Paul Christman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Paul Christman (March 5, 1918-March 2, 1970) was an American football player and a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. He played college football for the University of Missouri and professionally for the Chicago Cardinals and Green Bay Packers.
A St. Louis native, Christman led the Missouri Tigers to a 20-8 record during his three seasons as their starting quarterback. He was a two-time All-American, and led the nation in touchdown passes in 1940. He was Missouri's all-time leading passer until 1976, when he was surpassed by Steve Pisarkiewicz. While at Missouri University he was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity. His jersey number, 44, is one of six retired by the school. In 1956 he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Christman played six seasons in the National Football League, from 1945-1950. He was a member of the so-called "Million Dollar Backfield," which led the Cardinals to the 1947 NFL Championship. A notoriously poor ball-handler, at one time he owned the record for most fumbles in a game (five) and most own fumbles recovered in a season (eight).
After retiring as a player he worked as a color commentator for American Football League games, opposite legendary play-by-play announcer Curt Gowdy. In 1967, the pair called Super Bowl I for NBC. Christman died in 1970 in Lake Forest, Illinois from a heart attack.
His daughter is noted Scientology critic Tory Christman.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- NFL.com list of fumble records
- Pro Football Hall of Fame article on the "Million Dollar Backfield"
- Career statistics at databaseFootball.com
Categories: American football quarterbacks | Chicago Cardinals players | Green Bay Packers players | Missouri Tigers football players | People from St. Louis | 1918 births | 1970 deaths | American Football League | American sports announcers | The Dream Backfield | Deaths from cardiovascular disease
