Chief Elkins
American football player and decathlete (1899–1966)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fait Vernon "Chief" Elkins (August 16, 1899 – August 9, 1966) was an American football player and decathlete.
Utica, New York, U.S.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Elkins in 1928 | |
| Profile | |
|---|---|
| Position | Back |
| Personal information | |
| Born | August 16, 1899 Utica, New York, U.S. |
| Died | August 10, 1966 (aged 67) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Listed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Listed weight | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Haskell (KS) |
| College | Haskell, Southeastern State Teachers (Durant, Oklahoma), Dallas University, Nebraska |
| Career history | |
| |
| Stats at Pro Football Reference | |
Elkins was born in Utica, New York, in 1899. He enrolled at the Haskell Indian School at age 15.[1] He played college football at Haskell (1921–1923), Southeastern State Teachers College, Dallas University, and Nebraska (1926–1927).[1][2] He held the national decathlon record in 1928 while attending Nebraska.[3][4] He pulled a tendon that prevented him from competing in the 1928 Summer Olympics.[1][5]
Elkins also played professional football in the National Football League (NFL) as a back for the Frankford Yellow Jackets (1928–1929), Chicago Cardinals (1929), and Cincinnati Reds (1933). He appeared in 20 NFL games, 10 as a starter.[6]
Elkins died in Philadelphia in 1966.[6][7]
He was posthumously profiled by Sports Illustrated in 1991 as "among the greatest athletes ever seen in this country — a golden sportsman during sport's golden age."[1]
