Edgar John "Eggs" Manske (July 4, 1912 – January 27, 2002) 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 who played six 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). Manske was the last college player to play without a

football helmet The football helmet is a piece of protective equipment used mainly in gridiron football, although a structural variation has occasional use in Australian rules football. It consists of a hard plastic shell with thick padding on the inside, a f ...

. Manske played in two NFL championship games with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

, including the historic

1940 NFL Championship Game The 1940 NFL Championship Game, sometimes referred to simply as 73–0, was the eighth title game of the National Football League (NFL). It was played at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C. on December 8, with a sellout capacity attendance of ...

, a 73–0 victory over the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

Early life and college career

Manske was born in 1912 in

Nekoosa, Wisconsin Nekoosa is a city in Wood County, Wisconsin, United States. Its name derives from the Ho-Chunk word, "Nįįkuusra", "Nakrusa", or "Nįkusara" which translates to "running water". The population was 2,580 at the 2010 census. History An article d ...

. He graduated from Alexander High School (renamed Nekoosa High School). A member of 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 ...

, Manske excelled in college at both

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and basketball. A three-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

at Northwestern, he began his football career as a

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, became a starter during his sophomore season after excelling as a substitute end in a 1930 game against Notre Dame, and ended his career as team Most Valuable Player in 1933. Manske was elected to the All-

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

and

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All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

teams in 1933. He was also named to the All-Big Ten team in basketball in 1933. In his senior year, Manske played all sixty minutes against Ohio State, Notre Dame, Minnesota, and Illinois, and all but two minutes against Michigan.

NFL career

As part of the first College All-Star team to line up against the current NFL champions, Manske caught the eye of Chicago Bears coach

George Halas George Stanley Halas Sr. (; February 2, 1895October 31, 1983), nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was an American professional football player, coach, and team owner. He was the founder and owner of the National Football League's Chic ...

during the surprising 1934 All-Star game; Manske performed well against starting Bears lineman

George Musso George Francis Musso (April 8, 1910 – September 5, 2000) was an American professional football player who spent his entire 12-year career as a guard and offensive tackle for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He was in ...

. Halas eventually obtained Manske's services by trade with Philadelphia in 1937."Bears Sign Manske to Fill Hewitt's Post", Chicago Daily Tribune, 7/27/37, pg. 17 During his professional football career, Manske played at the

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position. Manske led the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

in scoring during the 1935 season; his picture appeared on a

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box in 1936. As a member of the

, Manske played his last professional game in the memorable 73–0 playoff win over Washington. Manske was involved in a trade considered among the most lopsided in NFL history. In 1938, he was traded from Chicago to the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

for the Pirates' first-round selection (#2 overall) in the upcoming 1939 NFL draft. The Bears then drafted future Hall of Fame quarterback

Sid Luckman Sidney Luckman (November 21, 1916 – July 5, 1998) was an American professional American football, football player who was a quarterback for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) from 1939 Chicago Bears season, 1939 through 19 ...

. Manske re-signed with the Bears later in 1939, leaving Pittsburgh with nothing to show for its top pick.

Military career

One of 995 NFL players who served during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Manske joined the

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as a lieutenant commander. During officer training at the St. Mary's Preflight School in 1942, he also played on the team and earned All-Service All-America honors.

Coaching and teaching career

Manske began his coaching career at the

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest ...

in 1941. After the war, he returned to coach at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

and the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

, then worked as an assistant coach for the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

under

Pappy Waldorf Lynn Osbert "Pappy" Waldorf (October 3, 1902 – August 15, 1981) was an American college football player and coach. He received the first national collegiate football coach of the year award in 1935. Waldorf became known for his motivational coac ...

from 1947 to 1952, facing his former Northwestern team in the

1949 Rose Bowl The 1949 Rose Bowl was the 35th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California on Saturday, January 1. The seventh-ranked Northwestern Wildcats of the Big Nine Conference defeated the #4 California Gold ...

."EDGAR MANSKE, 89 ; Played for NU, Bears; college hall of famer", obit., Chicago Tribune, 2/7/2002, pg.8 Manske eventually became an educator, and taught biology at Berkeley High School from 1955 until his retirement in 1975.

Personal life and honors

Manske was married for 53 years to 1928 Olympian and

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held duri ...

bronze medalist,

Jane Fauntz Jane Fauntz (December 19, 1910 – May 30, 1989), also known by her married name Jane Manske, was a national champion swimmer and diver, and a member of the United States Olympic teams in 1928 (swimming) and 1932 (springboard diving). She was ...

. In 1988 Manske was inducted into the Northwestern Athletics Hall of Fame and in 1989 he was inducted into the

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Manske, Edgar 1912 births 2002 deaths American football ends Boston University Terriers football coaches California Golden Bears football coaches Chicago Bears players Holy Cross Crusaders football coaches Maryland Terrapins football coaches Northwestern Wildcats football players Philadelphia Eagles players Pittsburgh Pirates (football) players Saint Mary's Pre-Flight Air Devils football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy officers Schoolteachers from California People from Nekoosa, Wisconsin Players of American football from Wisconsin 20th-century American educators Military personnel from Wisconsin