Alfred Earle "Greasy" Neale (November 5, 1891 – November 2, 1973) was an American football and baseball player and coach.

Early life and playing career

Neale was born in

Parkersburg, West Virginia Parkersburg is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, West Virginia, Wood County, West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Ohio River, Ohio and Little Kanawha River, Little Kanawha rivers, it is the state's fourth-largest city and ...

. Although writers eventually assumed that Neale got his nickname, "Greasy", from his elusiveness on the football field, it actually arose during his youth, from a name-calling joust with a friend.

Baseball career

He played Major League Baseball as an outfielder with the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

between 1916 and 1924 and briefly with the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

for part of the 1921 season. Neale was the starting right fielder for the championship-winning 1919 Reds. He batted .357 in the

1919 World Series The 1919 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1919 season. The 16th edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion Chicago White Sox against the National League champion Cincinnati Reds. ...

and led the Reds with ten hits in their eight-game series win over the scandalous White Sox. Neale spent all but 22 games of his baseball career with the Reds. He had a career batting average of .259 with 8 home runs, 200

RBI RBI most often refers to: *Reserve Bank of India *Run batted in RBI may also refer to: Organisations *Radio Berlin International *Raiffeisen Bank International *Reed Business Information *Restaurant Brands International *Ruđer Bošković In ...

, and 139 stolen bases, and finished in the top ten in stolen bases in the National League four times. When football season came around, often he would leave baseball and fulfill his football duties (albeit playing about 90% of a baseball season most years, with the exception of 1919 when he played the entire season, including the World Series).

Football career

Neale also played professional football in the Ohio League with 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 ...

in 1917, the

Dayton Triangles The Dayton Triangles were an original franchise of the American Professional Football Association (now the National Football League (NFL)) in 1920. The Triangles were based in Dayton, Ohio, and took their nickname from their home field, Triangl ...

in 1918, and the Massillon Tigers in 1919. He starred as an end on Jim Thorpe's pre- World War I

as well as the

in 1918 and Massillon Tigers in 1919. He coached the Triangles in 1918.

Coaching in college

Neale began his coaching career while still a professional player. He served as the head football coach at Muskingum College (1915), West Virginia Wesleyan College (1916–1917), Marietta College (1919–1920), Washington & Jefferson College (1921–1922), the University of Virginia (1923–1928), and West Virginia University (1931–1933), compiling a career

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 ...

record of 82–54–11. He coached basketball for two seasons at Marietta (1919–1921) as well, amassing a record of 26–11. He also served as an assistant football coach at Yale Bulldogs football for seven seasons (1934–1940). At Washington & Jefferson, he led his 1921 squad to the Rose Bowl, where the Presidents played the

California Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club te ...

to a scoreless tie. At Virginia, Neale was also the head baseball coach from 1923 to 1929, tallying a mark of 80–73–2.

Independent football

Neale later coached the independent professional

Ironton Tanks The Ironton Tanks were a semi-professional football team organized in 1919 in Ironton, Ohio. Their historical marker gives the story of the Tanks origin: "Semi-professional football began in Ironton in 1893 with a team known as the Irontonians. ...

. He and Tanks quarterback Glenn Presnell claimed victories against the NFL's second-place New York Giants and third-place Chicago Bears in 1930. The team folded in 1931.

Coaching in the pros

Neale moved to the National Football League (NFL), serving as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1941 to 1950. From 1944 through 1949, Neale's Eagles finished second three times and in first place three times. The Eagles won the NFL Championship in 1948 and again in 1949, and became the first team to win back-to-back titles since the 1940-41 Chicago Bears by shutting out their opponents, beating the Chicago Cardinals 7–0 in the snow-ridden

1948 NFL Championship Game The 1948 NFL Championship Game was the 16th title game of the National Football League (NFL), played at Shibe Park in Philadelphia on December 19. The game was a rematch of the previous year's title game between the defending champion, the Ch ...

and the Los Angeles Rams 14–0 in the

1949 NFL Championship Game The 1949 NFL Championship Game was the 17th title game for the National Football League (NFL), played on December 18 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. It is remembered for the driving rain that caused the field to ...

in a driving rain storm. It was the last championship for the Eagles until 1960. His offense was led by the passing of quarterback Tommy Thompson, the pass catching of future Hall of Fame end Pete Pihos, and the running of another Hall of Famer, Steve Van Buren. He tallied a mark of 66–44–5 including playoff games in his ten seasons with the club. Neale was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

in 1967 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1969. Both inductions recognized his coaching career. Neale died in Florida at the age of 81 and is buried at Parkersburg Memorial Gardens in West Virginia.

Head coaching record

College football

NFL

Notes

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Neale, Greasy 1891 births 1973 deaths American football ends Baseball players from West Virginia Basketball coaches from West Virginia Canton Bulldogs (Ohio League) players Cincinnati Reds players Clarksburg Generals players Cleveland Bearcats players Coaches of American football from West Virginia College Football Hall of Fame inductees Dayton Triangles (Ohio League) players Ironton Tanks players London Tecumsehs (baseball) players Major League Baseball outfielders Marietta Pioneers football coaches Marietta Pioneers men's basketball coaches Massillon Tigers players Minor league baseball managers Muskingum Fighting Muskies football coaches Parkersburg High School alumni Sportspeople from Parkersburg, West Virginia Philadelphia Eagles head coaches Philadelphia Phillies players Players of American football from West Virginia Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees Saginaw Ducks players St. Louis Cardinals coaches Steagles players and personnel Virginia Cavaliers baseball coaches Virginia Cavaliers football coaches Washington & Jefferson Presidents football coaches West Virginia Mountaineers football coaches West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats baseball players West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats basketball players West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats football coaches West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats football players Wheeling Stogies players Yale Bulldogs football coaches