Raymond A. Curfman

{{Short description|American football player and coach (1915–1993)}}

{{Infobox college coach

| name = Raymond A. Curfman

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1915|6|16}}

| birth_place =

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1993|4|5|1915|6|16}}

| death_place = Tucson, Arizona, U.S.

| alma_mater =

| player_years1 = 1936–1937

| player_team1 = Texas Tech

| player_positions = End, quarterback

| coach_years1 = 1945

| coach_team1 = Barksdale Field

| coach_years2 = 1946–1947

| coach_team2 = New Mexico A&M

| coach_years3 = 1949–1950

| coach_team3 = Idaho (ends)

| coach_years4 = 1951–1953

| coach_team4 = Idaho

| admin_years1 = 1947–1949

| admin_team1 = New Mexico A&M

| overall_record = 19–37–1

| bowl_record =

| tournament_record =

| championships =

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| coaching_records =

{{Infobox military person

| embed = yes

| allegiance = {{USA}}

| branch = 15px U.S. Army Air Forces

| rank = 5px Lieutenant

| unit =

| serviceyears =

| battles = World War II

| awards =

}}

Raymond A. "Babe" Curfman (June 16, 1915 – April 5, 1993) was an American football 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), from 1946 to 1947 and at the University of Idaho in Moscow from 1951 to 1953, compiling a career college football record {{nowrap|of 15–30–1}}.

Coaching career

After a brief stay as a player with the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National Football League (NFL) in 1938, Curfman coached at the high school level in Texas and New Mexico, at Tulia, Santa Rosa, and Las Cruces. His 1942 Las Cruces basketball team advanced to the state finals. Curfman served as a lieutenant in the Army Air Corps in World War II.{{cite news|url=http://libcgi.nmsu.edu:8080/RoundUp/PrintCache/RcWeb4152902371155087237.pdf|newspaper=The Round-up|title=Curfman resigns as A&M football coach|date=December 10, 1947|page=1}}{{dead link|date=April 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

From 1946 to 1947, Curfman was the head coach at New Mexico A&M, then in the Border Conference, where he compiled an {{nowrap|8–11}} 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 at Idaho in {{nowrap|February 1949.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vuNXAAAAIBAJ&pg=7195,4039742n|newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle|location=(Washington)|title=Curfman named new Idaho assistant grid coach|date=February 2, 1949|page=10}}{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KnpWAAAAIBAJ&pg=2674,4437057|newspaper=Spokesman-Review|location=(Spokane, Washington)|title=New Vandal grid coach signs on dotted line|date= February 2, 1949|page=1-sports}}}} Two years later, Howell and Curfman submitted their resignations in March 1951,{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bOZXAAAAIBAJ&pg=7001,5340391|newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle|location=(Washington)|title=Dixie Howell resigns as Idaho football coach|date=March 3, 1951|page=21}} and Curfman remained on campus as an interim coach for the upcoming 1951 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.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=eS5WAAAAIBAJ&pg=4857,1567426|newspaper=Spokesman-Review|location=Spokane, Washington|title=Idaho selects Curfman as coach|date=April 17, 1951|page=14}} He guided the Vandals for three seasons in the Pacific Coast Conference and compiled a {{nowrap|{{winning percentage|7|19|1|recored=y}}}} record.[http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/coaching/alltime_coach_year_by_year.php?coachid=508 CFB Data Warehouse] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100214152409/http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/coaching/alltime_coach_year_by_year.php?coachid=508 |date=2010-02-14 }} – Raymond A. Curfman – head coaching results His salary in his final year at Idaho in 1953 {{nowrap|was $7,920.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MPNXAAAAIBAJ&pg=5945%2C1294488 |newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle |location=(Washington) |agency=United Press |title=Salary of $9000 set for Stahley |date=February 23, 1954 |page=16}}}}

Curfman made headlines during the 1953 season as his overmatched Vandals struggled in conference play in the PCC.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kR1WAAAAIBAJ&pg=5925%2C3106902 |newspaper=Eugene Register-Guard |location=(Oregon)|agency=Associated Press |title=Vandal gridders rated too 'pure' |date=October 20, 1953 |page=3B }} Following his resignation as Idaho head coach in December,{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mvlXAAAAIBAJ&pg=7088,4249361|newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle|location=Washington|title=Curfman and three aides resign posts at Idaho|date=December 21, 1953|page=21}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=s31WAAAAIBAJ&pg=7021%2C1024932|newspaper=Spokesman-Review|location=(Spokane, Washington)|title='Circumstances' force Curfman's resignation |date=December 22, 1953 |page=12}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=m_lXAAAAIBAJ&pg=5326%2C4516937 |newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle|location=(Washington)|title=Idaho plans thorough search for coach; Curfman out |date=December 22, 1953 |page=12}} he was hired as the business manager for the Spokane Indians minor league baseball team in January 1954.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=19540129&id=saEnAAAAIBAJ&pg=1425,7097828 |newspaper=Spokesman-Review|location=(Spokane, Washington)|last=May |first=Danny |title=Indians sign Curfman as business manager|date=January 29, 1954 |page=8}}

He later coached high school football back in Texas, at Pampa (1958–1961) and Pecos (1962–1964).{{cite news |url=http://www.texashighschoolfootballhistory.com/clarke-cutrer.html |publisher=Texas High School Football History |title=Coaches' records by seasons |access-date=June 7, 2016}}

Curfman died at age 77 in 1993 in Tucson, Arizona; he and his wife are buried at the East Lawn Palms Cemetery in Tucson.