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unusual facts about Halfback



1889 College Football All-America Team

Roscoe Channing (1868-1961): Princeton's halfback Channing later served with Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders in the Spanish American War.

1901 Wisconsin Badgers football team

Caspar Whitney of Outing magazine named two Wisconsin players, tackle Art Curtis and halfback Al "Norsky" Larson, as second-team players on his 1901 College Football All-America Team.

1930 Michigan Wolverines football team

Michigan's starting lineup against Michigan State Normal consisted of Michigan's first-team players: Bill Hewitt (left end), Tom Samuels (left tackle), Omer LaJeunesse (right guard), Maynard Morrison (center), Francis Cornwell (right guard), Claire Purdum (right tackle), Norman Daniels (right end), Estel Tessmer (quarterback), William Heston (left halfback), James Simrall (right halfback), and Roy Hudson (fullback).

1943 Michigan Wolverines football team

Michigan's starting lineup against Wisconsin was Rudy Smeja (left end), Bob Hanzlik (left tackle), John Gallagher (left guard), Fred Negus (center), Rex Wells (right guard), Robert Derleth (right tackle), Art Renner (right end), Jack Wink (quarterback), Bob Nussbaumer (left halfback), Wally Dreyer (right halfback), and Bob Wiese (fullback).

Jack Wink substituted for Wiese at quarterback, and Wiese moved to fullback with Daley moving to left halfback.

Hirsch was sidelined for most of the game with a shoulder injury, but a total of ten former Badgers played for Michigan in the game, including center Fred Negus, quarterback Jack Wink, halfback Wally Dreyer, guard Johnny Gallagher, tackle Bob Hanzlik, and ends Hank Olshanski and Earl Maves.

1951 Michigan Wolverines football team

Bill Putich - started 6 games at left halfback, 2 games at quarterback, 6 games at safety

1953 NFL Championship Game

Ken Carpenter started the drive with a run to his own 28, but an Otto Graham pass intended for Darrell Brewster was deflected by rookie defensive halfback Carl Karilivacz, intercepting the throw, clinching the Lions their third title.

1962 Dallas Cowboys season

Flanker Frank Clarke caught 10 passes for 241 yards and scored 3 touchdowns in the game, but kicker Sam Baker missed a 35-yard field goal with 13 seconds left and the Cowboys had to settle for a 35–35 tie.

1980 Los Angeles Rams season

Preston Dennard caught a pair of TD passes, one from Ferragamo and one on a halfback pass by Mike Guman.

2002 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks season

In the off-season the Sharks signed former Melbourne Storm premiership-winning coach Chris Anderson, who also brought along with him the halfback involved in that premiership, Brett Kimmorley.

2011 Queensland Cup season

Following an error by Tweed deep in their own half, Wynnum Manly took advance with halfback Matt Seamark putting through an inch-perfect grubber for flying fullback Jake Granville to score under the posts and cut the deficit to 10-6 at the break.

Albert Berg

After leaving the Indiana Institution for the Deaf, Berg enrolled at the "Columbia Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb" (later renamed Gallaudet University), run by Edward Miner Gallaudet in Washington, D.C. He was a halfback and captain of the football team at Gallaudet.

American Football League Rookies of the Year

Arkansas' Bobby Burnett had a combined total of 1,185 yards rushing and receiving at the halfback position, with over 12 yards per catch and 4 touchdowns on 34 receptions, and 766 yards on 187 rushes, with 4 rushing touchdowns.

Craig Grauf

Grauf, a talented halfback or five-eighth, started his first grade career in the Brisbane competition in 1986 for the Norths Devils when coach Greg Oliphant decided to give the then 18-year-old a shock call-up.

D. John Markey

Although he had not intended to play on the team as its head coach, Markey filled in for a Maryland halfback, Ed Brown, who quit after receiving a death threat from a Georgetown fan in the season-opener.

Daly Cherry-Evans

The rookie halfback also proved himself a handy goal kicker and was coach Des Hasler's first choice kicker in the early part of the season, though he relinquished the role to captain Jamie Lyon after Round 10 as he had only kicked 22/40 for just a 62.5% success rate (Lyon would go on to kick 59/80 for the season at 73.75%).

Des Connor

Desmond Michael Connor (born 9 August 1935 in Ashgrove, QLD) is an Australian former rugby union halfback who represented internationally for both the Australian and New Zealand national rugby union teams.

