Wayland Herman Becker was an American football

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. He played in 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...

 (NFL) for six seasons.

Early life

Becker was born in Soperton, Wisconsin

Soperton, Wisconsin

Soperton is an unincorporated community located within the town of Wabeno, in Forest County, Wisconsin, United States.-Notes:...

 and attended East High School

Green Bay East High School

Green Bay East High School is a public high school in the Green Bay Area Public School District serving Green Bay, Wisconsin and its surrounding communities . The school's street address is 1415 East Walnut Street.-History:East High School has been located in three buildings over its 150-year history...

 in Green Bay, Wisconsin

Green Bay, Wisconsin

Green Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...

. While in high school, he twice led his football team to Fox River Valley conference championships, in 1928 and 1929. Becker went on to attend Marquette University

Marquette University

Marquette University is a private, coeducational, Jesuit, Roman Catholic university located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1881, the school is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities...

, where he played football and basketball, lettering

Varsity letter

A varsity letter is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its winner was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met.- Description :...

 twice.

Football career

Becker began his NFL career with the George Halas

George Halas

George Stanley Halas, Sr. , nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was a player, coach, owner and pioneer in professional American football. He was the iconic longtime leader of the NFL's Chicago Bears...

's 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...

 in 1934. He played just two games for the Bears before completing the 1934 season with the Brooklyn Dodgers

Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL)

The Brooklyn Dodgers were an American football team that played in the National Football League from 1930 to 1943, and in 1944 as the Brooklyn Tigers. The team played its home games at Ebbets Field. In 1945, because of financial difficulties, the team was merged with the Boston Yanks...

, with whom he stayed through the 1935 season.

In 1936 Becker went to the Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...

, where he spent the next three seasons. Those Packers teams played in the NFL Championship Game twice during his tenure, winning in 1936

NFL Championship Game, 1936

The 1936 NFL Championship Game was the 4th championship game played in the history of the National Football League. The game took place on December 13, 1936, at Polo Grounds in New York City, making it the first NFL title game held on a neutral field...

 and losing in 1938.

He finished his NFL career in 1939 with the Pittsburgh Pirates

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...

. He was released by the Pirates after two games.

In 1941 he turned up on the Columbus Bullies

Columbus Bullies

The Columbus Bullies were a professional football team founded by Phil H. Bucklew in Columbus, Ohio in 1938. The Bullies started out as a member of the American Professional Football Association in 1939. Later, in 1940, the Bullies joined the Cincinnati Bengals and Milwaukee Chiefs in leaving the...

 of the American Football League

American Football League (1940)

American Football League, also known as the AFL III to distinguish it from earlier organizations of that name, was a major professional American football league that operated from 1940-1941...

. The team won the AFL championship and Becker was named by the league's coaches as second-team All-League

All-Pro

All-Pro is a term mostly used in the NFL for the best players of each position during that season. It began as polls of sportswriters in the early 1920s...

based on his performance that season.