lettermann.

1707 E. Ward Wooden World Dissected 20 After his Dogs are serv'd, he distributes the Remains of his loving Kindness on some snotty-nos'd Letter-man.

1843 Boston Courier 24 July 4/1 ‘Open it, can't you?’ said the letter man.

1862 Mrs. H. Wood Channings II. 235 A pretty time o' day this is to deliver the letters!.. You letter-men want looking up.

1897 Strand Mag. Dec. 689/2 The New York letterman who picked it out of the box took such a long time trying to find Santa's address in the directory, that Santa did not get the letter until after he had started on his trip.

1904 L. L. Hope Bobbsey Twins xxx. 172 The letter man came that afternoon, just as they arrived home from school.

1979 M. Jastrow Time to Remember xiii. 140 ‘The letter man probably has more mail than usual,’ she said, half to herself, tapping the table with irritated fingers.

1724 London Gaz. No. 6230/2 All the Out-Pensioners (as well Letter-men as others) belonging to the said Hospital [sc. Chelsea].

?c1800 J. Moore in A. H. Craufurd Gen. Craufurd & Light Div. (1891) iii. 34 An increase in the pay and in the number of letter men.

1905 Amer. Gymnasia Oct. 33/2 Michigan started the season with eleven ‘M’ men; Chicago and Wisconsin had each seven letter men.

1926 Chicago Tribune 19 Sept. 5/4 The letter men in the line are Wolf and Neff, guards, and Rouse, center.

1948 B. Griffith Amer. Me i. ii. 47 The girls wore their own style of dress, consisting of a long finger-tip coat or letterman's sweater, draped slacks..and huaraches or ‘Zombie’ slippers.

1974 Spartanburg (S. Carolina) Herald-Jrnl. 21 Apr. B1/1 Now he is well on the way to becoming Spartanburg High School's first four-sport letterman in at least seven years.

2008 T. Gallagher Falcon Fever v. 72 Mac was an athlete at school, though you would never have known it. He didn't wear a letterman's jacket like all the other jocks.