Hall of Fame
Don Cummings was an All-Conference and All-Area quarterback at Glenbard East High School in Lombard, Ill., rewriting all of his school's passing records and the state record for touchdown passes in a single game. He enrolled at the university in 1967. Mr. Cummings saw limited action as a freshman, then as a sophomore he threw for 1431 yards, and as a junior he helped the Bulldogs earn an MIAA co-championship. He passed for 1531 yards that fall. In his final collegiate season, Mr. Cummings logged 2221 yards, the fifth best Bulldog single-season passing yardage total. He finished his career with 5531 passing yards, the third best passing yardage on the Bulldog career list. Mr. Cummings received All-Conference, All-Region and All-America honors as a senior. He rewrote seven school records, including single season passing (2221 yards), career passing (5531 yards), single season total offense (2115), single season passing touchdowns (15), career passing touchdowns (38), single season passes completed (128) and career passes completed (347). As a senior, Mr. Cummings was fifth among leaders for total offense and 17th among passers in final College Division statistics. The Bulldogs were conference co-champions again in 1970. Mr. Cummings served as a student assistant for the 1971 Bulldogs. After that, he served as an assistant at Central Methodist. From there, he went to Wichita State, where he was head freshman coach and in charge of scouting. During this time, the Chicago Fire signed him as a free agent, but a preseason injury halted his aspirations for a pro career. He finished his graduate work at Wichita State as a graduate teaching assistant and earned a Master's Degree in Administration of Justice in Education in 1975. He then became offensive coordinator for the Missouri Western football team and the college's director of security. Mr. Cummings next moved on as a member of the St. Louis City police department. He holds the rank of sergeant and has received eight commendations and six departmental awards of excellence. He retired from the St. Louis police department in 1999 and moved on to Meramec Community College in St. Louis, Mo., where he served as chief of police.
