Charles Frederick DeShane (December 10, 1918 – November 5, 2006) was a professional

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 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 ...

for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

from 1945 to 1949.

Career

Born in

Waukesha, Wisconsin Waukesha ( ) is the county seat of Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. Its population was 71,158 at the 2020 census. The city is adjacent to the Village of Waukesha. History The area that ...

, DeShane was the starting

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

for the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

in 1939 and 1940 and was named to the All-

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

team his senior season. He coached football from 1942 to 1944 at his alma mater, Creston High School (

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...

), before signing with the Lions. From 1945 to 1946, Deshane played quarterback and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

for the Lions. He played

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

from 1947 to 1949.

Personal life

DeShane was also a railroad conductor during the offseasons. He was married to his second wife Evelyn for 31 years and had four children with his wife Lorraine, 14 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren. He died in

. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Pamela Rae and his son, Robert Floyd. His son Charles Jr and daughter Sandra survive.

External links

Database Football''Detroit Free Press'' obituary
1918 births 2006 deaths Sportspeople from Waukesha, Wisconsin Players of American football from Waukesha County, Wisconsin Players of American football from Grand Rapids, Michigan American football linebackers American football quarterbacks American football offensive guards Alabama Crimson Tide football players Detroit Lions players Conductor (rail) {{quarterback-1910s-stub