Paul Joy Helms was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 executive in the baking industry and sports philanthropist. He founded the Helms Bakery

Helms Bakery

The Helms Bakery in Culver City, California was a notable industrial bakery of Southern California that operated from 1931 to 1969.In 1926, Paul Helms of New York took an early retirement for health reasons and moved his family to Southern California and its mild climate...

 in 1926 and the Helms Athletic Foundation

Helms Athletic Foundation

The Helms Athletic Foundation was an athletic foundation based in Los Angeles, founded in 1936 by Bill Schroeder and Paul Helms. It put together a panel of experts to select National Champion teams and make All-America team selections in a number of college sports including football and basketball...

 with Bill Schroeder in 1936.

Helms was born in Ottawa, Kansas

Ottawa, Kansas

Ottawa is a city situated along the Marais des Cygnes River in the central part of Franklin County, located in east-central Kansas, 50 miles southwest of Kansas City, Mo., in the central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,649. It is the county seat and most populous...

. His mother died when he was three and he then lived with his uncle, William E. "Dummy" Hoy

Dummy Hoy

William Ellsworth Hoy , nicknamed "Dummy," was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for several teams from 1888 to 1902, most notably the Cincinnati Reds and two Washington, D.C...

, a Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 player. Helms attended school in Buffalo, New York

Buffalo, New York

Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...

 and then matricualted at Syracuse University

Syracuse University

Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...

, where he was a coxswain

Coxswain (rowing)

In a crew, the coxswain is the member who sits in the stern facing the bow, steers the boat, and coordinates the power and rhythm of the rowers.- Role :The role of a coxswain within a crew is to:...

 on the crew

Rowing (sport)

Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...

 team. After graduating from Syracuse, he worked for a baking company in Cleveland before moving to California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 to start his own business in the baking industry. Helms founded the Helms Athletic Foundation in 1936 as "an investment in youth." The organization existed until 1982 and ran a panel of sports experts to make selections for All-America

All-America

An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...

 teams and national championships in college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 and college basketball

College basketball

College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....

. Helms died of cancer at the age of 67 on January 5, 1957 at his home in Palm Springs, California

Palm Springs, California

Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...

.

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