Evans Denver "Butch" Gibson (August 28, 1904 – May 1, 1960) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player. Gibson was born in 1904 on a farm near

Middlebranch, Ohio Middlebranch is a census-designated place in northeastern Plain Township, Stark County, Ohio, United States. It is located about 7 miles Northeast of Canton. It has a post office with the ZIP code 44652. The community is part of the Canton&n ...

. He attended Central Catholic High School and McKinley High School, both in

Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in and the county seat of Stark County, Ohio. It is located approximately south of Cleveland and south of Akron in Northeast Ohio. The city lies on the edge of Ohio's extensive Amish country, particularly in Holmes and ...

. He was captain of the 1922 McKinley high School football team. He then enrolled at

Grove City College Grove City College (GCC) is a private, conservative Christian liberal arts college in Grove City, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1876 as a normal school, the college emphasizes a humanities core curriculum and offers 60 majors and 6 pre-professional ...

Grove City, Pennsylvania Grove City is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in southeastern Mercer County, Pennsylvania, Mercer County, Pennsylvania, United States, located approximately north of Pittsburgh and south of Erie, Pennsylvania, Erie. At the 2020 United States Ce ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

Grove City Wolverines football Grove City College (GCC) is a private, conservative Christian liberal arts college in Grove City, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1876 as a normal school, the college emphasizes a humanities core curriculum and offers 60 majors and 6 pre-professional p ...

teams in 1925 and 1926. He also played basketball for Grove City. After leaving Grove City, Gibson worked for three years as a teacher and coach in Pennsylvania. During this time, he also played professional football for the

Canton Bulldogs The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and the American Professional Football Association (later renamed the National Football Leag ...

and Reogers Jewelers teams. Gibson also played professional football in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

, principally at the guard position, for five seasons from 1930 to 1934, including the 1934 team that won the NFL championship. He appeared in 67 NFL games for the Giants, 45 of them as a starter. He was selected as an All-NFL player in 1931 and 1934. He was remembered for his "terrific ability to block punts", having blocked as many as two or three a game. Gibson was a lifelong resident of

Stark County, Ohio Stark County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 374,853. Its county seat is Canton. The county was created in 1808 and organized the next year. It is named for John Stark, an officer in th ...

. After his football career ended, he worked for 26 years for the Republic Steel Corp., including 16 years as superintendent of the steel-conditioning department. He died from a heart attack in 1960 at age 59. He had recently been released from the hospital and was found dead in his bed at his home in

North Canton, Ohio North Canton is a city in central Stark County, Ohio, United States. The population was 17,842 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Canton–Massillon metropolitan area. History In 1831, the Community of North Canton first began as the Villag ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Butch 1904 births 1960 deaths Grove City College alumni Players of American football from Stark County, Ohio American football defensive tackles New York Giants players