Glenn Presnell
Encyclopedia
Glenn Emery "Press" Presnell (July 28, 1905 – September 13, 2004) was an American football
player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He set the NFL single-season scoring record in 1933 and led the league in total offense. He was the last surviving member of the Detroit Lions
inaugural 1934 team and helped lead the team to its first NFL championship in 1935. He also set an NFL record with a 54-yard field goal in 1934, a record which was not broken for 19 years.
, Presnell attended DeWitt High School and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln
. He played college football
as a halfback
for the Nebraska Cornhuskers football
team from 1925 to 1927. In 1925, Presnell led Nebraska to a 14-0 victory over an Illini team
that included the "Galloping Ghost", Red Grange
. As one writer put it, "all the galloping was done by Presnell this day." Presnell was selected as a first-team player on the 1927 College Football All-America Team
.
in Ironton, Ohio
. He was a player-coach for the team and also taught science at Ironton High School. Presnell was a halfback in Ironton's single wing offense and also played on defense at what would later be considered the safety position. Although not officially part of the National Football League
, the Tanks played against teams in the league. In 1930, Presnell led Ironton to victories over both the New York Giants
and the Chicago Bears
. Against the Giants, the Tanks trailed 12-6 with three seconds left. Presnell threw a touchdown pass to Gene Alford
and then kicked the extra point to give Ironton a 13-12 victory over a Giants team that finished in second place in the NFL. He also scored two touchdowns against the Bears, including an 88-yard run.
After the 1930 season, the Tanks folded. In 1931, Presnell joined the Portsmouth Spartans in the NFL. He remained with Portsmouth from 1931 to 1933. He had his best season in 1933, when he led the NFL in total offense
with 1,296 yards. He also broke the single-season NFL scoring record with 64 points. (Ken Strong
tied with Presnell with the same point total in 1933.) During the 1933 NFL season
, Presnell completed 50 of 125 passes for 774 passing yards and added 522 rushing yards on 118 carries for an average of 4.4 yards per carry. He also kicked five field goals and 13 extra points. He led the NFL with six rushing touchdowns and 13 successful extra point conversions. He also finished second in the league (behind Harry Newman
) in passing touchdowns, passes completed, pass attempts, and passing yards. Following the 1933 season, Presnell was selected as a first-team All-NFL player by the NFL, the United Press, and Collyers Eye Magazine.
In 1934, the owner of the Portsmouth Spartans sold the team. The team was moved from Portsmouth, Ohio
to Detroit, Michigan
, and became the Detroit Lions
. When Presnell visited Detroit to sign his first contract with the Lions in 1934, team owner George A. Richards allowed Presnell to pick the team's colors. Presnell later recalled:
Presnell remained with the Lions from 1934 to 1936. He combined with Dutch Clark, Ace Gutowsky
, and Ernie Caddel
to lead the Lions to a second place finish in 1934. And in 1935, the same group led the Lions to their first NFL championship, culminating with a 26-7 victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1935 NFL Championship Game. Presnell also set an NFL record with a 54-yard field goal in 1934, a mark that was not broken until 1953.
in 1937 and then as the backfield coach at Nebraska from 1938 to 1941. In February 1942, he became the head football coach and athletic director at Nebraska. The Cornhusers, compiled a record of 3-7 in Presnell's one season as head coach.
In December 1942, Presnell enlisted in the United States Navy
. In May 1943, he as commissioned as a lieutenant ans assigned to the Navy's physical education training program. He spent three years in the Navy.
In 1954, Presnell returned to coaching as the head football coach for Eastern Kentucky University
. He held that position from 1954 to 1963. He was then athletic director
at Eastern Kentucky until his retirement in 1971.
Presnell died in September 2004 in Ironton, Ohio
at the age of 99. He had been the last surviving member of the Detroit Lions' inaugural 1934 team.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He set the NFL single-season scoring record in 1933 and led the league in total offense. He was the last surviving member of the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
inaugural 1934 team and helped lead the team to its first NFL championship in 1935. He also set an NFL record with a 54-yard field goal in 1934, a record which was not broken for 19 years.
Early years
Born in Gilead, NebraskaGilead, Nebraska
Gilead is a village in Thayer County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 40 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Gilead is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all of it land....
, Presnell attended DeWitt High School and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln is a public research university located in the city of Lincoln in the U.S. state of Nebraska...
. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
as a halfback
Halfback (American football)
A halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...
for the Nebraska Cornhuskers football
Nebraska Cornhuskers football
The Nebraska Cornhuskers represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in college football. The program has established itself as a traditional powerhouse, and has the fourth-most all-time victories of any NCAA Division I-A team. Nebraska is one of only six football programs in NCAA Division I-A...
team from 1925 to 1927. In 1925, Presnell led Nebraska to a 14-0 victory over an Illini team
Illinois Fighting Illini football
The Illinois Fighting Illini are a major college football program, representing the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. They compete in NCAA Division I-A and the Big Ten Conference.-Current staff:-All-time win/loss/tie record:*563-513-51...
that included the "Galloping Ghost", Red Grange
Red Grange
Harold Edward "Red" Grange, nicknamed "The Galloping Ghost", was a college and professional American football halfback for the University of Illinois, the Chicago Bears, and for the short-lived New York Yankees. His signing with the Bears helped legitimize the National Football League...
. As one writer put it, "all the galloping was done by Presnell this day." Presnell was selected as a first-team player on the 1927 College Football All-America Team
1927 College Football All-America Team
The 1927 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1927...
.
