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78 GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATE VOLUME 26, ISSUE 3 BY ALAN KARPICK AKarpick@GoldandBlack.com L eroy Keyes, Stephanie White, Glenn Robinson, Bob Griese, John Wooden, Rick Mount, Drew Brees and Verle Campbell. You might ask yourself the ques- tion: Which person doesn't belong among the greats of Boilermaker athletics? The correct answer is all of them do. Verle Campbell was the ultimate behind-the-scenes booster to Pur- due athletics, in a day when boost- ers had a huge effect on recruiting. Modern day Boilermaker fans may only know the name if they have attended a Purdue football postsea- son banquet. At the annual event, the Verle Campbell Award is given to the outstanding Boilermaker scout team player from the season. How fitting. Campbell was a Boilermak- er scout extraordinaire, in a day when the NCAA had yet to legislate against involvement from boosters like Campbell. Most of the rules didn't change until the early 1970s. But like so many boosters of the day, there was usually a rea- son for the affinity to the school. And Campbell was no exception. Growing up in Indiana, he was an international-caliber track athlete as an undergrad, competing for the Boilermakers. Two years after grad- uating from Purdue, he medaled in the 1919 Allied Games in Paris, the games that replaced the Olympics, cancelled due to World War I. Campbell's impact on the history of Boilermaker athletics, however, was just beginning. He turned from athlete to recruiter not long after he left Purdue. After he had firmly established himself in the property and casualty insurance business in Indianapolis, his avocation became recruiting top-level athletes to Pur- due. And he did it with his time and his treasure. In those days, boosters were al- most akin to what assistant coaches are today. They would travel to see prospects, watch them compete and befriend parents and family mem- bers. They would go the extra mile (because rules didn't prohibit it) by providing transportation for pros- pects and sometimes job opportuni- ties for parents or family members. "Dad was a man's man, and Purdue was his family," said Ver- le's only child Bob Campbell, who lives outside of Tucson, Az. "He loved Purdue and he was successful enough in business to have enough time to devote his life to it." According to Bob Campbell, his dad helped or single-handedly re- cruited 103 student-athletes to Purdue from the late 1920s to 1970, driving 917,000 miles, burning $92,000 in gas and wearing out 18 cars, all from his own pocket. Verle Campbell PRESENTS: PURDUE'S GREATEST STORIES AND TRADITIONS The Triple XXX Family Restaurants Route 66 Diner Salute Purdue's Great Traditions, like Duane Purvis Indiana's Oldest Drive-In On the Hill, But on the Level Since 1929 Triplexxxfamilyrestaurant.com The Recruiting Legacy Campbell put time, treasure into getting athletes to Purdue