The first 1,000-point scorer in modern Lafayette history,
Marty Zippel ushered in a new era of prominence in Leopard
basketball when he came to the Hill in 1945. Renowned as
much for his rebounding, defense and playmaking as his
scoring, Zippel dominated the Middle Atlantic Conference
during his brilliant four-year varsity career.
An honorable
mention All-American, Zippel scored 1,067 career points and
led the Leopards to the 1947 Middle Atlantic Conference
championship. He also captained the 1948-49 Leopard basketball
team, which ran up a 20-9 record. Marty was also an outstanding
baseball player at Lafayette. In 1948, he was one of the leading
hitters on the Leopard team which went on to win the NCAA
District championship and later competed in the national
collegiate tournament. A Philadelphia native, Zippel picked
up the prestigious Class of 1913 Trophy as Lafayette's top
scholar-athlete as a senior.
