Mel Meeks (born c. 1935) was a

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

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 ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

Career

A native of

Muskogee, Oklahoma Muskogee () is the thirteenth-largest city in Oklahoma and the county seat of Muskogee County. Home to Bacone College, it lies approximately southeast of Tulsa. The population of the city was 36,878 as of the 2020 census, a 6.0 percent decrease ...

, Meeks never 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 ...

and began his professional career relatively late in life after playing for a team on the

Westover Air Reserve Base Westover Air Reserve Base is an Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) installation located in the Massachusetts communities of Chicopee and Ludlow, near the city of Springfield, Massachusetts. Established at the outset of World War II, today Westo ...

during his time in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

.''Connecticut Gridiron: Football Minor Leaguers of the 1960s and 1970s''
By William J. Ryczek. He spent his entire career in

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

s, beginning his career with the

Holyoke Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, that lies between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,238. Located north of Springfield ...

Merchants/Knights before signing on with the Springfield Acorns of the

Atlantic Coast Football League The Atlantic Coast Football League (ACFL) was a professional american football minor league that operated from 1962 to 1973. Until 1969, many of its franchises had working agreements with NFL and AFL teams to serve as farm clubs. The league pai ...

in 1963. He played two years there, including the 1964 season when he rushed for a league-record 1,460 yards.Dr. Ken (September 2013)
ONE DEFINITION OF "MINOR LEAGUE" FOOTBALL, PART TWO
. ''HelmetHut.com''. Retrieved September 10, 2015. He then moved back to Holyoke, joining the now-renamed Bombers as they joined the ACFL. In 1966, Meeks moved to

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

and played for the

Hartford Charter Oaks The Hartford Charter Oaks were a professional American football team based in Hartford, Connecticut. They began play in 1964 as a member of the Atlantic Coast Football League, replacing the Ansonia Black Knights. In 1965 the Charter Oaks were on ...

of the

Continental Football League The Continental Football League (COFL) was a professional American football minor league that operated in North America from 1965 through 1969. It was established following the collapse of the original United Football League, and hoped to beco ...

. When the Charter Oaks disbanded in 1967, he remained in Connecticut and became a charter member of its replacement, the

Hartford Knights The Hartford Knights were a professional American football team based in Hartford, Connecticut. They began play in 1968 as a member of the Atlantic Coast Football League, replacing the Hartford Charter Oaks. For the 1969 season, they became the af ...

of the ACFL. 1968 would prove to be another high point for Meeks's career; as part of a tandem with fullback

Marv Hubbard ''For the career criminal of the same name, see Battle of Alcatraz'' Marvin Ronald Hubbard (May 7, 1946 – May 4, 2015) was a professional American football player. He played fullback for the American Football League's and later National F ...

(who would later go on to a three-time Pro Bowl career with the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

), the two would finish first and second in league rushing yardage as the Knights went onto that year's league championship. Meeks would continue to play minor professional football until 1970. Meeks was a power runner who amassed 4,198 yards over the course of his six seasons in the ACFL and an additional 512 yards with the Charter Oaks. There was much speculation as to why Meeks never made it to 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 ...

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

, even as the existence of the latter league had expanded the number of opportunities for professional players (at least one contemporary report suggests he did have a preseason stint with the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

, but he never made that team or any other's regular season roster).The Ottawa Journal from Ottawa - Page 20
/ref> Most commonly cited are his relatively old age at the peak of his success, a perceived lack of quickness, and his lack of college football experience; some unnamed teammates also alleged Meeks, who was black, was the victim of racism, and his generally modest personality may have prevented him from fully promoting his career.

Personal life

Meeks was married and had three children, one by birth and two through adoption. His biological son and one of his adopted sons shared the same name (Richard) and age (both were born in 1957).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meeks, Mel Sportspeople from Muskogee, Oklahoma Players of American football from Oklahoma Continental Football League players Minnesota Vikings players American football running backs 1930s births Living people