George M. "Mack" Flenniken (January 24, 1905 – May 26, 1956) 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 wi ...

player and coach. He played professionally 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 ...

(NFL) with the

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ...

in 1930 and the New York Giants in 1931. Flenniken served as the head football coach at

Geneva College Geneva College is a private Christian college in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1848, in Northwood, Ohio, the college moved to its present location in 1880, where it continues to educate a student body of about 1400 traditional under ...

from 1928 to 1929, compiling a record of 7–11–1. He played college football at Centenary College of Louisiana and at Geneva.

Playing career

College football

Flenniken played college football for Centenary College of Louisiana in Shreveport and then at

in 1926 and 1927. His college career mirrored

Cal Hubbard Robert Calvin Hubbard (October 31, 1900 – October 17, 1977) was an American professional football player and Major League Baseball (MLB) umpire. After playing college football at Centenary College and Geneva College, Hubbard played in the N ...

who played for both colleges and also later became a coach at Geneva. Both players followed

Bo McMillin Alvin Nugent "Bo" McMillin (January 12, 1895 – March 31, 1952) was an American football player and coach at the collegiate and professional level. He played college football at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, where he was a three-tim ...

, who coached first at Centenary and then later at Geneva.

Chicago Cardinals

Flenniken got his start in the NFL with the

in 1930. He was a flexible player on both sides of the ball, recording three rushing touchdowns and also showing a threat using the

forward pass In several forms of football, a forward pass is the throwing of the ball in the direction in which the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line. The forward pass is one of the main distinguishers between gridir ...

and picked up an

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team ...

while playing defense. At Chicago, he played alongside future

hall of famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

Ernie Nevers Ernest Alonzo Nevers (June 11, 1902 – May 3, 1976), nicknamed "Big Dog", was an American football and baseball player and football coach. Widely regarded as one of the best football players in the first half of the 20th century, he played as ...

New York Giants

In 1931, Flenniken moved to the New York Giants, where he was a part of the "committee of quarterbacks" along with Red Smith and

Hap Moran Francis Dale "Hap" Moran (July 31, 1901 – December 30, 1994) was a collegiate and professional American football player. He played mainly at halfback for Carnegie Tech (1922), Grinnell College (1923–1925), the Frankford Yellow Jackets (1926) ...

. For the Giants, Flenniken saw less playing time but in his four games and one start he recorded successes in both passing and rushing.

Coaching career

Flenniken was the 14th head football coach at

Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania Beaver Falls is a city in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 9,005 at the 2020 census. Located 31 miles (50 km) northwest of Pittsburgh, the city lies along the Beaver River, six miles (9 km) north of its c ...

and he held that position for two seasons, from 1928 until 1929. His coaching record at Geneva was 7–11–1. He was an assistant coach in the Pacific Coast Conference for three seasons at

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

under Babe Curfman, from

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

through

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...

Head coaching record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flenniken, Mack 1905 births 1956 deaths Centenary Gentlemen football players Chicago Cardinals players Geneva Golden Tornadoes football coaches Geneva Golden Tornadoes football players New York Giants players Players of American football from Fort Worth, Texas Coaches of American football from Texas