Walter M. Clago (June 28, 1899 – January 16, 1955) 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 ...

end End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: ** End (category theory) ** End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron footbal ...

who played two 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) with the Detroit Tigers ( 1921) and Rock Island Independents (

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éireann, the day after Éamon de Valera ...

). He played college football for the

University of Detroit The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Roman Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Catholic univers ...

Titans football team in

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the ...

and also served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

(1916–1919),

Detroit Police Department The Detroit Police Department (DPD) is a municipal police force based in and responsible for the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. Founded in 1865, it has nearly 2,500 officers, making it the largest law enforcement organization in Michigan. Histo ...

(1920–1945), and Pima County Sheriff's Department (1951–1955).

Early years

Clago was born in

Gibraltar, Michigan Gibraltar is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,656 at the 2010 census. Gibraltar is a southern city of Metro Detroit and is about south of the city of Detroit. The city is bordered by the Detroit River ...

, in 1899. His parents were Bezallet Burton "Zalie" Clago and Catherine (Manausan) Clago. He attended

Cass Technical High School Cass Technical High School (simply referred to as Cass Tech) is a public high school in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, United States.

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

. Clago enlisted in the

on June 1, 1916, shortly before his 17th birthday.Application for Headstone or Marker for Walter M. Clago, dated Jan. 24, 1955. Ancestry.com. U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1963 atabase on-line He served on the Mexican border prior to the United States entry into

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. When the United States entered the war, Clago was sent to France where he was injured, received the Purple Heart, and reached the rank of sergeant. He was discharged from the military on June 1, 1919. After his discharge from the Army, Clago enrolled at the

and became a star football player in 1919.

Professional football

In August 1920, Clago joined the

. While serving with the police department, he also played two seasons of professional football in the early years of the NFL. He appeared in seven games as a left end for the 1921 Detroit Tigers and seven games as a right end for the 1922 Rock Island Independents.

Policing career

After his football career ended, Clago remained with the Detroit Police Department until 1945. He was commander of the department's motor division when he retired. After retiring from the Detroit Police Department, Clago moved to

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

, where he had served in the Army prior to World War I. In 1951, he joined the Pima County Sheriff's Department as a night captain. He lived in the Tucson mountains and was promoted to undersheriff in June 1953.

Family and death

Clago was married twice. He married Gertrude Richwine in April 1920. They had a daughter (Joyce Lee) and two sons (Laurence and Walter). Gertrude died in September 1953, and Clago married his second wife, Phyllis, in December 1953. In January 1955, Clago died at age 55 from a cerebral hemorrhage at a

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

hospital. He was buried at Evergreen Memorial Park in Tucson.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clago, Walt 1899 births 1955 deaths Players of American football from Detroit American football ends Detroit Titans football players Detroit Tigers (NFL) players Rock Island Independents players People from Wayne County, Michigan Detroit Police Department officers United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army non-commissioned officers