Paul Blessing

Last updated • 1 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Paul Blessing
Personal information
Born:(1919-01-06)January 6, 1919
Tilden, Nebraska
Died:May 6, 1990(1990-05-06) (aged 71)
Englewood, Colorado
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school:Ord (NE)
College: Nebraska-Kearney
Position: End
Career history
Career NFL statistics
Games:8
Player stats at PFR

Paul Theodore Blessing (January 6, 1919 – May 6, 1990) was an American football player.

Blessing was born in Tilden, Nebraska, in 1919. He attended Ord High School in Ord, Nebraska. He helped lead the Ord football team to more than 40 consecutive victories. [1] He played college football for Nebraska-Kearney. [2] He competed in multiple sports at Kearney, winning 11 varsity letters. [1] He graduated from Kearney in May 1942. [3]

After graduating from Kearney in 1942, Blessing rejected offers to play for multiple professional teams, including the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants. He volunteered for military service, but he was rejected due to a punctured ear drum. He worked for a time in an ordnance plant operated by the Guthrie-Tipton Company. [4] He also worked as a football coach in Kewanee, Illinois, and Lexington, Nebraska. [5] [6]

In August 1944, he signed to play professional football in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions. [7] He appeared in eight NFL games as an end during the 1944 season. [8]

He was married in December 1942 to Juanita Jillson. [9] In 1945, he became head football coach at Ogallala High School. [10] He died in 1990 in Englewood, Colorado.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenn Presnell</span> American football player, coach, and administrator (1905–2004)

Glenn Emery "Press" Presnell was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He set the NFL single-season scoring record in 1933 and led the league in total offense. He was the last surviving member of the Detroit Lions inaugural 1934 team and helped lead the team to its first NFL championship in 1935. He also set an NFL record with a 54-yard field goal in 1934, a record which was not broken for 19 years. Presnell served as the head football coach at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in 1942 and at Eastern Kentucky State College—now known as Eastern Kentucky University–from 1954 to 1963, compiling a career college football coaching record of 45–56–3. He was also the athletic director at Eastern Kentucky from 1963 to 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bulldog Turner</span> American football player and coach (1919–1998)

Clyde Douglas "Bulldog" Turner was an American professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He was elected, as a player, to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1960 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1966. He was also selected in 1969 to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Night Train Lane</span> American football player (1928–2002)

Richard Lane, commonly known as Dick "Night Train" Lane, was an American football cornerback who played for 14 years in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Los Angeles Rams (1952–1953), the Chicago Cardinals (1954–1959), and the Detroit Lions (1960–1965).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Christiansen</span> American football player and coach (1928–1986)

Jack LeRoy Christiansen was an American professional football player who became a college and pro coach. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions as a safety and return specialist from 1951 to 1958. He helped lead the Lions to three NFL championships in 1952, 1953, and 1957 and was a first-team All-NFL player in six of his eight years in the league. He led the NFL in interceptions in 1953 and 1957 and in punt returns for touchdown in 1951, 1952, 1954, and 1956. His eight career punt returns for touchdowns was an NFL record until 1989 and remains the fourth best in league history. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Fortmann</span> American football player (1916–1995)

Daniel John Fortmann was an American football guard and linebacker who played for the Chicago Bears in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Colgate Red Raiders. Playing for Chicago from 1936 to 1943, he was selected as an All-Pro for seven consecutive years from 1937 to 1943. He was the Bears' team captain starting in 1940 and led the team to NFL championships in 1940, 1941, and 1943.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red Badgro</span> American football player and coach (1902–1998)

Morris Hiram "Red" Badgro was an American football and baseball player. He played as an end in the National Football League (NFL). He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Schmidt (American football)</span> American football player and coach (born 1932)

Joseph Paul Schmidt is an American former professional football player and coach. He played as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions for 13 years from 1953 to 1965. He won two NFL championships with the Lions, and, between 1954 and 1963, he played in ten consecutive Pro Bowl games and was selected each year as a first-team All-Pro player. He was also voted by his fellow NFL players as the NFL's most valuable defensive player in 1960 and 1963, named to the NFL 1950s All-Decade Team, and inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Waterfield</span> American football player and coach (1920–1983)

