Vincent dePaul Draddy

^[1]Vincent dePaul Draddy (died July 8, 1990^[2]) was a scholar-athlete at Manhattan College. He passionately believed in the premise that excellence on the football field could, and should, be consistent with academic distinction and the highest standards of civic leadership. He thought that young men who combined athletic performance with academic excellence should be recognized.

Vincent de Paul Draddy, an innovative manufacturer of sportswear who introduced the Izod and Lacoste knit shirts to America, died on Sunday at United Hospital in Port Chester, N.Y.

Mr. Draddy, who was 83 years old and lived in Palm Beach, Fla., and Rye, N.Y., died of pulmonary fibrosis, his family said.

Mr. Draddy, an accomplished golfer and a star football player at Manhattan College, was the longtime chairman of the National Football Foundation's College Hall of Fame, which will move next spring from Kings Island, Ohio, to Memphis.

Football Captain in College

He spent virtually all of his business career with David Crystal Inc., which was founded in 1905 and was one of the oldest women's apparel manufacturers on Manhattan's Seventh Avenue when Mr. Draddy retired in 1974, five years after the concern was sold to General Mills.

Mr. Draddy, who was born in Manhattan, was a graduate of Manhattan College, where he was quarterback and captain of the football team in 1929. He worked for Union Carbide as a salesman for four years, during which time he married Ruth Crystal, the daughter of David Crystal, the dress manufacturer.

In 1934 Mr. Crystal asked his son-in-law to join the business. Mr. Draddy took a one-year leave of absence from Union Carbide. He stayed with David Crystal, retiring as chairman 40 years later.

He took hold quickly on Seventh Avenue and was one of the first manufacturers to use then new synthetics in dresses. The company pioneered in making women's separates, the foundation of what became the sportswear market.

Foreign Apparel Introduced

In 1937 Mr. Draddy engaged the British designer Jack Izod to create and put his name on a line of women's shirts, which became an instant success. David Crystal expanded into men's and children's wear and added accessories to its apparel lines.

Mr. Draddy's biggest hit was the Lacoste knit shirt, originally for men. In 1950 a friend of his, Billy Talbert, the tennis player, asked Mr. Draddy to look at some shirts designed by Rene Lacoste, the one-time French tennis star. Lacoste had been nicknamed the crocodile, and his shirts bore an embroidered likeness on the left breast.

Nobody was interested at first, Mr. Draddy later recalled. Finally I started giving them away to the Duke of Windsor, Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Bing Crosby and others. They started to catch on. In a few years they were the best-selling sports shirt in the $10 retail price range.

Mr. Draddy was a major benefactor of Manhattan College, where the gymnasium is named after his late wife and their first son, Vincent Jr., who was killed in an automobile accident in 1953.

Mr. Draddy's first wife died in 1974. He is survived by his second wife, the former Maria Gamio; a daughter, Diane Holmes of Purchase, N.Y.; a son, Vincent 2d, of Palm Beach; three sisters, Ella Porter of Delray Beach, Fla., and Peggy Draddy and Harriet McClung, both of Rye; a brother, Jack, of Delray Beach; 10 grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

Draddy was also a College Football Hall of Famer and former Chairman of the National Football Foundation. The Vincent dePaul Draddy Trophy, now known as the William V. Campbell Trophy is a trophy awarded annually by the National Football Foundation and is given to the American college football player with the best combination of academics, community service, and on-field performance. It is considered by many to be the "Academic Heisman." Past winners include Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning in 1997.

References

External links

• Vincent dePaul Draddy at Find a Grave