Melvin Howard "Mel" Becket, (1929 – December 9, 1956) was an American
college football and professional
Canadian football
Canadian football () is a sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's scoring area ( ...
player, and was one of 62 people who died on
Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810
Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810-9 was a Canadair North Star on a scheduled flight from Vancouver to Calgary (continuing to Regina, Winnipeg, and Toronto). The plane crashed into Mount Slesse near Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada, on ...
, on December 9, 1956.
Becket played his entire four-year professional football career as a
tight end
The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...
and
center
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...
for the
Saskatchewan Roughriders
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division.
The Roughriders were founded in ...
of the
Western Interprovincial Football Union
The West Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League (CFL), its counterpart being the East Division. Although the CFL was not founded until 1958, the West Division and its clubs are descended from earlier leagu ...
, and his 40
jersey
Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the l ...
is one of eight that has been
retired
Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload.
Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...
by the club.
College career
Becket played
college football for the
Indiana University Hoosiers from 1947 to 1951.
Professional career
Following college, Becket was drafted in the 8th round of the
1952 NFL Draft
The 1952 National Football League Draft was held on January 17, 1952, at Hotel Statler in New York. Selections made by New York Yanks were assigned to the new Dallas Texans.
This was the sixth year that the first overall pick was a bonus pick d ...
by the
Green Bay Packers.
Becket spurned the NFL and instead signed with the WIFU
Saskatchewan Roughriders
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division.
The Roughriders were founded in ...
, where he starred for four years. He was named a Western All-Star in 1956, and was on his way back to
Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina () is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 census, Regina had a city populatio ...
, on Flight 810 after playing in the East–West All-Star game in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, on December 8, 1956.
Death
Becket, along with Roughriders teammates,
Mario DeMarco
Mario Joseph DeMarco, (July 24, 1924 – December 9, 1956) was an American college football, National Football League, and professional Canadian football player, and was one of 62 people who died on Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810, on December ...
,
Gordon Sturtridge
Gordon Henry Sturtridge (1929 – December 9, 1956) was a professional Canadian football player, and was one of 62 people who died on Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810, on December 9, 1956.
Sturtridge played his entire five-year professional footb ...
, and
Ray Syrnyk
Raymond Nicholas "Ray" Syrnyk, (1934 – December 9, 1956) was a professional Canadian football player, and was one of 62 people who died on Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810.
Syrnyk played professionally for the Saskatchewan Roughriders as a ro ...
, were passengers on Flight 810 with another WIFU player,
Calvin Jones, of the
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fie ...
.
All five players were present at the
1956
Events
January
* January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan.
* January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, ar ...
All-Star game in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, and were headed back to their respective teams' home cities. The five players were accompanied by 54 other passengers, which included 1 football official, and 3 crew members, who all lost their lives in
Western Canada's worst aviation disaster on December 9, 1956, on
Slesse Mountain
Slesse Mountain, usually referred to as Mount Slesse, is a mountain just north of the US-Canada border, in the Cascade Mountains of British Columbia, near the town of Chilliwack. It is notable for its large, steep local relief. For example, its w ...
(Mount Slesse) near
Chilliwack
Chilliwack ( )( hur, Ts'elxwéyeqw) is a city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Chilliwack is surrounded by mountains and home to recreational areas such as Cultus Lake and Chilliwack Lake Provincial Parks. There are numerous outdo ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
.
The crash is the subject of the 2012 documentary ''The Crash'', part of
TSN's ''Engraved on a Nation'' series of eight documentaries celebrating the 100th
Grey Cup.
Legacy
Since
1957
1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...
, in memory of Becket and his teammate
Mario DeMarco
Mario Joseph DeMarco, (July 24, 1924 – December 9, 1956) was an American college football, National Football League, and professional Canadian football player, and was one of 62 people who died on Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810, on December ...
, the
DeMarco-Becket Memorial Trophy has been annually awarded to the most outstanding lineman in the
CFL's West Division.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Becket, Mel
1929 births
1956 deaths
Players of Canadian football from Chicago
American football tight ends
Indiana Hoosiers football players
American players of Canadian football
Canadian football offensive linemen
Saskatchewan Roughriders players
Accidental deaths in British Columbia
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Canada
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1956
Players of American football from Chicago