Jack Lenard Freeman (January 20, 1922 – July 23, 1990) 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 ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

for the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

of the

All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the ...

(AAFC). 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 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

College football career

Freeman played football 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 ...

from 1938 to 1942. He was inducted into the Texas Longhorn Hall of Honor, which he helped organize, in 1989.

Professional football career

Philadelphia-Pittsburgh Steagles

Freeman was drafted in the 27th round of the

1943 NFL Draft The 1943 National Football League Draft was held on April 8, 1943, at the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago, Illinois. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Detroit Lions selected running back Frank Sinkwich. This draft is the first NFL draf ...

by the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

, who would later temporarily merge with the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

to form the Philadelphia-Pittsburgh Steagles for the

1943 NFL season The 1943 NFL season was the 24th regular season of the National Football League. Due to the exodus of players who had left to serve in World War II, the Cleveland Rams were granted permission to suspend operations for this season, while the Ph ...

. However, Freeman did not play with the Steagles in 1943, as he was completing his Army Air Corps training at Randolph Air Base in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

. He instead played football for two years at Randolph, and for one year at Fort Worth Army Air Base.

Brooklyn Dodgers

In 1946, Freeman moved to New York to play for the

of the

. He played twelve games with the Dodgers, starting three of them.

Personal life

Freeman and his wife Daisy, who he met while at 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 ...

, eloped in January 1943. He died on July 23, 1990, at the age of 68.

References

1922 births 1990 deaths American football guards Brooklyn Dodgers (AAFC) players Steagles players and personnel Texas Longhorns football players Players of American football from Texas People from Mexia, Texas {{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Jack