John Robert Tripson (September 17, 1919July 6, 1997) was a professional

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 ...

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

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 ...

. He played one season for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

, who drafted him in the sixth round of the 1941 NFL Draft. He received the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is eq ...

for gallantry in the invasion of North Africa in World War II, along with fellow former NFL player

Robert Halperin Robert Sherman "Bob" Halperin (January 26, 1908 – May 8, 1985), nicknamed "Buck", was an American Star class sailor, and Olympic bronze medalist and Pan American Games gold medalist. He was also a college and National Football League (NFL) fo ...

References

1919 births 1997 deaths People from Hidalgo County, Texas Players of American football from Texas American football offensive tackles Mississippi State Bulldogs football players Detroit Lions players United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy officers Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) Military personnel from Texas {{offensive-lineman-1910s-stub