Emlen Tunnell
No. 45 | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Position: | Defensive back | ||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||
Date of birth: | March 29, 1925 | ||||||||
Place of birth: | Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania | ||||||||
Date of death: | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. | ||||||||
Place of death: | Pleasantville, New York | ||||||||
Career information | |||||||||
College: | Iowa | ||||||||
Undrafted: | 1948 | ||||||||
Career history | |||||||||
Playing career
Coaching/Executive career |
|||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
|
|||||||||
Emlen Lewis Tunnell (March 29, 1925 – July 22, 1975) was an American football player. He was the first African American to play for the New York Giants,[1] and was inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame in 1967, the first African-American to be inducted. He played in the National Football League for the Giants and Green Bay Packers. Tunnell played college football at the University of Iowa.
In 1999, Tunnell was ranked number 70 on The Sporting News' list of 100 Greatest Football Players.
Tunnell died of a heart attack on July 22, 1975.
College career
Tunnell first played for the University of Toledo where he suffered a broken neck injury that was so severe the US Army and US Navy both rejected his attempts to enlist during World War II. He eventually was accepted by the US Coast Guard and spent two years of service there before returning to play for the University of Iowa football team.[2] He started as a quarterback, halfback and on defense during his two years as a Hawkeye. He led the team in passing in the 1946 season and receiving during the 1947 season.[3] He quit the team before the 1948 season in order to join the New York Giants.[3]
National Football League career
Tunnell was undrafted after college, and began his pro career by hitchhiking across the country from Iowa to New York City to meet Jack Mara, son of Giants founder Tim Mara, and ask to try out for the team.[4] In his Hall of Fame induction speech, Tunnell thanked the West Indian banana-truck driver who dropped him off near this Polo Grounds "appointment".[5]
Tunnell played 14 years in the National Football League. He played his first 11 years with the New York Giants and the last three years with the Green Bay Packers. Tunnell was a nine-time Pro Bowl selection. He moved from the Giants to the Packers when Giants offensive coordinator Vince Lombardi took over the head coaching duties at Green Bay.[6] He led the NFL in punt return yards twice, in 1951 and 1952 and played a then NFL record of 143 consecutive games.[6] He became a defensive leader with the Packers, helping out rookies and was valued for his defensive experience.[6]
He ended his career with a record 79 interceptions (since surpassed by Paul Krause), which he returned for 1,282 yards and 4 touchdowns, and 16 fumble recoveries, along with another 3,506 return yards and 6 touchdowns on special teams.[3] He was elected as the first African American in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967.[3] Tunnell became a scout and assistant coach with the Giants, where he died from a heart attack during a practice session in 1975.
Notes
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Finn, 85
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
References
Tunnell, Emlen and William Gleason, "Footsteps of a Giant", Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Company, 1966. Library of Congress number 65-19776. Tunnell's autobiography.
External links
- NFL player using deprecated currentteam parameter
- NFL player with pastcoaching parameter
- NFL player with pastexecutive parameter
- Infobox NFL player article missing alt text and caption
- Infobox NFL player articles with line breaks
- Infobox NFL player with debut/final parameters
- 1925 births
- 1975 deaths
- American football safeties
- American football return specialists
- Green Bay Packers players
- Iowa Hawkeyes football players
- New York Giants players
- Toledo Rockets football players
- Toledo Rockets men's basketball players
- Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players
- Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
- Western Conference Pro Bowl players
- People from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
- African-American players of American football
- People from Pleasantville, New York