Richard J. Barwegen (December 25, 1921 – September 3, 1966) was an American professional football player who was an offensive lineman for five seasons 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). He was selected to four

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

s during his career. He is one of only four members of the

NFL 1950s All-Decade Team This is a list of all NFL players who had outstanding performances throughout the 1950s and have been compiled together into this fantasy group. The team was selected by voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame retroactively in 1969 to mark the lea ...

to not be in the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...

. The

Professional Football Researchers Association The Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA) is an organization of researchers whose mission is to preserve and, in some cases, reconstruct professional American football history. It was founded on June 22, 1979 in Canton, Ohio by wri ...

named Barwegan to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2008

Career

Barwegen was drafted late in the

1945 NFL Draft The 1945 National Football League Draft was held on April 8, 1945, at the Commodore Hotel in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Chicago Cardinals selected halfback Charley Trippi. Player selections Round o ...

by the Brooklyn Tigers, who soon merged with the

Boston Yanks The Boston Yanks were a National Football League team based in Boston, Massachusetts, that played from 1944 to 1948. The team played its home games at Fenway Park. Any games that conflicted with the Boston Red Sox baseball schedule in the Ameri ...

, though he never played a down with them, playing with the AAFC New York Yankees before playing for the first incarnation of the Baltimore Colts for two seasons, long enough for them to join the NFL. But Barwegen was traded by Abe Watner to the Bears for

George Blanda George Frederick Blanda (September 17, 1927 – September 27, 2010) was an American football placekicker and quarterback who played professionally in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). Blanda played 26 seaso ...

Bob Perina Robert Ian Perina (January 16, 1921 – August 2, 1991) was an American football running back, quarterback and defensive back in the National Football League. He played for the New York Yankees, Brooklyn Dodgers, Chicago Rockets, Chicago Bears an ...

, Ernie Zalejski, Jimmy "Tank" Crawford, and Bob Jensen. After three seasons with the Bears, he played with the new incarnation of the Baltimore Colts in their first season and went to his fourth straight Pro Bowl, his last. After one more season with the Colts, he left to play with the Ottawa Rough Riders, before retiring. Barwegan was 2nd Team AAFC All Pro in 1947, consensus 1st Team AAFC All Pro in 1948 and 1949, consensus 1st Team NFL All Pro in 1950 and 1951, and 2nd Team NFL All Pro in 1952.

References

External links

* 1921 births 1966 deaths American football offensive guards Baltimore Colts players Baltimore Colts (1947–1950) players Canadian football offensive linemen Chicago Bears players New York Yankees (AAFC) players Ottawa Rough Riders players Purdue Boilermakers football players Western Conference Pro Bowl players Players of American football from Chicago {{offensive-lineman-1920s-stub