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The Ace Of Them All: Duke’s Amazing Donald Altman

Donald Altman only played varsity football at Duke for two seasons and head coach Bill Murray only used him properly for one of those. But Altman used his powerful right arm to key Duke football and baseball to some of the biggest wins in school history.

Altman came to Duke from Freeport, Pennsylvania, a small town in the southwest corner of the state.

Freshmen couldn’t play varsity ball in those days, of course, and Altman was academically ineligible in 1958, his sophomore season. He played when substitutions were limited and players went both ways, offense and defense.