Harold Ingvald Alexander Erickson (March 10, 1898 – January 27, 1963) 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 ...

back The human back, also called the dorsum, is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck. It is the surface of the body opposite from the chest and the abdomen. The vertebral column run ...

who played for three teams over eight 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), four with 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 ca ...

, including the 1925 NFL Champion team.

Biography

Erickson was born in

Maynard, Minnesota Maynard is a city in Chippewa County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 366 at the 2010 census. History Maynard was platted in 1887. It was named for the brother-in-law of a railroad official. A post office has been in operation in ...

on March 10, 1898 to Norwegian immigrant Reverend Michael Benjamin Eriksen (1867–1950) and his wife, first generation Norwegian-American Emma Gustava Eriksen (née Anderson) (1879–1940). Though he would be known as "Swede" during his football playing days, he was a Norwegian-American. A stocky man, he stood and and weighed . Erickson served as a Chief Pharmacist's Mate in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during World War I. He participated in the

1919 Rose Bowl The 1919 Rose Bowl, known at the time as the Tournament East-West Football Game, was a bowl game played on January 1, 1919, at Tournament Park in Pasadena, California. It was the 5th Rose Bowl Game. With the war just over, the game was played wit ...

as a member of the winning team,

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

from

Great Lakes, Illinois Naval Station Great Lakes (NAVSTA Great Lakes) is the home of the United States Navy's only recruit training, boot camp, located near North Chicago, Illinois, North Chicago, in Lake County, Illinois. Important tenant commands include the Recruit ...

, a team that also included future

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, 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 ...

and

Paddy Driscoll John Leo "Paddy" Driscoll (January 11, 1895 – June 29, 1968) was an American professional football and baseball player and football coach. A triple-threat man in football, he was regarded as the best drop kicker and one of the best overall pla ...

, who were also members of the

NFL 1920s All-Decade Team This is a list of all NFL players who had outstanding performances throughout the 1920s and have been compiled onto this fantasy group. The team was selected by voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame retroactively in 1969 to mark the league’s ...

. Erickson also participated in the

1922 Rose Bowl The 1922 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 2, 1922, between the Washington & Jefferson Presidents football, Washington & Jefferson Presidents (W&J) and the 1921 California Golden Bears football team, California Golden B ...

as a back for

Washington and Jefferson Washington & Jefferson College (W&J College or W&J) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania. The college traces its origin to three log cabin colleges in Washingt ...

, giving him the unique distinction of being the only man ever to play in two different Rose Bowls, with two different teams, without losing. Erickson attended

St. Olaf College St. Olaf College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American pastors and farmers led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after the King and the Patron Saint Olaf ...

in 1916 and 1917, and after completing his service in the

in 1919, he attended

Washington & Jefferson College Washington & Jefferson College (W&J College or W&J) is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania. The college traces its origin to three log cabin colleges in Washington County established by three Presbyterian missionaries to ...

where he played competitive football. After college, though undrafted, Erickson went professional, playing eight seasons in the National Football League (1923–1930), with the

Milwaukee Badgers The Milwaukee Badgers was a professional American football team, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that played in the National Football League from 1922 to 1926. The team played its home games at Athletic Park, later known as Borchert Field, on Mi ...

, the

, and the

Minneapolis Red Jackets The Minneapolis Marines were an early professional football team that existed from 1905 until 1924. The team was later resurrected from 1929 to 1930 under the Minneapolis Red Jackets name. The Marines were owned locally by Minneapolitans John Dunn ...

. In 1924 he played for, and was the head coach of the Milwaukee Badgers, a team that included Pro Football Hall of Famer, and a member of the NFL 1920s All-Decade Team,

Jimmy Conzelman James Gleason Dunn Conzelman (March 6, 1898 – July 31, 1970) was an American football player and coach, baseball executive, and advertising executive. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1964 and was selected in 1969 as a qua ...

. During the 1925 season Erickson scored six touchdowns (four receiving and two rushing) for the NFL Champion Chicago Cardinals who were 11–2–1 that year. At the conclusion of the 1925 NFL season, Erickson joined future Pro Football Hall of Famer

Red Grange Harold Edward "Red" Grange (June 13, 1903 – January 28, 1991), nicknamed "the Galloping Ghost" and "the Wheaton Iceman", was an American football halfback for the University of Illinois, the Chicago Bears, and the short-lived New York Yankees ...

and the Chicago Bears on their post-season barnstorming tour. He was a member of the 1928 Chicago Cardinals team that included American sports legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer

Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe ( Sac and Fox (Sauk): ''Wa-Tho-Huk'', translated as "Bright Path"; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was the first Native ...

, also a member of the NFL 1920s All-Decade Team. Erickson was married to Vera Mattocks (1906–1998) until his death on January 27, 1963. He is buried at

Fort Snelling National Cemetery 3 Fort Snelling National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the Fort Snelling Unorganized Territory adjacent to the historic fort and Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport. It is the only National Cemetery in Minneso ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erickson, Hal 1898 births 1963 deaths American football running backs Chicago Cardinals players Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets football players Milwaukee Badgers coaches Milwaukee Badgers players Minneapolis Red Jackets players St. Olaf Oles football players Washington & Jefferson Presidents football players People from Chippewa County, Minnesota American people of Norwegian descent