Lynn Chandnois (February 24, 1925 – April 19, 2011) 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 ...

player who earned All-American honors for the

Michigan State Spartans The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 23 varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the school colors are green and wh ...

in 1949, won the NFL Player of the Year award for 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 ...

in 1952, and played twice in 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 ...

Biography

Early years

Lynn Chandnois was born in the

Upper Peninsula of Michigan The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by t ...

on February 24, 1925. He moved to

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 8 ...

to live with an aunt and attend school. Chandnois earned All-State honors at

Flint Central High School Flint Central High School was one of the Flint Community Schools, located in Flint, Michigan, USA. Flint Central was the city's oldest school. Its first building was built in 1875, and the school moved into the present building in 1923. It was ca ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and football. After graduating in 1944, he joined the

United States Naval Air Corps A naval aviator is a commissioned officer or warrant officer qualified as a crewed aircraft pilot in the United States Navy or United States Marine Corps. United States Coast Guard crewed aircraft pilots are officially designated as "Coast Guar ...

and served for two years where he achieved the rank of Aviation Machinist's Mate 3rd Class Petty Officer.

Collegiate career

Chandnois a 6 ft. 2 in. 195 lb halfback,

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

and

kick returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another position ...

attended

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

and was a four-year football standout for the Spartans. He also played

for one year. He ranks first in career pass interceptions (20) and interception return yardage (384), and was the team's MVP in 1948 and an All-American in 1949. He was the State of Michigan's Outstanding Amateur Athlete in 1950.

Professional career

He was drafted by the

in the first round (eighth overall) of the 1950 NFL Draft. He played in seven NFL seasons with the Steelers from 1950 to 1956.

Life after football

Death and legacy

Lynn died on April 19, 2011, in Flint, Michigan, survived by his wife Paulette, daughters Lynda Harris of Grand Blanc, Michigan, and Suzanne Arnold of Prescott, Arizona. Only

Gale Sayers Gale Eugene Sayers (May 30, 1943September 23, 2020) was an American professional football player who was both a halfback and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). In a relatively brief but highly productive NFL career, Saye ...

has a higher lifetime NFL kickoff return average.Pro Football Hall of Fame - Top 20 - Kick Return Average
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Footnotes

1925 births 2011 deaths American football halfbacks American football return specialists Michigan State Spartans football players Pittsburgh Steelers players Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players United States Navy non-commissioned officers People from Delta County, Michigan Players of American football from Flint, Michigan Military personnel from Michigan Flint Central High School alumni {{runningback-1920s-stub