James Stewart Youel (February 13, 1922 – April 9, 2020) 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 ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

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 ...

for 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 ...

and Boston Yanks. Born in Vinton, Iowa, he 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 the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

Early life

Youel was born in Vinton, Iowa and attended

Fort Madison High School The Fort Madison High School (FMHS) is located in Fort Madison, Iowa. As the only high school of the Fort Madison Community School District, it serves Fort Madison, Houghton, St. Paul, and West Point. It also serves the unincorporated area of Den ...

, where he participated in football,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, and

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

. His mother was originally hesitant to let him play football because she had lost a brother to a broken neck while he played football.

College career

Youel attended and played

at the

as a

and punter. In 1942 he helped the Hawkeyes defeat the previously unbeaten Wisconsin Badgers, 6–0. During the game, he had four punts of 50+ yards, which helped stall the Wisconsin offense. After the 1942 season, Youel was chosen to play in the Chicago College All-Star Game, and the All-Stars beat the

27–7. In 1943 Youel graduated with a degree in

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...

Navy

After graduating from college, Youel enlisted in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during World War II. While stationed at

Naval Station Great Lakes Naval Station Great Lakes (NAVSTA Great Lakes) is the home of the United States Navy's only recruit training, boot camp, located near North Chicago, Illinois, North Chicago, in Lake County, Illinois. Important tenant commands include the Recruit ...

, he played football and was a

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

Professional career

After finishing his service with the Navy, Youel was signed by Cleveland Rams in January 1945. However, he was traded to the

for

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

Al Fiorentino before ever playing with the Rams. In 1946 and 1947 with the Redskins, he served as the backup quarterback for Sammy Baugh.

1948

On June 1, 1948, Youel was traded, along with end Joe Duckworth, to the Boston Yanks for

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

Tom Dean. He started only one game for the Yanks (in early October) and was then waived, after which he was signed by 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 ...

. Youel misunderstood the signing, however, and accidentally reported to the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

, and missed the October 24th game against the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

. He then took a train to Detroit where he was informed that he had been sent to the Rams. Youel never played for the Rams, however, and was sent back to the Washington Redskins for the end of the 1948 season.

Personal life

After Youel retired from the NFL, he became a math teacher and football coach for his alma mater, Fort Madison High School. In 2008 Fort Madison renamed their football field "Jim Youel Field" in his honor. Youel was named to th
Iowa Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame
He died on April 9, 2020, in

Traer, Iowa Traer is a city in Tama County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,583 at the time of the 2020 census. Traer is known for the iron spiral staircase that originally led to the office of the local newspaper. The staircase is freestanding ...

at age 98.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Youel, James 1922 births 2020 deaths American football quarterbacks Boston Yanks players Corpus Christi Naval Air Station Comets football players Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets football players Iowa Hawkeyes football players Washington Redskins players United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy sailors Players of American football from Cedar Rapids, Iowa People from Vinton, Iowa Military personnel from Iowa