Dick Frahm

Herald Samuel Frahm (April 11, 1906 – October 19, 1977) was an American football halfback for the Staten Island Stapletons, the Boston Redskins, and the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League and the St. Louis/Kansas City Blues of the 1934 version of the American Football League.

Don Phelps

Don Cooper "Dopey" Phelps (January 7, 1924 – June 11, 1982) was an American football halfback and defensive back who played for the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League (NFL) in the early 1950s.

Edmond H. Barmore

Barmore played at the halfback position on the 1879 Michigan Wolverines football team and participated in the first Michigan football team, a victory over Racine College played at White Stockings Park in Chicago.

Frank Solich

He was the position coach for many of Nebraska's standout running backs of the 1980s and 1990s, including Tom Rathman, Calvin Jones, Ahman Green, and Lawrence Phillips.

Franklin Morse

Morse also gained fame as the model for a famous drawing by Charles Dana Gibson titled "The Halfback." In the 1890s, Gibson asked the handsome blond Morse to pose for him.

Gabriele Oriali

Oriali is cited in the Luciano Ligabue song Una vita da mediano (A life as halfback), one of his most popular songs.

Gene Mingo

In the 1961 season opener at War Memorial Stadium against the Buffalo Bills, Mingo threw two touchdown passes, from the halfback position, to help the Broncos win 22-10: a 50-yarder to Lionel Taylor in the first quarter, and a 52-yarder to Taylor in the third.

George Taylforth

He attended Sydney Boys High School playing alongside 1991 World Cup Winning Australia rugby union coach Bob Dwyer and premiership winning St. George Dragons rugby-league halfback George Evans (1962, 1963, 1964, 1965).

Greg Alexander

After making his test debut in the 26-6 first test win against New Zealand at the Queen Elizabeth II Park in Christchurch and playing in the 8-0 second test win at Rotorua, Alexander lost his place in the side with coach Bob Fulton preferring his 1987 premiership winning halfback from Manly-Warringah, Des Hasler, in the position for the third and final test.

History of the Chicago Cardinals

This would be the most celebrated year in Cardinals history as the team went 9-3, beating Philadelphia in the championship game 28-21 with their "Million-Dollar Backfield", which included quarterback Paul Christman, halfback Charley Trippi, halfback Elmer Angsman, and fullback Pat Harder, piling up 282 rushing yards.

Lomas Brown

Behind the blocking of Brown and his Great Wall teammates, the Gators' quarterback Kerwin Bell, fullback John L. Williams and halfback Neal Anderson led the Gators to a 9–1–1 overall win-loss record and won their first SEC championship with a conference record of 5–0–1.

Michael Bush

He was the Raiders' third string halfback but saw some action because of injuries to Darren McFadden and Justin Fargas.

Obie Graves

While at Monrovia High School, he played for the football time in the halfback position from 1972 until 1974.

Phil Blake

This also allowed Fulton to play others (such as halfback Des Hasler who had joined the club from Penrith) in their preferred positions.

Ray Terrell

Terrell attended the University of Mississippi, where he played as a halfback on its football team.

Rumble in the Rockies

The 1936 match-up may have featured the greatest gridiron performance of Colorado halfback Byron "Whizzer" White.

Sam Horner

Samuel Watson Horner, III (born March 4, 1938 in Fort Sill, Oklahoma) is a former American football halfback, defensive back, and punter in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins and the New York Giants.

Terry Hanratty

Hanratty would also be teammates and friends with halfback Rocky Bleier at Notre Dame before the two were teammates in Pittsburgh.

Tom Manastersky

Thomas Timothy Manastersky (March 7, 1929 – March 11, 2012) was a Grey Cup Champion Canadian Football League halfback and the youngest to ever play in the CFL.

Van DeCree

The offensive skill players included Cornelius Greene at quarterback wingback Brian Baschnagel and fullback Pete Johnson and halfback Griffin, who led the Big Ten in rushing, running behind the tackle duo of Schumacher (an All-American) and Hicks (also an All-American) and winner of the 1973 Outland Trophy and the 1973 Lombardi Trophy.

Wally Teninga

In 1948, he shared the right halfback position with Leo Koceski and also handled punting duties, averaging 41.5 yards per punt.

In 1947, Teninga was the team's punter, defensive right halfback, and second string offensive halfback behind Bob Chappuis and Bump Elliott.

William A. Walsh

His starts included shutout victories over Northwestern and Chicago Medical, but the team suffered a controversial defeat at the hands of Indianapolis Artillery, who featured Winchester Osgood at halfback, despite questions surrounding the former All-American's eligibility.


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