Pro Football Hall of Famer Charley Trippi, a runner-up for the Heisman Trophy at Georgia who went on to lead the Cardinals to their most recent NFL championship in 1947, died Wednesday. He was 100.
Smart was among those who stopped by Trippi’s home to help celebrate with a cake topped by 100 candles.“Being such a great second-effort athlete, he wouldn’t stop until he blew them all out,” Smart said. “I was really overwhelmed.”
As a sophomore in 1942, he starred on a Georgia team led by Heisman Trophy winner Frank Sinkwich. In a 75–0 rout of rival Florida, Trippi ran for two touchdowns, threw for another, and scored a fourth on an interception return. Georgia finished 11-1 and was picked as national champion in several polls, though the Bulldogs were No. 2 in The Associated Press rankings behind Ohio State.
Still, baseball did play a role in Trippi’s pro football career. In 1946, he was at the center of a huge bidding war between the NFL Cardinals and the New York Yankees of the fledgling AII-America Football Conference. The 1947 title game was played at Chicago’s Comiskey Park, where the Cardinals hosted the Philadelphia Eagles on a baseball-turned-football field coated with a thin sheet of ice on a bitterly cold day.
The Cardinals, who had averaged nearly 33 points a game during an 11-1 regular season, were shut out by the Eagles, who won the championship with an ugly 7-0 victory.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Pro and College Football Hall of Famer Charley Trippi dies at 100He is the only member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame to have 1,000 yards rushing, receiving and passing in his career.
Read more »
Georgia football legend Charley Trippi dies at 100Charley Trippi played at Georgia from 1942-46 and in the NFL from 1947-55. He is a member of both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame.
Read more »
Charley Trippi, a Hall of Famer who led the Chicago Cardinals to the franchise’s last NFL title, dies at 100Pro Football Hall of Famer Charley Trippi, a runner-up for the Heisman Trophy at Georgia who went on to lead the Chicago Cardinals to the 1947 NFL championship, died Wednesday. He was 100.
Read more »
Charley Trippi, only NFL Hall of Famer with 1,000 passing, rushing and receiving yards, dies at 100Charley Trippi, a man whose NFL accomplishments will almost certainly never be replicated, died Wednesday, his alma mater Georgia announced. He was 100 years old.
Read more »