Hometown: Versailles, KY (Lexington Senior High)
Position: F
Date of Birth: October 1, 1898
Date of Death: November 21, 1970
Additional Photos: (1) (2) (3) (4)
Game by Game Statistics
Kentucky Career Notes:
Multi-Sport Player [Tennis]
Post-UK Career Notes:
Served in the Military
Season | Games Played | FG | FT | Total Points |
---|---|---|---|---|
1922-23 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Total | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Obituary - Col. Charles M. Spilman, Retired Army Officer, Succumbs At Age of 72, Woodford Sun (November 26, 1970)
A retired U.S. Army officer, Col. Spilman served a short period in World War I in the Navy, and in World War II was a member of General Douglas MacArthur's staff in the Pacific.
He was born on Oct. 1, 1898, in Harrodsburg, the son of Benjamin and Mary Van Arsdale Spilman. He attended schools in Harrodsburg and at Lexington High School (the forerunner of Henry Clay High), and enlisted int he Navy in 1917, serving one and one-half years.
Following that tour of service, he attended the University of Kentucky where he was captain of the tennis team and played varsity basketball, graduating in 1924 with a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engneering and a second lieutenant's commission in the Army.
On April 21, 1923, while in college, he married frances Stahel of Versailles, who survives.
In addition to Mrs. Spilman, he is survived by a daughter, Mrs. Carter McDavid, Charleston, W. Va.; two sons, the Rev. William Stahel Spilman, Long Island, N.Y., and Charles M. Spilman Jr., Philadelphia, Pa., and five grandchildren.
In the three years immediately after graduating from college, Col. Spilman was employed by the General Electric Co. in Schenectady, N.Y., and then in Cincinnati, Ohio, until 1934. The Spilmans moved to Versailles in 1934 and in that year, as a Reserve captain, he was called to active duty int he CCC, serving in Nevada and California.
Upon his return to civilian life, he was engaged in business in Lexington in 1937 and 1938. In 1939, as this country moved closer to entry into World War II, he was re-called to active service and was stationed at Fort Knox with Gen. Patton's 3rd Armored Division.
Col. Spilman was later assigned to Gen. MacArthur's staff as special servies officer, going overseas in April 1942 and serving in Australia, Hollandia, and New Guinea.
From 1944 to 1946 he was special services officer at Governor's Island, New York, for the Eastern Defense Command.
He went on inactive duty in 1946, and was associated here with General Telephone until his retirement as a full colonel in the Reserve.