Raymond A. "Babe" Curfman (June 16, 1915 – April 5, 1993) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

player and coach. He was the head coach at the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts in Las Cruces (now

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the stat ...

), from 1946 to 1947 and at the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The University ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

from

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

to 1953, compiling a career college football record .

Coaching career

After a brief stay as a player with the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Californ ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL) in 1938, Curfman coached at the high school level in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

, at Tulia,

Santa Rosa Santa Rosa is the Italian, Portuguese and Spanish name for Saint Rose. Santa Rosa may also refer to: Places Argentina *Santa Rosa, Mendoza, a city *Santa Rosa, Tinogasta, Catamarca *Santa Rosa, Valle Viejo, Catamarca *Santa Rosa, La Pampa *Santa ...

, and Las Cruces. His 1942 Las Cruces basketball team advanced to the state finals. Curfman served as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in the Army Air Corps in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. From 1946 to 1947, Curfman was the head coach at

New Mexico A&M New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the stat ...

, then in the

Border Conference The Border Conference, officially known as the Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association, was an NCAA-affiliated college athletic conference founded in 1931 that disbanded following the 1961–62 season. Centered in the southwestern United Sta ...

, where he compiled an record. He resigned in December to work in the sporting goods industry in Texas, then joined the staff of third-year head coach

Dixie Howell Millard Fleming "Dixie" Howell (November 24, 1912 – March 2, 1971) was an American football and baseball player and coach. He played college football as a halfback at the University of Alabama from 1932 to 1934 and with the Washington Reds ...

at Idaho in Two years later, Howell and Curfman submitted their resignations in March 1951, and Curfman remained on campus as an interim coach for the upcoming

spring drills. The administration was impressed with his handling of the team during the first week of practice and hired him as head coach in mid-April. He guided the Vandals for three seasons in the

Pacific Coast Conference The Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) was a college 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 (including a ...

and compiled a record. His salary in his final year at Idaho in 1953 Curfman made headlines during the 1953 season as his overmatched Vandals struggled in conference play in the PCC. Following his resignation as Idaho head coach in December, he was hired as the business manager for the

Spokane Indians The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Col ...

minor league baseball team in January 1954. He later coached high school football back in Texas, at

Pampa The Pampas (from the qu, pampa, meaning "plain") are fertile South American low grasslands that cover more than and include the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos, and Córdoba; all of Uruguay; and Brazil ...

(1958–1961) and

Pecos Pecos may refer to: Places * Pecos River, rises near Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States * Pecos, Texas, a city in Reeves County, Texas, United States * Pecos County, Texas, named for the Pecos River ** Pecos Spring, a spring * Pecos, New Mexico, a ...

(1962–1964). Curfman died at age 77 in 1993 in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black

ill ILL may refer to: * ''I Love Lucy'', a landmark American television sitcom * Illorsuit Heliport (location identifier: ILL), a heliport in Illorsuit, Greenland * Institut Laue–Langevin, an internationally financed scientific facility * Interlibrar ...

, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive ...

; he and his wife are buried at the East Lawn Palms Cemetery in Tucson.

Head coaching record

References

External links

1952 ''Gem of the Mountains'', University of Idaho yearbook
– Babe Curfman * {{DEFAULTSORT:Curfman, Raymond 1915 births 1993 deaths American football ends American football quarterbacks Barksdale Field Sky Raiders football coaches Idaho Vandals football coaches New Mexico State Aggies athletic directors New Mexico State Aggies football coaches Texas Tech Red Raiders football players High school football coaches in New Mexico High school football coaches in Texas United States Army Air Forces officers United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II