Ernest Wiley Caddel (March 12, 1911 – March 28, 1992) 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 ...
running back
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...
. 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
Glenn "Pop" Warner at
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
from 1930 to 1932 and later 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 ...
for the
Portsmouth Spartans
The professional American football team now known as the Detroit Lions previously played in Portsmouth, Ohio, as the Portsmouth Spartans, from its founding in 1928 to its relocation to Detroit in 1934. Originally drawing players from defunct indepe ...
(1933) and
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 ...
(1934–1938). He helped lead the Detroit Lions to the NFL championship in 1935 and led the NFL in average yards gained per rushing carry for three consecutive years, from 1935 to 1937. He was also the first player in NFL history to finish among the top 10 players in the league in both rushing and receiving yards, accomplishing the feat in 1934 and again in 1936. He was known during his football career as the "Blond Antelope."
Early years
Caddel was born in
Granite, Oklahoma
Granite is a town in Greer County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,628 at the 2020 census.
Geography
Granite is located in eastern Greer County at (34.962367, -99.381356). State Highways 6 and 9 intersect at the southern end of ...
in 1911 and was raised near
Fresno, California
Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...
.
[
]
Stanford
Caddel was given the name "Ee-Dub" after his father's initials E.W., as was the custom in those days. He enrolled at Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
in 1929 on a baseball scholarship, having never played football. Stanford would not recognize the initials "E.W," and so Caddel became "Ernie." While attending Stanford, head football coach Glenn "Pop" Warner noticed Caddel's athletic ability and persuaded him to play for the football team. He played at the halfback position for Stanford from 1930 to 1932. In November 1931, he drew national attention when he ran for three touchdowns, two on long runs, in a 32-6 victory over Dartmouth.
As a senior in 1932, Caddel starred for Stanford in September and October. In October 1932, a United Press correspondent wrote: "Ernie Caddel, a rangy fleet-footed halfback, is regarded by many as an All-America candidate. In every appearance this season he has brought spectators from their seats by his spectacular wide, sweeping runs around the end -- invariably evading tacklers for 15 to 30 yards." Caddel suffered two broken ribs in a game against Oregon State
Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...
. To allow Caddel to play through the injury, Stanford's coach Warner created what has been described as the first flak jacket
The two components of an obsolete British military flak vest. On the left, the nylon vest. On the right, the several layers of ballistic nylon that provide the actual protection
A flak jacket or flak vest is a form of body armor. A flak jacke ...
worn by a running back.[ The '']San Jose News
''The Mercury News'' (formerly ''San Jose Mercury News'', often locally known as ''The Merc'') is a morning daily newspaper published in San Jose, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is published by the Bay Area News Group, a subsidiar ...
'' in October 1932 noted that Caddel was wearing a shoulder brace "to permit him to play as long as wind and limib hold out." Another writer noted, "Pop made a paper pattern one day and the thing that night. It was an ingenious affair. ... It had steel ribs, but you hardly noticed the weight."
Due to this injury, however, Caddel was unable to play baseball in the spring of his senior year, and he lost his Stanford scholarship. He was then recruited by the Portsmouth Spartans to play professional football in Ohio.
Professional football
After graduating from Stanford, Caddel 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 ...
for six years from 1933 to 1938. Caddel was 6 feet, 2 inches, and weighed 190 pounds during his football playing career. With blonde, curly hair and "a beach-boy tan," he was "a striking figure in the Midwest" and became known as the "Blond Antelope."[
Caddel began his professional football career in 1933 with the ]Portsmouth Spartans
The professional American football team now known as the Detroit Lions previously played in Portsmouth, Ohio, as the Portsmouth Spartans, from its founding in 1928 to its relocation to Detroit in 1934. Originally drawing players from defunct indepe ...
in Portsmouth, Ohio
Portsmouth is a city in and the county seat of Scioto County, Ohio, United States. Located in southern Ohio south of Chillicothe, it lies on the north bank of the Ohio River, across from Kentucky, just east of the mouth of the Scioto River. ...
.[ He ran 82 yards for a touchdown on his first carry for the Spartans.][ Caddel accumulated 393 yards from scrimmage for the Spartans in 1933 and scored five touchdowns.] As a rookie, he led the NFL in receiving touchdowns with three and finished second in the league with an average of 5.2 yards per touch.
In 1934, the Spartans were sold, and the new owner moved the team to Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
, Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
, and renamed them 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 ...
. Caddel started all 12 games and helped the Lions post a 10-3 record in their inaugural season. He was among the NFL leaders in 1934 with 655 yards from scrimmage (4th in the NFL), an average of 5.7 yards per touch (4th in the NFL), and 528 rushing yards (5th in the NFL).
As a third-year player, Caddel was both the leading rusher and the leading receiver for the 1935 Detroit Lions team that won the 1935 NFL Championship. He was also the second leading passer for the 1935 Lions with 169 passing yards.[ Caddel also led the NFL in 1935 in all-purpose yards (621), rushing touchdowns (6), yards per rushing attempt (5.2), and yards per touch (6.4).][ He also finished second in the NFL with 450 rushing yards.]
Caddel remained one of the NFL's leading players in 1936. He accumulated 730 yards from scrimmage, third best in the NFL, and led the league with an average of 6.6 yards per touch and 6.4 yards per rushing attempt.[ His total of 19 pass receptions was also good for third best in the NFL during the 1936 season.]
Caddel was the first player in NFL history to finish among the top 10 players in the league in both rushing and receiving yards.[ He accomplished the feat in 1934 and again in 1936. The next player to twice rank in the top 10 in both categories was ]Frank Gifford
Francis Newton Gifford (August 16, 1930 – August 9, 2015) was an American football player, actor, and television sports commentator. After a 12-year playing career as a halfback and flanker for the New York Giants of the National Foo ...
in 1956 and 1957.
In 1937, Caddel led the NFL for the third consecutive year in yards per rushing attempt with an average of 5.6 yards per carry.
Later years
After retiring from football, Caddel operated an automobile dealership, Caddel Chevrolet, in Roseville, California
Roseville is the most populous city in Placer County, California, located within the Sacramento metropolitan area. As of 2019, the US Census Bureau estimated the city's population to be 141,500. Interstate 80 runs through Roseville and State Rout ...
, for 42 years. He became known for his charismatic personality and for starring in light-hearted TV commercials" with "The Roseville Gang." He died due to complications Alzheimer's in Roseville in 1992 at age 81, possibly brought on by head trauma from his years with the Lions.[
During his early Spartan years, Caddel met his wife Nell Margaret Gableman, the daughter of Portsmouth's mayor. When they moved to Detroit, during the off-season, Caddel built cars in GM factory. General Motors noted his personality and good looks, and promoted him to sales. They had a daughter, Trudy Frances, and a granddaughter, noted vocalist ]Connie Champagne
Connie Champagne, née Kelly Kay Brock, born November 23, 1959 is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She won the ''SF Weekly'' Wammie Award for Outstanding Cabaret Performer. She is known for performing the character of actress, Judy ...
née Kelly Brock.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caddell, Ernie
1911 births
1992 deaths
People from Greer County, Oklahoma
American football running backs
Stanford Cardinal football players
Portsmouth Spartans players
Detroit Lions players
Sportspeople from Roseville, California