Hugh Othello Wolfe (June 13, 1912 – May 20, 2010) 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 ...

fullback who played one season with the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

of 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). He was drafted by 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 ...

in the third round of the 1938 NFL Draft. Wolfe first enrolled at John Tarleton Agricultural College before transferring to the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

. He attended

Stephenville High School Stephenville High School, or SHS, is a public high school located in Stephenville, Texas and classified as a 4A school by the University Interscholastic League. It is part of the Stephenville Independent School District located in central Erath ...

Stephenville, Texas Stephenville is a city in and the county seat of Erath County, Texas, United States. It is on the North Bosque River, which forms nearby. Founded in 1854, it is home to Tarleton State University. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was ...

. He was a member of the New York Giants team that won the 1938 NFL Championship. Nicknames attributed to him include "Big Bad" and "Red", although he may have never been called "Red".

Early years

Wolfe was born on June 13, 1912, in

Mason, Texas Mason is a city in, and the county seat of, Mason County, Texas, United States. The city is an agricultural community on Comanche Creek southwest of Mason Mountain, on the Edwards Plateau and part of the Llano Uplift. The population was 2,114 a ...

, and moved to

, at the age of seven.

College career

Wolfe participated in football, basketball, and track and field at John Tarleton Agricultural College. Wolfe then transferred to play for the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and a ...

of the University of Texas in 1934. He was an All- SWC selection and the top scorer for the Longhorns in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

and

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Fe ...

. He played in the 1938

East–West Shrine Game East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...

. Wolfe was also a member of the 1937 SWC championship track and field team and won a SWC discus title in track and field. He was named second-team All-American by the

United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...

in 1937. In a November 14, 1936, game against

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, he set a then-school record with a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown,

quick kick In gridiron football, a quick kick is any punt made under conditions such that the opposing team "should not" expect a punt. Typically this has been a kick from scrimmage from a formation that is, or resembles, one usually used other than for pu ...

ed 90 yards, and had an

onside kick In gridiron football, an onside kick is a kickoff deliberately kicked short in an attempt by the kicking team to regain possession of the ball. This is in contrast with a typical kickoff, in which the kicking team intends to give the ball to the o ...

that traveled 50 yards into Minnesota's end zone and was recovered by a Longhorn teammate for a touchdown. Wolfe kicked a game-winning field goal in a 9–6 win against Baylor on November 6, 1937. The victory knocked Baylor out of Rose Bowl contention. He turned down an invitation to compete in the

decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in Athletics (sport), athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek language, Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ...

at the 1936 Olympics. He is a member of the Tarleton Athletics Hall of Fame and the University of Texas Athletics Hall of Honor, into which he was inducted in 1977.

Professional career

Wolfe was drafted by the

of the NFL with the 19th pick in the 1938 NFL Draft. He was the first Texas Longhorn to be selected in the

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 ...

. He played for the NFL's

in 1938 and was named to the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

team. The Giants defeated the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

23-17 on December 11, 1938, to win the 1938 NFL Championship.

Personal life

Wolfe served in the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

during World War II. He established an aluminum gate manufacturing company called Al-Prodco (Aluminum Products Company). He also ran a family nursery called Wolfe Nursery. Wolfe died on May 20, 2010, in a Fort Worth

hospice Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life by ...

center.

References

External links

Just Sports Stats
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfe, Hugh 1912 births 2010 deaths Players of American football from Texas American football fullbacks Tarleton State Texans football players Texas Longhorns football players New York Giants players American military personnel of World War II People from Mason, Texas People from Stephenville, Texas