2011 Hall of Fame Inductee
Distinguished Trojan.
Don Pollom was the quintessential BMOC (Big Man On Campus) at Topeka High; King of the All-School Party, letterman in football and track, All-State halfback in 1938, National Honor Society, etc. On top of that, he set a national high school track and field record in the 200-yard low hurdles. He continued his winning ways at KU and in 1940 was both a running back and punter for the Jayhawks. After his junior year, Pollom enlisted in the Naval Air Corps (1942) earning his commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Marine Corps. Assigned to a carrier in the Pacific, he took off in his F4U Corsair on February 3, 1944, but was not heard from again. Listed as “missing in action,” he presumably crashed at sea – a Trojan who had been destined for a great future.