Hugh Harold "Duke" Gallarneau (April 2, 1917 – July 14, 1999) was an NFL halfback from 1941 to 1942 and 1945 to 1947 for the Chicago Bears. He played college football at Stanford, where he was an All-American.

College career

Gallarneau attended

Morgan Park High School Morgan Park High School is a 4–year public high school and middle school located in the Morgan Park neighborhood on the far south side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1916, Morgan Park is a part of the Chicago Public Schools dis ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, but did not play high school football, opting instead for swimming, track, and baseball. After high school, he was accepted to Stanford University on an academic scholarship, and decided to try out for the football team for the 1938 season and made the team. In 1938, Stanford's team was 3–6, and the next year, fell to 1–7–1. The next year, 1940, new head football coach Clark Shaughnessy introduced the

T formation In American football, a T formation (frequently called the full house formation in modern usage, sometimes the Robust T) is a Formation (American football), formation used by the offensive team in which three running backs line up in a row about ...

, and the Indians were transformed in a winner. Gallarneau, along with

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Frankie Albert Frank Cullen Albert (January 27, 1920 – September 4, 2002) was an American gridiron football player and coach. He played as a quarterback with the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football League (NFL). Albert attended Stanford University, ...

, halfback Pete Kmetovic, and fullback

Norm Standlee Norman S. Standlee (July 19, 1919 – January 5, 1981) was an American football fullback and, later in his career, linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers of the NFL. He was drafted out of Stanford University by the Chicago Bears in 1941. He pa ...

, were the core of a team known as the Wow Boys, which went undefeated and beat

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

21–13 in the

1941 Rose Bowl The 1941 Rose Bowl was the 27th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Wednesday, January 1. The undefeated and second-ranked Stanford Indians of the Pacific Coast Conference defeated the #7 ...

. In that game, Gallarneau scored two of Stanford's touchdowns, on a 10-yard run and a 40-yard pass reception. Gallarneau was named an All-American in football, was on Stanford's rugby team, and won the Pacific Coast Conference heavyweight

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

title.

NFL career

In the

1941 NFL Draft The 1941 National Football League Draft was held on December 10, 1940, at the Willard Hotel in Washington D.C. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Chicago Bears selected halfback Tom Harmon. Player selections Round 1 Round 2 R ...

, Gallarneau was selected in the third round by the Chicago Bears. He played for the Bears for the 1941 and 1942 seasons. Gallarneau still holds the Bears' record for the longest punt return in a postseason game, returning a punt 81 yards for a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers in the divisional playoffs to help lead the Bears to the 1941 NFL Championship game. The return also remains the third-longest in NFL postseason history.

World War II

In 1943, Gallarneau joined the

Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refl ...

to fight in

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 opposing ...

. He was trained as a night fighter director and fought in the Pacific Theater, rising to the rank of major. During the Battle of Okinawa and he was a member of Air Warning Squadron 8 attached to a SCR-527 radar detachment located near Yontan Airifeld. On May 18, Gallarneau was working with 1stLt Robert Wellwood from VMF(N)-533, callsign "Scrapper 17." That evening Gallarneau and Wellwood collaborated to shoot down three Japanese

Mitsubishi G4M The Mitsubishi G4M was a twin-engine, land-based medium bomber formerly manufactured by the Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to 1945. Its official designat ...

"Betty" bombers. Gallarneau was awarded the

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

for his efforts in assisting with the downing of six Japanese aircraft during the Battle of Okinawa. He returned to the Bears for the 1945 season, and played three more seasons before retiring in 1947.

After football

After leaving football, Gallarneau remained in Chicago, working for

Marshall Field's Marshall Field & Company (commonly known as Marshall Field's) was an upscale department store in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in the 19th century, it grew to become a large chain before Macy's, Inc acquired it in 2005. Its eponymous founder, Mar ...

and

Hart, Schaffner & Marx Hart Schaffner Marx is an American manufacturer of tailored menswear owned by New York-based Authentic Brands Group. Founded in 1887 and incorporated in 1911 as "Hart Schaffner & Marx", the company is located in Des Plaines, Illinois. History T ...

, where he retired as a vice president in 1985. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1982 and is a member of the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame and the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame. He died in

Northfield, Illinois Northfield is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, located approximately north of downtown Chicago. As of the 2020 census, the village's population was 5,751. It is part of a collection of upscale residential communities north of ...

, in 1999.

Notes

Bibliography

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gallarneau, Hugh 1917 births 1999 deaths Players of American football from Detroit American football running backs United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II Chicago Bears players Stanford Cardinal football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees United States Marine Corps officers