the PCC's history as part of its own, with eight of the ten PCC members (includin ...

championship teams in each sport. He was named an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

in basketball in his senior year of 1943.

Rose Bowl MVP

In 1941, the Beavers football team won the

and a berth in the

1942 Rose Bowl The 1942 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on Thursday, January 1, 1942. It was the 28th edition of the Rose Bowl Game. Originally scheduled for the Rose Bowl (stadium), Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, it was moved to Durham, N ...

against the undefeated

Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the N ...

. With the United States' entry into

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, concern about a

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese attack on the West Coast brought a relocation of the game to Duke's home stadium in

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

. In spite of the fact that Duke was favored by two

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s, the Beavers pulled off a major upset, winning 20–16. Durdan, who showed his all-around skill by rushing for 54 yards and a touchdown, passing, and punting, was named the game's most valuable player. This remains the Beavers' only Rose Bowl victory.

Professional career

Durdan served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during

. After the war, Durdan signed with the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

in 1946, where he played halfback as well as defensive back for one full season and part of a second in 1947. In addition to playing professional football, Durdan also played professional basketball for the

Portland Indians The Portland Indians were a professional basketball team in Portland, Oregon. They were a member of the Pacific Coast Professional Basketball League for the duration of the league, which only lasted two seasons: 1946–47 and 1947–48. They playe ...

of the

Pacific Coast Professional Basketball League The Pacific Coast Professional Basketball League was a professional basketball league with teams from the Pacific Northwest in the United States and Canada. The league existed for two seasons, 1946-47 and 1947-48. Teams Three teams played in both ...

. The league lasted just two seasons (1946–47 and 1947–48), but Durdan's Indians won the best-of-five league championship in 1948 over the rival Seattle Athletics.

Personal

In 1946, Durdan married Maxine DeMoss, sister of Oregon golf champion Grace DeMoss (another DeMoss sister married Durdan's Rose Bowl teammate Quentin Greenough). Following his sports career, Durdan became a

funeral director A funeral director, also known as an undertaker or mortician (American English), is a professional who has licenses in funeral arranging and embalming (or preparation of the deceased) involved in the business of funeral rites. These tasks o ...

in his wife's family's funeral home business in

Corvallis, Oregon Corvallis ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Benton County, Oregon, Benton County in central western Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton Co ...

. He died in Corvallis in 1971. He was inducted into the

Oregon Sports Hall of Fame The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon. The first class was inducted in 1980, with new inductees added in the fall. Operated by the Oregon Sports ...

in 1981, and in 1988, to both the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame and the Oregon State University Sports Hall of Fame.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Durdan, Don 1920 births 1971 deaths People from Arcata, California Sportspeople from Corvallis, Oregon Players of American football from Humboldt County, California All-American college men's basketball players American football running backs Oregon State Beavers football players Oregon State Beavers men's basketball players United States Navy sailors United States Navy personnel of World War II San Francisco 49ers players American men's basketball players 20th-century American sportsmen