Anthony H. Latone (April 18, 1897 – November 24, 1975) 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 of Lithuanian descent who played six seasons 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). Although he never attended college, he is unofficially considered the leading rusher of 1920s. During the six seasons he played in the NFL, Latone out-rushed (2,648–2,616 in yards) and outscored (26–21 in touchdowns) the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...

Red Grange Harold Edward "Red" Grange (June 13, 1903 – January 28, 1991), nicknamed "the Galloping Ghost" and "the Wheaton Iceman", was an American football halfback for the University of Illinois, the Chicago Bears, and the short-lived New York Yankees ...

, despite playing 30 fewer games. He was also one of the very few known persons to knock Grange out of a game. Grange later said that, "even though (

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

owner)

George Halas George Stanley Halas Sr. (; February 2, 1895October 31, 1983), nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was an American professional football player, coach, and team owner. He was the founder and owner of the National Football League's Chic ...

was paying me, 500 bucks to barn storm the nation, it wasn't enough to be hit by the likes of Latone."

Playing career

At age 11, after his father's death, he worked in his place in the

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

coal mines to support his mother and 5 other siblings. By working as a slaypicker in the mines, Tony developed his legs by pushing mining carts up a slope. Latone played for the

Pottsville Maroons The Pottsville Maroons were an American football team based in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, in the northeastern part of the state. Founded in 1920, they played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1925 to 1928. In 1929 they relocated to Boston ...

historic 1925 team. Latone and the Maroons won the 1925 NFL Championship, before the title was stripped from the team due to a still-disputed rules violation. That season, Tony contributed eight

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

s in which Pottsville attack led the league with 270 points. He also followed the Maroons to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

in 1929, where they became the Boston Bulldogs in 1929. According to his 1930 contract with the

Providence Steam Roller The Providence Steam Rollers (also referred to as the Providence Steam Roller, the Providence Steamroller and the Providence Steamrollers) were a professional American football team based in Providence, Rhode Island in the National Football Leagu ...

, which is now in the

archives, Latone was paid $125 for all NFL daylight games and 60 percent of that sum for NFL "floodlight" games. One of the original team's founders Pearce Johnson explained that the pay reduction for night games was arranged to help pay the installation costs of the floodlights at the

Cyclodome The Cycledrome was an American football stadium and velodrome located in Providence, Rhode Island.This reference erroneously calls it the "Cyclodome." Its name derived from its intended use as a bicycle racing stadium (velodrome) when it was bu ...

. Following his playing career, Latone moved to

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

and went into business with former Maroon teammate Frank Bucher. For many years, he'd sit in the stands at Detroit's

Briggs Stadium Tiger Stadium, previously known as Navin Field and Briggs Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium located in the Corktown, Detroit, Corktown neighborhood of Detroit. The stadium was nicknamed "The Corner" for its location at the intersection of U. ...

, watching the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

play. In 2021, the

Professional Football Researchers Association The Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA) is an organization of researchers whose mission is to preserve and, in some cases, reconstruct professional football history. It was founded on June 22, 1979 in Canton, Ohio by writer/hist ...

named Latone to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2021

Money

Due to having support his family at an early age, Tony only had a fifth-grade education. According to one story, Tony was always paid in cash, a common occurrence for other players of the day. One day, several Maroons players found some money on the bench that belonged to Tony. They asked him, "What are you doing, Tony? Why don't you get yourself a

checking account A transaction account, also called a checking account, chequing account, current account, demand deposit Demand deposits or checkbook money are funds held in demand accounts in commercial banks. These account balances are usually considered m ...

?" Tony didn't understand how a checking account worked and didn't want to get one. But because the other players kept bugging him about it, he eventually gave in and got one. However a week later, the same players found his checkbook lying on the bench, with every check in the book was signed. He'd typically walk into a business and ask the clerk, "What do I owe you?" He would then proceed to fill in the amount on the check because his name was already on it.

Playing career

Money

References

Further reading