Emlen Tunnell

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Emlen Tunnell
Date of birth	March 29, 1922
Place of birth	Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
Date of death	July 22, 1975 (age 53)
Position(s)	Defensive back
College	Iowa
Career Highlights
Pro Bowls	9
Honors	NFL 1950s All-Decade Team
Stats
Statistics	Pro Football Reference DatabaseFootball
Team(s)
1948-1958 1959-1961	New York Giants Green Bay Packers
Pro Football Hall of Fame, 1967

Emlen Lewis Tunnell (March 29, 1922 - July 22, 1975) was an American football player inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame in 1967. He was the first African American inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame.

1 Offense On Defense
2 A Legend In The Making
3 A Giant Pioneer
4 External links

[edit] Offense On Defense

During the 1950s, when the New York Giants were a perennial contender in the National Football League, he served as the key "strut' in the Giants' famed "Umbrella Defense", and in so doing, put fear into the hearts of the opposition. He was known as that team's "offense on defense". Tunnell entered pro football as a free agent in 1948 after having spent time at the University of Toledo and the University of Iowa as well as time in the United States Coast Guard.

[edit] A Legend In The Making

At Toledo, Tunnell suffered a broken neck. His injury was severe enough that both the Army and Navy rejected his enlistment efforts during World War II. The Coast Guard finally accepted him for duty. Following his Coast Guard service, he returned to college at the University of Iowa. He left Iowa at the end of the 1947 season. Most pro teams thought Tunnell would play a third year at Iowa, so he was not drafted in 1948. He decided to seek a pro job on his own and approached the New York Giants, who eventually offered him a contract.

[edit] A Giant Pioneer

Tunnell became the first African American to play for the Giants. He was also the first African American to be elected to the Pro Football Hall Of Fame. Even though Em proved to be an exceptional special teams player, it was on defense that he made his lasting mark.

The umbrella defense that made the Giants so successful in the 1950s was basically a 4-1-6 alignment with two defensive ends dropping back to team with four defensive backs on passing situations. as the safety, Tunnell played at the top, or back of the alignment.

Always a major contributor to his teams' defensive successes, Emlen intercepted a then-record 79 passes in his 14 seasons with The New York Giants and the Green Bay Packers, returning them for 1,282 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also excelled as a returner on special teams, returning 262 punts for 2,217 yards and 5 touchdowns, along with 46 kickoff returns for 1,215 yards and 1 score.

In 1999, he was ranked number 70 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.

Tunnell died from a heart attack, on July 22, 1975.