Ray Blum

{{short description|American speed skater}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2011}}

Raymond Edward Blum (April 11, 1919 – May 5, 2010) was an American speed skater who competed at the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz. He placed 20th in the Men's 1500 metres competition in a field of 45 and 17th in the Men's 5000 metres event in a field of 40. He was born in Nutley, New Jersey, and was a member of the Paterson Skating Club.{{cite web|last = Gjerde|first = Arild|author2=Jeroen Heijmans |author3=Bill Mallon |author4=Hilary Evans |title = Ray Blum Biography and Olympic Results|work=Olympics|publisher=Sports Reference.com|date = 2009|url = https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/bl/ray-blum-1.html|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200418060627/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/bl/ray-blum-1.html|url-status = dead|archive-date = 2020-04-18|access-date =November 11, 2009}} He attended the Newark College of Engineering at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and earned a Bachelor's degree from the institution in 1950,{{Cite web|title = Raymond E. Blum Class of 1950|work=NJIT Highlanders Hall of Fame|publisher=New Jersey Institute of Technology|date = 2009|url = http://njithighlanders.com/hof.aspx?hof=4&path=&kiosk=|access-date =November 11, 2009}} after a stint in the United States Navy during World War II. He spent his later life working as an aerospace engineer for several companies in New England and California.{{Cite news|title = Raymond E. Blum|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date = May 7, 2010|url = http://obits.nj.com/obituaries/starledger/obituary.aspx?n=raymond-e-blum&pid=142545530|access-date =May 18, 2010}} On October 26, 1996, he was inducted into the NJIT Highlanders' Hall of Fame for his success as both a cyclist and a speed skater, as well as the American National Speedskating Museum and Hall of Fame on May 17, 1969.{{Cite web|title = Ray Blum|work=SPEED SKATERS ELECTED TO THE SPEEDSKATING HALL OF FAME|publisher=National Speedskating Museum and Hall of Fame|date = April 25, 2007|url = http://www.nationalspeedskatingmuseum.org/hof-skaters.html|access-date =November 11, 2009}} He died on May 5, 2010, in New Jersey.