Considered one of the finest athletes ever turned out by Muskegon High School coach C. Leo Redmond, Paul Soper led the Big Reds to state titles in football and basketball during the 1936-37 season. Soper lettered in football, basketball and track at Muskegon. Despite a knee injury that kept him out of action for two games as a junior, Richard Remington of the Detroit News selected Soper as halfback and honorary captain of his 1935 all-state football squad.
Muskegon marched through a nine-game schedule undefeated in 1936, as Captain Soper and his backfield teammates Ira “Ike” Kepford and Frank Wainwright wreaked havoc on their opponents. An electrifying runner, the 5-10, 175-pound Soper pounded out over 800 yards on the ground, including a 159-yard performance from the quarterback position against cross-town rival Muskegon Heights in the season finale. Soper scored four touchdowns in that contest as Muskegon cruised to a 32-0 victory, its first over the Tigers in four seasons. The victory gave Muskegon a share of the state’s mythical gridiron championship – an honor held by Heights the previous three years. In early December, to no one’s surprise, Paul once again made Remington’s all-state squad.
The Big Reds rolled to 18 straight victories on the basketball court during Soper’s senior year as he and his teammates grabbed the Class A basketball crown with a 31-27 victory over Holland in the state finals. An outstanding student and president of the student council his senior year at Muskegon, Paul was heavily recruited by colleges throughout the country. He turned down a scholarship to the University of Michigan to attend Big Ten rival Northwestern University in the fall of 1937.
In 1939, the halfback led the Wildcat ground attack with 291 yards in 46 attempts, highlighted by a 74-yard dash for a touchdown to seal Northwestern’s 13-0 victory over Illinois.
Hard hit by graduation, little was expected of the 1940 Wildcats. The Northwestern staff moved Soper to fullback for his senior year. Joined by high school running mate “Ike” Kepford and future NFL quarterback Bill DeCorrevant, the Wildcats surprised everyone with victories in their first four contests before losing to top-ranked Minnesota, 13-12. Paul broke free for a 73-yard touchdown run as the Wildcats downed Illinois 32-14 to boost their record to 5-1 on the year. A 20-13 loss to No. 3-ranked Michigan in the following week of the season was the team’s only other defeat. Northwestern brought the year to a close with a smashing 20-0 shutout of Notre Dame. The Wildcats finished the year ranked seventh nationally by the Associated Press with a 6-2 mark.