Born on July 9, 1918 in Aberdeen, Washington, Del Lyman starred at tackle for Fairfax High School in Los Angeles and then at UCLA before being drafted in the 14th round by Green Bay in 1941. At UCLA, Lyman lettered from 1938-40, and for his sophomore and junior seasons played with Kenny Washington, Jackie Robinson, Woody Strode, Chuck Fenenbock and Ned Matthews. The 1939 team went 6-0-4 and was ranked seventh in the nation. Those stars were gone in ’40, when the Bruins went 1-9. Lyman himself missed most of that year due to an appendectomy.
Curly Lambeau told the Green Bay Press Gazette at the time of the draft:
I also liked the looks of Del Lyman, big left tackle of UCLA, who has been an outstanding Pacific coast lineman the past three years.
Lyman’s aggressive play earned him a slot on the team and he appeared in five of the Packers first seven games in ’41, but then was released before Halloween when veteran guard Russ Letlow was activated after missing the whole season to that point due to an ankle problem. Lyman was quickly claimed by the Cleveland Rams and appeared in four games for them to complete the season.
Lyman went into the Air Force and only briefly returned to the Rams in 1944 for two games, although he did play for the Hollywood Rangers of the Pacific Coast League in 1945. He and his brother purchased a service station in Manhattan Beach, and Del served on the city council there. He was in the news again in 1951. In July, he married “Cynthia Shaw” in Las Vegas after a whirlwind one-day romance. On October 5 of that year, he had the marriage annulled after he discovered that “Cynthia” was actually Bernice Emerick, 15 years his senior, already married and a grandmother. Oh, and she was sought by the FBI for embezzlement in Dayton, Ohio. Del concluded his big year by marrying divorcee Eva Leeds in December. He passed away at age 68 on December 19, 1986 in Santa Barbara.
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