Palumbo To Be Inducted Into College Football Hall Of Fame

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Dec. 6, 1999

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Joe Palumbo, a former University of Virginia football standout, will be inducted into the National Football Foundation’s College Football Hall of Fame on Tuesday, Dec. 7, at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.

Virginia Governor James S. Gilmore, III, has recognized December 7, 1999, as Joseph C. “Joe” Palumbo Day in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Palumbo, who resides in Charlottesville, lettered three times for the Cavaliers as a defensive guard from 1949-51. During those three seasons, Virginia compiled an overall record of 23-5.

He was captain of Virginia’s 1951 team and earned All-America honors that season from The Associated Press and NEA. In 1951, Palumbo received the Outstanding Defensive Lineman Award from the Touchdown Club of Washington, D.C., was named the state of Virginia’s Athlete of the Year and participated in the Blue-Gray All-Star Game. He was a three-time All-State selection.

Palumbo is one of six Cavaliers to have his number (48) retired and is a member of the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.

A native of Beaver, Pa., he graduated from UVa with a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1952. He served in the Army after graduation and went on to a successful career as an insurance executive.