Robert Stanton Waterfield was an American football player and coach. A skilled player, he played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons, primarily as a quarterback, but also as a safety, kicker, punter and sometimes return specialist with the Cleveland / Los Angeles Rams. He played college football for the UCLA Bruins. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965. His No. 7 jersey was retired by the Rams in 1952. He was also a motion picture actor and producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walt Kiesling</span> American football player and coach (1903–1962)

Walter Andrew Kiesling was an American football guard who spent 36 years as a player, coach, and aide with National Football League (NFL) teams. He was posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1966 and was named to the NFL 1920s All-Decade Team in 1969.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emlen Tunnell</span> American football player and coach (1924–1975)

Emlen Lewis Tunnell, nicknamed "the Gremlin", was an American football player and coach. He was the first African-American to play for the New York Giants and also the first to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Michalske</span> American football player and coach (1903–1983)

August Michael Michalske, sometimes known as "Iron Mike", was an American football player and coach. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of its second induction class in 1964. He was also named in 1969 to the NFL 1920s All-Decade Team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Link Lyman</span> American football player and coach (1898–1972)

William Roy "Link" Lyman, also sometimes known as Roy Lyman, was an American football player and coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dutch Clark</span> American football player and coach (1906–1978)

Earl Harry "Dutch" Clark, sometimes also known as "the Flying Dutchman" and "the Old Master", was an American football player and coach, basketball player and coach, and university athletic director. He gained his greatest acclaim as a football player and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame with its inaugural class in 1951 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame with its inaugural class in 1963. He was also named in 1969 to the NFL 1930s All-Decade Team and was the first player to have his jersey retired by the Detroit Lions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guy Chamberlin</span> American football player and coach (1894–1967)

Berlin Guy "Champ" Chamberlin, sometimes misspelled Guy Chamberlain, was an American professional football player and coach. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1962 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965. He was also named in 1969 to the NFL 1920s All-Decade Team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Conzelman</span> American football player and coach (1898–1970)

James Gleason Dunn Conzelman was an American football player and coach, baseball executive, and advertising executive. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1964 and was selected in 1969 as a quarterback on the National Football League 1920s All-Decade Team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Hoernschemeyer</span> American football player (1925–1980)

Robert James "Hunchy" Hoernschemeyer was an American football player. A native of Cincinnati, he played college football as a halfback for the Indiana Hoosiers football in 1943 and 1944 and as a quarterback for the Navy Midshipmen football team in 1945. He led the NCAA in both total offense and passing yards during the 1943 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Glassford</span> American football player and coach (1914–2016)

James William Glassford was an American football player and coach, who served as head coach for the New Hampshire Wildcats and Nebraska Cornhuskers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elvin Hutchison</span> American football player and official (1912–2001)

Elvin Clarence Hutchison was an American football player, coach, and official. He played professionally as a halfback with the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) in 1939 and the Los Angeles Bulldogs of the Pacific Coast Professional Football League (PCPFL) between 1938 and 1946. Hutchison served as the head football coach at Citrus College in Glendora, California from 1940 to 1941. He officiated the NFL from 1952 to 1959 and in the American Football League (NFL) from 1960 to 1969.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arnold Oehlrich</span> American football player (1905–1965)

Arnold Henry "Itch" Oehlrich was an American football player. He played college football as a fullback for Nebraska from 1925 to 1927. He also played professional football in the National Football League (NFL), principally as a halfback, for the Frankford Yellow Jackets in 1928 and 1929.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Chantiles</span> American football player (1916–1999)

Thomas James Chantiles was an American football player.

References

  1. 1 2 "Paul Blessing, Former Kearney College Star, To Be Our New Coach". The Gothenburg Times. July 29, 1943. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ "Paul Blessing". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Paul Blessing Graduates". The Ord Quiz. May 28, 1942. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ Red Roberts (August 6, 1942). "Just Between Us". The Grand Island Daily Independent. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Paul Blessing Assists Brockman at Kewanee". The Ord Quiz. October 1, 1942. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Paul Blessing Now with Detroit Lions". The Ord Quiz. September 28, 1944. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Blessing To Play Pro Football". The Gothenburg Times. August 10, 1944. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Paul Blessing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Jillson-Blessing". The Ord Quiz. December 31, 1942. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Paul Blessing To Ogallala". The Gothenburg Times. August 23, 1945. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.