George Cafego (August 29, 1915 – February 9, 1998) 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 wi ...

player and coach of football and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

. He played college football at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state ...

, earning varsity letters 1937 - 1939, and professionally 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) with the Brooklyn Dodgers,

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 ...

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 ...

. He served as the head baseball coach at the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

in 1950 and at his alma mater, Tennessee, from 1958 to 1962. Cafego was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1969.

High school and collegiate career

Born in rural Whipple, West Virginia to John Cafego and Mary (Rednock) Cafego, Cafego attended Oak Hill High School in nearby Oak Hill. He went to the

as a halfback under coach

Robert Neyland Robert Reese Neyland (; February 17, 1892 – March 28, 1962) was an American football player and coach and officer in the United States Army, reaching the rank of brigadier general. He served three stints as the head football coach at the Univ ...

. While there, he earned varsity letters 1937 - 1939 and compiled 2,139 total yards and two

All-American team 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 ...

selections. He was also a finalist for the

Heisman Memorial Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and har ...

. In addition to running and passing the ball, Cafego also served as punter and

kickoff returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...

, excelling at both. At Tennessee his nickname was "Bad News". As a sophomore, his first year on the varsity, he already showed signs of success, catching "many an expert eye."

Professional career

Cafego was drafted as the number one overall pick in 1940

NFL draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

by the

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ...

. He eventually played for the Brooklyn Dodgers. After playing one season, his career was interrupted by a brief stint of

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

service in World War II era. During this time he appeared in several games for the Newport News Builders of the Dixie League. Returning to the Dodgers in 1943, he was traded to the

after five unspectacular games. For the 1944 and 1945 seasons, Cafego played for the

before retiring.

Coaching career

After his playing career was over, Cafego served as an assistant coach at

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

, Furman,

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

, and 30 years at his alma mater,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, serving under a total of six different head coaches during his UT coaching career. He was also the head coach of

Tennessee Volunteers baseball The Tennessee Volunteers baseball team represents the University of Tennessee in NCAA Division I college baseball. Along with most other Tennessee athletic teams, the baseball team participates in the Eastern division of the Southeastern Conferen ...

from 1958 to 1962. He retired from coaching following the 1984 season.

Death

Cafego died in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state' ...

at the age of 82 and was buried in Fayette County, West Virginia.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cafego, George 1915 births 1998 deaths All-American college football players American football fullbacks American football halfbacks American football quarterbacks Arkansas Razorbacks football coaches Boston Yanks players Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL) players College Football Hall of Fame inductees Furman Paladins football coaches National Football League first-overall draft picks People from Fayette County, West Virginia Tennessee Volunteers baseball coaches Tennessee Volunteers football coaches Tennessee Volunteers football players Washington Redskins players Wyoming Cowboys baseball coaches Wyoming Cowboys football coaches Players of American football from West Virginia United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of World War II