Arnold George Weinmeister (March 23, 1923 – June 28, 2000) was a Canadian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

. He went to four

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

s, but with only a six-year tenure in the

All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the ...

and

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 ...

combined, his career is one of the shortest of any

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 ...

member. He also played in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

. He was born in

Rhein, Saskatchewan Rhein (pronounced 'Ryan') ( 2016 population: ) is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of Wallace No. 243 and Census Division No. 9. History Rhein incorporated as a village on March 10, 1913. Dem ...

Early years

Weinmeister was a two-time All-City tackle in high school, and played

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 ...

, fullback and tackle during a 4-year tenure at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

which was interrupted by four years of army service. He was scouted by

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

(AAFC) head coach

Ray Flaherty Raymond Paul Flaherty (September 1, 1903 – July 19, 1994) was an American football player and coach in the National Football League, and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was part of three List of NFL champions (1920–69), NFL Champ ...

while playing fullback.

Professional career

Weinmeister turned professional in 1948 and played

for the New York Yankees in the All-America Football Conference until 1949, and for 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. ...

from 1950 to 1953. During his final season in New York, he served as the team captain. In 1949, Weinmeister won second-team All-AAFC as a rookie followed by first-team All-AAFC honors, was voted All-NFL Choice for four consecutive years (1950–1953), and was selected to play in the NFL's

every year from 1950 to 1953. He was on the inaugural roster for the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

, and played for the team for two seasons. He is one of five

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

natives to make it to the NFL (the other four being

Jon Ryan Jonathan Robert Ryan (born November 26, 1981) is a retired Canadian professional football punter. He played college football for the University of Regina Rams, and began his professional career with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (CFL) after being ...

Rueben Mayes Rueben A. Mayes (born June 6, 1963) is a Canadian former American football running back who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) from 1986 to 1993. He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame for his contributions w ...

Ben Heenan Ben Heenan (born February 5, 1990) is a Canadian born former American football guard who played for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL) in 2015. He also played with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of Canadian Football League ...

, and Brett Jones).

References

External links

*''Pro Football Hall of Fame:'
member biography
* ''Professional Football Researchers Association'
article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weinmeister, Arnie 1923 births 2000 deaths American football defensive tackles United States Army personnel of World War II BC Lions players Canadian players of American football Canadian people of German descent Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players New York Giants players New York Yankees (AAFC) players Players of Canadian football from Saskatchewan Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Saskatchewan Washington Huskies football players