Andy Farkas
American football player (1916–2001)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Andrew Geza Farkas (May 2, 1916 – April 10, 2001) was an American professional football fullback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins and the Detroit Lions.
Clay Center, Ohio, U.S.
Traverse City, Michigan, U.S.
| No. 44, 42 | |||||||||||||||
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| Position | Fullback | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | May 2, 1916 Clay Center, Ohio, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Died | April 10, 2001 (aged 84) Traverse City, Michigan, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 189 lb (86 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | University of Detroit Jesuit (Detroit, Michigan) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Detroit (1934-1937) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1938: 1st round, 9th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Early life
Farkas was born in Clay Center, Ohio of Hungarian origins, and attended St. John's High School in Toledo for two years before moving to Detroit, Michigan and graduating from the University of Detroit Jesuit High School.
College career
Farkas played college football at the University of Detroit Mercy.
Professional career
Farkas was drafted in the first round of the 1938 NFL draft by the Washington Redskins, where he played from 1938 to 1944, and finished his career with the Detroit Lions in 1945.[1] He also led the Redskins in rushing and scoring in 1938-39 and 1942–43, as well as helped lead the Redskins to an NFL Championship in 1942. He led the NFL in scoring and all-purpose yards in 1939.
One of the highlights of his seven-year tour was catching a 99-yard touchdown pass from Frank Filchock on October 15, 1939. In the Eastern Division playoff game on December 19, 1943, he scored three touchdown runs in a 28–0 victory over the New York Giants. His 18 points scored in a playoff game was an NFL record for nine years. [2][3]
He was elected to the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, the Ohio Sports Hall of Fame and founded the Gus Dorais Foundation at the University of Detroit in 1955. In 2002, Farkas was named one of the 70 greatest Redskins in team history.
Farkas was pictured wearing eye black as far back as 1942 and is credited as the first player in the NFL to wear it.[4]
NFL career statistics
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won the NFL Championship | |
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
Regular season
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 1938 | WAS | 9 | 4 | 75 | 315 | 4.2 | 6 | 9 | 66 | 7.3 | 0 |
| 1939 | WAS | 11 | 7 | 139 | 547 | 3.9 | 5 | 16 | 437 | 27.3 | 5 |
| 1940 | WAS | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 1941 | WAS | 11 | 2 | 85 | 224 | 2.6 | 2 | 12 | 77 | 6.4 | 0 |
| 1942 | WAS | 10 | 8 | 125 | 468 | 3.7 | 3 | 11 | 143 | 13.0 | 2 |
| 1943 | WAS | 10 | 8 | 110 | 327 | 3.0 | 5 | 19 | 202 | 10.6 | 4 |
| 1944 | WAS | 10 | 6 | 21 | 85 | 4.0 | 0 | 4 | 29 | 7.3 | 0 |
| 1945 | DET | 8 | 3 | 31 | 137 | 4.4 | 0 | 9 | 132 | 14.7 | 2 |
| 70 | 38 | 587 | 2,103 | 3.6 | 21 | 80 | 1,086 | 13.6 | 13 | ||
