Paul Theodore Blessing (January 6, 1919 – May 6, 1990) was an American football player.
| Personal information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born: | January 6, 1919 Tilden, Nebraska | ||||
| Died: | May 6, 1990 (aged 71) Englewood, Colorado | ||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||
| Weight: | 215 lb (98 kg) | ||||
| Career information | |||||
| High school: | Ord (NE) | ||||
| College: | Nebraska-Kearney | ||||
| Position: | End | ||||
| Career history | |||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||
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Blessing was born in Tilden, Nebraska, in 1919. He attended Ord High School in Ord, Nebraska. He helped lead the Ord football team to more than 40 consecutive victories.[1] He played college football for Nebraska-Kearney.[2] He competed in multiple sports at Kearney, winning 11 varsity letters.[1] He graduated from Kearney in May 1942.[3]
After graduating from Kearney in 1942, Blessing rejected offers to play for multiple professional teams, including the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants. He volunteered for military service, but he was rejected due to a punctured ear drum. He worked for a time in an ordnance plant operated by the Guthrie-Tipton Company.[4] He also worked as a football coach in Kewanee, Illinois, and Lexington, Nebraska.[5][6]
In August 1944, he signed to play professional football in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions.[7] He appeared in eight NFL games as an end during the 1944 season.[8]
He was married in December 1942 to Juanita Jillson.[9] In 1945, he became head football coach at Ogallala High School.[10] He died in 1990 in Englewood, Colorado.
References
edit- ^ a b "Paul Blessing, Former Kearney College Star, To Be Our New Coach". The Gothenburg Times. July 29, 1943. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Paul Blessing". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
- ^ "Paul Blessing Graduates". The Ord Quiz. May 28, 1942. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Red Roberts (August 6, 1942). "Just Between Us". The Grand Island Daily Independent. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Paul Blessing Assists Brockman at Kewanee". The Ord Quiz. October 1, 1942. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Paul Blessing Now with Detroit Lions". The Ord Quiz. September 28, 1944. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Blessing To Play Pro Football". The Gothenburg Times. August 10, 1944. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Paul Blessing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
- ^ "Jillson-Blessing". The Ord Quiz. December 31, 1942. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Paul Blessing To Ogallala". The Gothenburg Times. August 23, 1945. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.