Professional football
After leaving Nebraska, Presnell played football for the Ironton TanksIronton Tanks
The Ironton Tanks were a semi-professional football team organized in 1919 in Ironton, Ohio.Their historical marker gives the story of the Tanks origin: "Semi-professional football began in Ironton in 1893 with a team known as the Irontonians...
in Ironton, Ohio
Ironton, Ohio
Ironton is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Lawrence County. The municipality is located in southern Ohio along the Ohio River. The population was 11,211 at the 2000 census. Ironton is a part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, Metropolitan Statistical Area . As of the...
. He was a player-coach for the team and also taught science at Ironton High School. Presnell was a halfback in Ironton's single wing offense and also played on defense at what would later be considered the safety position. Although not officially part of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
, the Tanks played against teams in the league. In 1930, Presnell led Ironton to victories over both the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. Against the Giants, the Tanks trailed 12-6 with three seconds left. Presnell threw a touchdown pass to Gene Alford
Gene Alford
Eugene Morris Alford was a professional American football player who played running back for four seasons for the Portsmouth Spartans and the Cincinnati Reds....
and then kicked the extra point to give Ironton a 13-12 victory over a Giants team that finished in second place in the NFL. He also scored two touchdowns against the Bears, including an 88-yard run.
After the 1930 season, the Tanks folded. In 1931, Presnell joined the Portsmouth Spartans in the NFL. He remained with Portsmouth from 1931 to 1933. He had his best season in 1933, when he led the NFL in total offense
Total offense
Total offense is an American football and Canadian football statistic representing the total number of yards rushing and yards passing by a team or player...
with 1,296 yards. He also broke the single-season NFL scoring record with 64 points. (Ken Strong
Ken Strong
Elmer Kenneth Strong, Jr. was a college and professional American football player. After a college career as multi-year All-American at New York University, he went on to play professional football. As a halfback with a 14-year career he played from 1929–1937, 1939, 1944-1947...
tied with Presnell with the same point total in 1933.) During the 1933 NFL season
1933 NFL season
The 1933 NFL season was the 14th regular season of the National Football League. Because of the success of the 1932 NFL Playoff Game, the league divided its teams into two divisions for the first time, with the winners of each division playing in a championship game to determine the NFL champion...
, Presnell completed 50 of 125 passes for 774 passing yards and added 522 rushing yards on 118 carries for an average of 4.4 yards per carry. He also kicked five field goals and 13 extra points. He led the NFL with six rushing touchdowns and 13 successful extra point conversions. He also finished second in the league (behind Harry Newman
Harry Newman
Harry Lawrence Newman was an American football quarterback who played for the University of Michigan Wolverines , the New York Giants , and the Brooklyn/Rochester Tigers .-College career:...
) in passing touchdowns, passes completed, pass attempts, and passing yards. Following the 1933 season, Presnell was selected as a first-team All-NFL player by the NFL, the United Press, and Collyers Eye Magazine.
In 1934, the owner of the Portsmouth Spartans sold the team. The team was moved from Portsmouth, Ohio
Portsmouth, Ohio
Portsmouth is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Scioto County. The municipality is located on the northern banks of the Ohio River and east of the Scioto River in Southern Ohio. The population was 20,226 at the 2010 census.-Foundation:...
to Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, and became the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
. When Presnell visited Detroit to sign his first contract with the Lions in 1934, team owner George A. Richards allowed Presnell to pick the team's colors. Presnell later recalled:
"Mr. Richards, the owner, the day I was up there and signed my contract, he said: 'There's a table out there in the next office covered with uniforms. Why don't you pick out the colors you like?' I went out. My wife was with me. We saw this Honolulu blue and silver and we fell in love with it."
Presnell remained with the Lions from 1934 to 1936. He combined with Dutch Clark, Ace Gutowsky
Ace Gutowsky
LeRoy Erwin "Ace" Gutowsky was an American football fullback. He played professional football for eight years from 1932 to 1939 and set the NFL career rushing record in October 1939. He held the Detroit Lions' career and single-season rushing records until the 1960s.-Early years:Gutowsky was...
, and Ernie Caddel
Ernie Caddel
Ernest Wiley Caddel was an American football running back. He played college football for Glenn "Pop" Warner at Stanford University from 1930 to 1932 and later played six seasons in the National Football League for the Portsmouth Spartans and Detroit Lions...
to lead the Lions to a second place finish in 1934. And in 1935, the same group led the Lions to their first NFL championship, culminating with a 26-7 victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1935 NFL Championship Game. Presnell also set an NFL record with a 54-yard field goal in 1934, a mark that was not broken until 1953.
Coaching and later years
Presnell retired as a player after the 1936 season at age 31. He worked as an assistant football coach at the University of KansasUniversity of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
in 1937 and then as the backfield coach at Nebraska from 1938 to 1941. In February 1942, he became the head football coach and athletic director at Nebraska. The Cornhusers, compiled a record of 3-7 in Presnell's one season as head coach.
In December 1942, Presnell enlisted in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. In May 1943, he as commissioned as a lieutenant ans assigned to the Navy's physical education training program. He spent three years in the Navy.
In 1954, Presnell returned to coaching as the head football coach for Eastern Kentucky University
Eastern Kentucky University
Eastern Kentucky University, commonly referred to as Eastern or by the acronym EKU by local residents, is an undergraduate and graduate teaching and research institution located in Richmond, Kentucky, U.S.A.. EKU is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools...
. He held that position from 1954 to 1963. He was then athletic director
Athletic director
An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...
at Eastern Kentucky until his retirement in 1971.
Presnell died in September 2004 in Ironton, Ohio
Ironton, Ohio
Ironton is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Lawrence County. The municipality is located in southern Ohio along the Ohio River. The population was 11,211 at the 2000 census. Ironton is a part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, Metropolitan Statistical Area . As of the...
at the age of 99. He had been the last surviving member of the Detroit Lions' inaugural 1934 team.