Purdue uses helmet stickers to honor astronaut

By Graham Watson

When astronaut Neil Armstrong died on Aug. 25, Purdue coach Danny Hope decided to share stories about Armstrong, a Purdue grad, as a way to motivate his team.

Fifth-year receiver Tommie Thomas was so moved by the stories that he requested that the team do something to honor Armstrong.

So, Purdue came up with a helmet sticker honoring the first man to walk on the moon. It's Armstrong, in a space suit, planting a Purdue flag. Purdue will affix the stickers to the players' helmets for this week's game against Notre Dame and the stickers will remain all season.

Armstrong graduated from Purdue in 1955 with a B.S. degree in Aeronautical Engineering and also played baritone horn in the Purdue marching band.

The sticker will be placed just above the American flag on the helmet.

Astronaut Neil Armstrong, First Man to Walk on Moon, Dies at 82

Neil Armstrong was a quiet self-described nerdy engineer who became a global hero when as a steely-nerved pilot he made "one giant leap for mankind" with a small step on to the moon. The modest man who had people on Earth entranced and awed from almost a quarter million miles away has died. He was 82.


Armstrong commanded the Apollo 11 spacecraft that landed on the moon July 20, 1969, capping the most daring of the 20th century's scientific expeditions. His first words after setting foot on the surface are etched in history books and the memories of those who heard them in a live broadcast.


I still remember that "step." I think it ranks high in with other "events" we have seen, and in my 80 years I have witnessed  many such events. "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," Armstrong said.