Paul R. Purman (April 19, 1886 – April 18, 1937) was an American sportswriter. Purman had a lengthy career in journalism, but he is best known for his work in the years from 1916 to 1918 when his sports column was syndicated in hundreds of newspapers and he selected an annual All-America football team for the Newspaper Enterprise Association. Early years Purman was born in 1886 at Monroeville, Indiana. His father James Nelson Purman was a merchant in Montpelier, Indiana, operating Purman, Johnston & Co.' Big Store. Purman attended preparatory school in Annapolis, Maryland, and was appointed to the United States Naval Academy. However, he failed the physical examination "on account of an affliction of his eyes." Purman enrolled instead at Indiana University Bloomington. In 1907, he worked for the Indiana Pipe Line Company and the Ohio Oil Company. Journalist Purman began his career in journalism with The Evening Herald in his hometown of Montpelier, Indiana. In August 1907, he accepted a full-time position as a reporter for the Bluffton Banner in Bluffton, Indiana. In November 1907, he moved to Danville, Illinois as a reporter for a newspaper there. He later returned to Montplier as the editor of The Evening Herald. He next joined the staff of the Marion Chronicle in approximately 1910. From 1916 to 1918, Purman became a nationally syndicated sportswriter. He was affiliated with the Newspaper Enterprise Association, a syndicate of several hundred newspapers, and selected an annual college football All-America team for the NEA. In the 1920s, he returned to Cleveland and became the news editor for Midweek Magazine. Selected articles by Purman Chick Harley Western Star of 1916 Season (Chic Harley), November 26, 1916 Nap Lajoie Is Through: Master Ball Player Gives Up Baseball After 20 Years! (Nap Lajoie), November 26, 1916 Chronicle's Own All-American 1916 Football Team (1916 College Football All-America Team), December 3, 1916 Charity Backs Prizefighter for Charity When Carpentier Boxes for French Soldiers Relief! (Georges Carpentier), December 1916 Ball Players With Prominent Noses Nearly Always Deliver, December 11, 1916 Kid M'Coy, Divorce Champion, Loses Decision In Eighth Matrimonial Engagement! (Kid McCoy), December 17, 1916 The New Woman: She Will Be Athletic and Compete with Man at His Own Game (Alexa Stirling), December 18, 1916 Hunting Toll Is Severe: America's Most Dangerous Sport Claims Over One Hundred Fifty lives in Fifteen States This Year, December 21, 1916 K.O. Punch! Only Two Places