Charles Avedisian
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Charles Toros Avedisian (September 19, 1917 – August 26, 1983) was a professional football player 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 ...
, and later a public school administrator of athletic programs.


Early life

Born in
West Hoboken, New Jersey West Hoboken was a municipality that existed in Hudson County, New Jersey, from 1861 to 1925. It merged with Union Hill to form Union City on June 1, 1925. The town is notable for being the first city in which Mallomars were sold.Barron, Jame ...
(now part of Union City) to parents of
Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
descent, Avedisian grew up in
Pawtucket, Rhode Island Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence and East Providence to the south, Central Falls ...
and graduated from Pawtucket Senior High School (now known as the William E. Tolman High School) in 1936. He entered
Providence College Providence College is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, local diocese, it offers 47 undergradua ...
where he received a B.Phil degree with the class of 1941. He later studied at
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
where he received an
M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
degree in 1944 and a Teachers College Professional Diploma in 1953 from Columbia for expertise in supervision of health education and physical education in schools.


New York Football Giants

Avedisian 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 Providence College where he was co-captain of the 1940 Friar football team (Providence College no longer has a football team). He then joined 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. ...
where he played right guard under coach Steve Owen from 1942 to 1944 while he was a student at Columbia (Avedisian is one of two Providence alumni to have played for the Giants, the other being
Hank Soar Albert Henry Soar (August 17, 1914 – December 24, 2001) was an American football running back and defensive back in the National Football League who went on to have a long career as an umpire in Major League Baseball. Soar played nine seasons f ...
). He was among over 1000 personnel in the NFL at the time who also served in the military in WWII. At 5'9" and 225 pounds he would be considered rather small by today's norm for a guard where players at this position typically exceed 6' and weigh more than 300 lbs. Avedisian was a member of some notable Giants teams. He started in a game against 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 ...
on November 7, 1943 at
Tiger Stadium (Detroit) Tiger Stadium, previously known as Navin Field and Briggs Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium located in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit. The stadium was nicknamed "The Corner" for its location at the intersection of Michigan and Trumbul ...
which ended in a scoreless tie. No NFL game played since then has ended in a scoreless tie. The 1944 Giants are ranked as the #1 defensive team in NFL history in terms of points per game allowed, "...a truly awesome unit". They gave up only 7.5 points per game (a record that still stands) and shut out five of their ten opponents. In one of those shutouts, a 31-0 victory over the
Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
on December 10, 1944 at
Griffith Stadium Griffith Stadium stood in Washington, D.C., from 1911 to 1965, between Georgia Avenue and 5th Street (left field), and between W Street and Florida Avenue NW. The site was once home to a wooden baseball park. Built in 1891, it was called Bounda ...
in
Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
, Avedisian (as a defensive guard) intercepted a pass thrown by Redskins great
Sammy Baugh Samuel Adrian Baugh (March 17, 1914 – December 17, 2008) was an American professional football player and coach. During his college and professional careers, he most notably played quarterback, but also played as a safety and punter. He ...
and returned it 48 yards for a touchdown. The next week the Giants lost 14-7 in the
1944 NFL Championship Game The 1944 NFL Championship Game was the 12th National Football League (NFL) title game, played on December 17 at the Polo Grounds in New York City, with an attendance of 46,016. The game featured the Green Bay Packers (8–2), champions of the ...
- the equivalent of today's
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
- played at New York's
Polo Grounds The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 through 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built fo ...
to a
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
team coached by
Curly Lambeau Earl Louis "Curly" Lambeau (April 9, 1898 – June 1, 1965) was an American professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). Lambeau, along with his friend and fellow Green Bay, Wisconsin native George Whitney Cal ...
. The loser's share for playing in this game was $900 per player and the winning team share was $1,500 which were records at the time, but a far cry from the $49,000 losing share and $97,000 winning share for the 2016 Super Bowl. Said Avedisian in 1979, "I took my money and went to
Gimbels Gimbel Brothers (known simply as Gimbels) was an American department store corporation that operated for over a century, from 1842 until 1987. Gimbel patriarch Adam Gimbel opened his first store in Vincennes, Indiana, in 1842. In 1887, the compa ...
with my wife and we bought a rug. We still have it". Avedisian also contributed to football strategy by his invention with Robert G. Trocolor of the "unbalanced T formation" which they described as "...the most powerful offense in football, conjoining the speed and deceptiveness of the T backfield with the power of the unbalanced line". Avedisian was inducted into the Providence College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1972 and the
New Britain, Connecticut New Britain is a city in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located approximately southwest of Hartford. According to 2020 Census, the population of the city is 74,135. Among the southernmost of the communities encompassed wit ...
Sports Hall of Fame in 1999


Later years

During his last year with the Giants Avedisian began a career in secondary school education, first at the Columbia Grammar School in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
where he was a biology teacher and the head football coach (his 1944 CGS football team record was 3-2-1) and then in 1945 at the
Horace Mann School , motto_translation = Great is the truth and it prevails , address = 231 West 246th Street , city = The Bronx , state = New York , zipcode = 10471 , count ...
in
Riverdale, New York Riverdale is a residential neighborhood in the northwestern portion of the New York City borough of the Bronx. Riverdale, which had a population of 47,850 as of the 2000 United States Census, contains the city's northernmost point, at the College ...
where from 1945 to 1951 he taught biology and was the head football coach. His teams compiled a record of 19-18-3. He then embarked on a 28-year career as a public school administrator of athletic programs, first in the New Britain public school system as its Director of Athletics until 1966 and then in the
Darien, Connecticut Darien ( ) is a coastal town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. With a population of 21,499 and a land area of just under 13 square miles, it is the smallest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast. It has the youngest population of any n ...
public school system as Director of Athletics where he remained until his retirement in 1980. During his period in New Britain, Avedisian was also responsible for arranging halftime performances of the
New Britain High School New Britain High School is a public high school in New Britain, Connecticut, United States, part of New Britain Public Schools. New Britain High School is one of the largest high schools in the state. Notable alumni * Anita Antoinette * Steve ...
marching band at several
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. ...
games played at
Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the origi ...
in the early 60s. Avedisian received many honors for his accomplishments as a physical education administrator including the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance's Channing Mann Award http://www.shapeamerica.org/recognition/awards/channing-mann-award.cfm in 1977 for excellence in the administration of athletic programs in public schools. He was married to the former Alyce Basmajian of
Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
from 1944 until his death on August 26, 1983 in New Britain. They had two children, Dr. C. Thomas Avedisian of
Ithaca, New York Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named a ...
and Carole Avedisian of
North Andover, Massachusetts North Andover is an affluent town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census the population was 30,915. History Native Americans inhabited what is now northeastern Massachusetts for thousands of years prior to European c ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avedisian, Chuck 1917 births 1983 deaths High school football coaches in New York (state) Players of American football from New Jersey Sportspeople from Union City, New Jersey Providence Friars football players New York Giants players Teachers College, Columbia University alumni People from Union City, New Jersey