Ted 'Duke' Curran       

Ted 'Duke' Curran attended Quincy High School and lived in Quincy, Illinois. As a senior, he averaged a whopping 14.2 yards per carry, gained more than 1,000 yards and led the state with 24 touchdowns scored, helping his team to an 8-1 record. He was named to the Chicago Daily News and Champaign News-Gazette All-State first teams. He also finished third in the 100-yard dash and fourth in the 220-yard run in the Illinois state track meet as a senior. He also was a member of the state championship 880 relay team.

He played on some of the top military football teams during World War II and later played at the University of Iowa. He was drafted by the Brooklyn Tigers of the NFL in the 1945 Draft. He was a charter inductee in the Quincy High School Sports Hall of Fame in 1984.