Don Popplewell

{{Short description|American football player}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}

{{Infobox CFL biography

|name=Don Popplewell

|image=

|image_size=

|alt=

|caption=

|position1=Center

|birth_date=January 24, 1949

|birth_place=Iberia, Missouri, U.S.

|death_date=

|death_place=

|number=

|College=University of Colorado Boulder

|high_school=

|playing_years1=1969–1970

|playing_team1=Colorado Buffaloes

|career_highlights=

• Consensus All-American (1970)
• First-team All-Big Eight (1970)
• Second-team All-Big Eight (1969)

}}

Donald C. Popplewell (born January 24, 1949) is a former American football player. He played college football for the [[Colorado Buffaloes football|Colorado

Buffaloes]] and was a consensus All-American center in 1970.

Popplewell was raised in Raytown, Missouri.{{cite news|title=A Listing of the All Stars|newspaper=The Sporting News|date=January 2, 1971|page=8}} He attended the University of Colorado Boulder where he played college football at the center position for the Colorado Buffaloes. He was six feet, two inches tall and weighed 240 pounds as a football player at Colorado. He was a member of the 1969 Colorado Buffaloes football team that defeated Alabama in the 1969 Liberty Bowl, and, as a senior, he played for the west team in the East–West Shrine Game. He was also a consensus selection to the 1970 College Football All-America Team,{{cite web|title=2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections|publisher=National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)|year=2014|accessdate=August 16, 2014|page=6|url=http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2014/Awards.pdf|archive-date=November 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181126094941/http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2014/awards.pdf|url-status=dead}} receiving first-team honors from the United Press International, Associated Press, Newspaper Enterprise Association, and Football Writers Association of America.{{cite news|title=Consensus All-America|newspaper=The Sporting News|date=January 2, 1971|page=10}}

Popplewell was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the 10th round (254th overall pick) of the 1971 NFL draft,{{cite web|title=1971 NFL Draft Listing|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|work=Pro-Football-Reference.com|accessdate=August 27, 2014|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1971/draft.htm?redir}} but he did not play in the National Football League.