Impact Of A Scholarship: Ray Altman

Ray Altman comes from humble beginnings and personifies a great sense of humor. He’s been working as a lawyer in the Baltimore area for the past 57 years and was once a star student-athlete for Maryland men’s lacrosse. 

Altman was an attackman for the Terps from 1961-63, earning two All-American honors and receiving the Jack Turnbull Award as the nation’s top attackman during his senior season. He was Maryland’s program record holder for points (214) and assists (146) in a career when he graduated. Altman holds the record for assists and ranks sixth in points to this day despite only playing three years in an era with much shorter seasons - something his wife Janice was quick to point out. 

The Maryland lacrosse standout was inducted into the Maryland Athletics Hall of Fame in 2003 for his accomplishments and contributions to one of the most decorated collegiate lacrosse programs ever. He showcased his humor in his speech. 

“He was inducted into the same class as Boomer Esiason,” Janice said. “Ray gave a gorgeous speech thanking the Native Americans for getting him there as the originators of the sport."

Altman, nearly 83 years young, spends a lot of his time in Florida with his wife of 55 years nowadays, and it's his family that he regards as his pride and joy. He has three children and seven grandchildren. Among his grandchildren is Toby, a young teenager who’s a three-sport athlete playing basketball, soccer, and tennis. 

Toby described his grandfather as humble and inspiring. He didn’t even know his grandfather was a former lacrosse star until a friend told him in the third grade. Toby began to learn more about his grandfather over the years and recently sought ways to honor him.  

Ray was diagnosed with Leukemia in the early spring of 2023. Toby decided to honor him by organizing a fundraiser to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The initiative is meant to raise money for people like Ray who are suffering from cancer and provide them with more treatment options, better prognoses, and more time with family and friends. 

“I knew about this fundraiser called Student Visionaries of the Year,” Toby said. “I just really wanted to honor him for how much he's done in his life. I felt like starting this fundraiser was a great opportunity and I wanted to raise money and help him and help other people with treatments and research towards the cancer.”

The fundraiser continues to be successful while supporting a meaningful cause for the Altman family. However, it blossomed into something larger in honor of Ray. 

On Feb. 10, the Altman family attended the Terps lacrosse game against Loyola. It was announced that the University of Maryland established the Raymond F. Altman Endowed Scholarship to support men's lacrosse student-athlete scholarships in honor of Ray. He says it was a surprise to him and his wife, and Toby was one of the main factors in making it happen.

“That’s how all of this started. Toby wanted to raise money for Leukemia, and it sort of ballooned into a big thing with what we did with the university and the endowment,” Altman said. “I give him a lot of credit. He's a terrific kid, way past his years of maturity.”

Toby’s parents also helped prompt the scholarship that will go to a lacrosse student-athlete each year who shows qualities as an active person in the community and a gentleman. It mirrors a scholarship that Ray holds with Baltimore City College, the preparatory high school Ray attended. 

“The M Club is all about honoring our history and continuing our traditions for future generations of Terps,” Laura Chiriaco, executive director of the M Club and director of alumni engagement said. “The Raymond F. Altman Endowed Scholarship is such a wonderful way to celebrate the incredible impact Ray made on our men’s lacrosse program while helping future Terps follow in his footsteps for years to come.”

Everything has come full circle for Altman. When he attended the University of Maryland he was on a working scholarship where he cleaned hallways, emptied trash cans and made beds for visiting athletic teams to have his education paid for.  

Having his education paid for was important to Altman, even if he had to work a little harder for it. His father passed away when he was a young teenager and that put him in a difficult situation financially and responsibility-wise.  

“When I was first going to college and graduating high school I didn't have a lot of money,” Altman said. “The fact that I had to work for it, at the time I wasn't happy. But it instilled in me a sense of responsibility and repaying what I was getting.”

Altman was able to perform at a high level because of his scholarship. He also used it to be successful in the classroom. Lacrosse and academics overlapped with each other as his head coach at the time was John Faber, who also served as the chairman of the microbiology department. Altman went on to receive his law degree from George Washington University. 

The Hall of Famer says he had a wonderful time and great experiences while attending Maryland. The most important thing to him was the people he met who were always supportive and helped him grow. Many of those people stuck around when Altman graduated and continue to stay in contact with him to this day.  

His wife made sure to mention that Altman was elected class president over Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer when he was a senior. 

Altman plans to return to College Park and watch more Maryland lacrosse games with his family. He described head coach John Tillman as “special” and a “high-quality guy.”  

His family is pushing for him to be inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame. It would be a lifelong accomplishment for Altman, but the humble lacrosse great is just happy to provide for the next generation of Maryland men’s lacrosse student-athletes. Altman is repaying the opportunity he was afforded through his scholarship when he attended the University of Maryland over 60 years ago.

“That to me is the real value in this thing,” Altman said. “Getting some well-needed funds into the hands of a deserving player. I’m sure It’ll go to someone who is also a great student.”