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. March 29 is the 88th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (89th in leap years). ... Year 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... Bryn Mawr is in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and Delaware County, Pennsylvania, just west of Philadelphia, along U.S. Highway Route 30 (Lancaster Avenue). ... July 22 is the 203rd day (204th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 162 days remaining. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... In American football, each team has 11 players on the field at one time. ... Defensive back (DB) is a player in American football whose role is primarily pass coverage; that is, the defensive back will stay near a receiver and try to deflect or intercept any passes thrown to him. ... This is a list of athletic conferences of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). ... The University of Iowa, or Iowa for short, is a major national research university located on a 1,900-acre campus in Iowa City, Iowa, USA, on the Iowa River in East Central Iowa. ... The Pro Bowl is the National Football Leagues all-star game. ... // Offense Defense Special teams See also National Football League NFL 1920s All-Decade Team NFL 1930s All-Decade Team NFL 1940s All-Decade Team NFL 1960s All-Decade Team NFL 1970s All-Decade Team NFL 1980s All-Decade Team NFL 1990s All-Decade Team ... City East Rutherford, New Jersey Other nicknames Big Blue Wrecking Crew, Big Blue, G-Men, The Jints, The New York Football Giants Team colors Royal Blue, Red, Gray, and White Head Coach Tom Coughlin Owner John Mara (50%) and Steve Tisch (50%) General manager Jerry Reese League/Conference affiliations National... City Green Bay, Wisconsin Team colors Dark Green, Gold, and White Head Coach Mike McCarthy Owner 111,967 stockholders Chairman Bob Harlan General manager Ted Thompson Fight song Go! You Packers! Go! League/Conference affiliations Independent (1919-1920) National Football League (1921–present) Western Division (1933-1949) National Conference (1950... The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the National Football Leagues Hall of Fame. ... See also: 1966 in sports, other events of 1967, 1968 in sports and the list of years in sports. // Auto Racing Stock car racing: Mario Andretti wins the Daytona 500 NASCAR Championship — Richard Petty May 31-Indianapolis 500 — A.J. Foyt USAC Racing — A.J. Foyt won the season championship... March 29 is the 88th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (89th in leap years). ... Year 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar). ... July 22 is the 203rd day (204th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 162 days remaining. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... United States simply as football, is a competitive team sport that is both fast-paced and strategic. ... The Pro Football Hall of Fame is actually the National Football Leagues Hall of Fame. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ...

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. // Recovering from World War II and its aftermath, the economic miracle emerged in West Germany and Italy. ... City East Rutherford, New Jersey Other nicknames Big Blue Wrecking Crew, Big Blue, G-Men, The Jints, The New York Football Giants Team colors Royal Blue, Red, Gray, and White Head Coach Tom Coughlin Owner John Mara (50%) and Steve Tisch (50%) General manager Jerry Reese League/Conference affiliations National... For other uses of National Football League, see National Football League (disambiguation). ... The University of Toledo is a public university situated in Toledo, Ohio. ... The University of Iowa, or Iowa for short, is a major national research university located on a 1,900-acre campus in Iowa City, Iowa, USA, on the Iowa River in East Central Iowa. ... The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is a branch of the United States armed forces involved in maritime law enforcement, mariner assistance, search and rescue, and national defense, among other duties of coast guards elsewhere. ...

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. The United States Army is the largest branch of the United States armed forces and has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... USN redirects here. ... Combatants Allied Powers Axis Powers Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000,000 Total dead: 50,000,000 Military dead: 8,000,000 Civilian dead: 4,000,000 Total dead 12,000,000 World War II (abbreviated WWII), or the Second World War, was a worldwide conflict... The University of Iowa, or Iowa for short, is a major national research university located on a 1,900-acre campus in Iowa City, Iowa, USA, on the Iowa River in East Central Iowa. ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... Year 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... City East Rutherford, New Jersey Other nicknames Big Blue Wrecking Crew, Big Blue, G-Men, The Jints, The New York Football Giants Team colors Royal Blue, Red, Gray, and White Head Coach Tom Coughlin Owner John Mara (50%) and Steve Tisch (50%) General manager Jerry Reese League/Conference affiliations National...

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. Special teams are units in American football and Canadian football that are on the field during kickoffs, free kicks, punts, and field goal and extra point attempts. ...

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. // Recovering from World War II and its aftermath, the economic miracle emerged in West Germany and Italy. ...

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. City Green Bay, Wisconsin Team colors Dark Green, Gold, and White Head Coach Mike McCarthy Owner 111,967 stockholders Chairman Bob Harlan General manager Ted Thompson Fight song Go! You Packers! Go! League/Conference affiliations Independent (1919-1920) National Football League (1921–present) Western Division (1933-1949) National Conference (1950...

In 1999, he was ranked number 70 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... The Sporting News (TSN) is an American-based sports newspaper. ...

Tunnell died from a heart attack, on July 22, 1975. July 22 is the 203rd day (204th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 162 days remaining. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ...

External links

• Pro Football Hall of Fame: Member Biography
• Football cards