Don Paul obit

UCLA Hall of Famer and Football Standout Don Paul Passed Away Nov. 8

He was not on the list. 

The Bruin family was saddened to learn of the passing of former All-America football player and UCLA Hall of Fame member Don Paul (1942-47) this past weekend, at age 89, after an extended illness.

Paul was a center and linebacker for the Bruins in a collegiate playing career which was split by a stint in the Navy during World War II. He was a three-time team captain and became the first freshman to ever serve as captain of the UCLA team. After the war, he returned to help UCLA achieve its first 10-win season in 1946. The Bruins outscored the opposition 327-117 that year and climbed as high as No. 4 in the Associated Press poll before playing Illinois in the Rose Bowl. Paul earned second-team All-America honors that season on a team which featured the likes of Burr Baldwin, Tom Fears, Leon McLaughlin, Harry Thompson, Jerry Shipkey, Ernie Case, Cal Rossi and Al Hoisch among others. That squad was the first UCLA team to generate over 4,000 yards of total offense. No UCLA team reached that level again until the 1969 campaign. The 1946 defense surrendered an average of just over three yards per play, which remians one of the lowest marks in school history.

Paul was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams and went on to play for the team from 1948-55. The Rams advanced to the NFL championship game three years in a row after Paul joined the team. In 1951, the Rams captured the championship with a 24-17 victory over the Cleveland Browns. He was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1951, 1952 and 1953 and was first-team All-Pro in 1953. Paul was voted to the All-NFL team in 1952, 1953 and 1954.

Following his playing career, he served as a coach for the Rams from 1959-61. Paul then went on to become a broadcaster and restaurant owner. He was inducted into the UCLA Hall of Fame in the class of 1986.

After Paul's football career he joined up with Roy Harlow and established the Rams Horn restaurant. Later he and Harlow teamed up with former LA Ram great Bob Waterfield and The Voice of the Rams Bob Kelley and opened up the Pump Room restaurant. He died after an illness on November 8, 2014