Len Supulski
{{Short description|American football player (1920–1943)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox CFL biography
|image=
|birth_date={{Birth date|1920|12|15|mf=y}}
|birth_place=Kingston, Pennsylvania, U.S.
|death_date={{Death date and age|1943|8|31|1920|12|15}}
|death_place= Kearney, Nebraska, U.S.
|College=Dickinson
|position1=End
|playing_years1=1942
|playing_team1=Philadelphia Eagles
|DatabaseFootball=SUPULLEN01
|NFL=SUP553722
|Honors=Dickinson Hall of Fame{{cite web | work=Dickinson College | url=http://chronicles.dickinson.edu/specproj/halloffame/hf_supulskiLP.htm | title=Leonard Peter Supulski: Hall of Fame | accessdate=April 30, 2009}}
|module = {{Infobox military person|embed=yes
|allegiance= United States
|branch=U.S. Army Air Corps
|serviceyears=1942–1943
|rank= First Lieutenant
|battles=World War II
}}}}
Leonard Peter Supulski (December 15, 1920 – August 31, 1943) was an American football end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Early life
Supulski was born in Kingston, Pennsylvania, and attended Kingston High School.{{cite web|work=DatabaseFootball |url=http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=SUPULLEN01 |title=Len Supulski profile |accessdate=April 30, 2009 |url-status=usurped |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100218190622/http://databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=SUPULLEN01 |archivedate=February 18, 2010 }} He was one of the 12 children of a Lithuanian father and mother of Lithuanian descent.{{cite web | work=Dickinson College | url=http://chronicles.dickinson.edu/encyclo/s/ed_supulskiL.htm | title=Leonard Peter Supulski (1920-1943) | accessdate=April 30, 2009 | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090616091644/http://chronicles.dickinson.edu/encyclo/s/ed_supulskiL.htm | archivedate=June 16, 2009 }}{{cite book |last1=Anton |first1=Todd |last2=Nowlin |first2=Bill |title=When Football Went to War |date=2013-11-15 |publisher=Triumph Books |isbn=978-1-60078-845-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GTi4AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA75 |access-date=June 2, 2021}}
Football career
Supulski attended and played college football at Dickinson College, but failed to graduate. He caught 48 for 586 yards in 1941, a school record that stood until 1984, and was a United Press International All-Eastern first-team choice. In {{NFL Year|1942}}, Supulski played in six games for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League, scoring on a 41-yard touchdown reception in the season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers.{{cite book|last1=Anton|first1=Todd|last2=Nowlin|first2=Bill|title=When Football Went to War|publisher=Triumph Books|isbn=978-1600788451|pages=75–76|date=November 15, 2013}}{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/79001054/|title=Len Supulski to Start for Eagles|newspaper=The Sentinel|via=Newspapers.com|date=August 31, 1942|access-date=July 17, 2021}}{{cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/194209130pit.htm|title=Philadelphia Eagles at Pittsburgh Steelers - September 13th, 1942|website=Pro-Football-Reference.com|publisher=Sports Reference|access-date=July 17, 2021}}
Supulski was inducted into the Dickinson Hall of Fame in 1981.
Military career and death
At the end of the 1942 season, Supulski entered the United States Army Air Forces.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/79001147/|title=Dishing the Dirt|newspaper=Scrantonian-Tribune|via=Newspapers.com|date=May 9, 1943|access-date=July 17, 2021}} After completing flight navigator training, he received his pilot qualifications on July 24, 1943. He reported to the 582nd Bomb Squadron for advanced training at Kearney Air Force Base in Nebraska to prepare for service in World War II.
On August 31, Supulski was killed along with seven others in the crash of a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber near Kearney, Nebraska, during a training flight after the aircraft caught fire and exploded upon impact with the ground.{{cite web | work=PlaneCrashInfo.com | url=http://www.planecrashinfo.com/famous1940s.htm | title=Famous People Who Died in Aviation Accidents: 1940s | accessdate=April 30, 2009}}
Four of his brothers were also in the military: Edward was also in the Army Air Forces, while Raymond was part of the Navy, and Ernest and Sam served with the Army.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/79001219/|title=Lieut. Supulski killed in crash|newspaper=The Sentinel|via=Newspapers.com|date=September 2, 1943|access-date=July 17, 2021}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Footballstats |nfl=len-supulski |pfr=SupuLe20}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Supulski, Len}}
Category:American football ends
Category:Dickinson Red Devils football players
Category:Philadelphia Eagles players
Category:United States Army Air Forces personnel killed in World War II
Category:United States Army Air Forces officers
Category:Sportspeople from Kingston, Pennsylvania
Category:Players of American football from Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
Category:Accidental deaths in Nebraska
Category:Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States