Merwin Luther Hodel (May 27, 1931 – June 15, 1988) 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 ...

fullback who played one season with the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

of 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 ...

(NFL). He was drafted by the New York Giants in the fourth 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 de ...

. 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 ...

at the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado syst ...

and attended Rockford West High School in

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, located in the far northern part of the state. Situated on the banks of the Rock River, Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County (a small portion of the city is located in Ogle County). ...

College career

Hodel played for the

Colorado Buffaloes The Colorado Buffaloes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Colorado. The university sponsors 17 varsity sports teams. Both the men's and women's teams are called the Buffaloes (Buffs for short) or, rarely, the Golden Buffalo ...

, earning First-team All- Big Seven honors in 1950 and 1951. He rushed for 597 yards and six touchdowns on 137 attempts his senior year in 1951. He was also

hurdles Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

champion of the Big Seven Conference.

Professional career

New York Giants

Hodel was selected by the New York Giants with the 38th pick in the 1952 NFL Draft. He spent the 1952 off-season with the Giants before leaving the team due to a foot injury. He later signed with the Giants on October 29, 1953 and played in two games for the team during the 1953 season.

References

External links

Just Sports Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodel, Merwin 1931 births 1988 deaths American football fullbacks Colorado Buffaloes football players New York Giants players American male hurdlers College men's track and field athletes in the United States Players of American football from Rockford, Illinois