Eugene Neely

{{Infobox Canadian Football League biography

|name=Eugene Neely

|image=Eugene Neeley.png

|alt=

|caption=Neely from The New York Times, October 1916

|position1=Guard

|birth_date= {{Birth date|1896|2|9}}

|birth_place=Comanche, Texas, U.S.

|death_date={{Death date and age|1949|12|2|1896|2|9}}

|death_place=Dallas, Texas, U.S.

|number=

|College=Dartmouth

|high_school=Terrill Prep (TX)

|playing_years1=1916–1917

|playing_team1=Dartmouth

|career_highlights=Consensus All-American (1917)

}}

Eugene Gentry "Guy" Neely (February 9, 1896Draft registration card for Eugene Gentry Neely, born Feb. 9, 1896, at Comanche, Texas, claim of exemption due to "one arm." Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917–1918 [database on-line]. – December 2, 1949) was an American football player. Despite having only one arm, he played college football at the guard position for Dartmouth College and was a consensus first-team selection to the 1917 College Football All-America Team.

Early years

Neely was born in 1896 in Comanche, Texas,World War II draft registration card for Eugene Gentry Neely, born Feb. 9, 1896, in Comanche, Texas. and raised in Dallas, Texas. His parents were Richard V. Neely and Opelia Gentry. He lost his right arm in a hunting accident in approximately 1911.{{cite news|title=Dartmouth Has One-Armed Player on 'Varsity Eleven|newspaper=The New York Times|date=October 8, 1916|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/10/08/301914802.pdf}} His arm was cut off above the elbow.

Dartmouth

Neely enrolled in Dartmouth College in 1915. Neely played football for Dartmouth's freshman team in 1915. It was reported at the time that he was probably "the only one-armed football player in the country."{{cite news|title=One-Armed Football Player at Dartmouth|newspaper=The Pittsburgh Press|date=October 27, 1915|page=Sports|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1144&dat=19151027&id=EYsfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OkkEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3475,8181467}}

Neely then played for the Dartmouth Big Green football varsity team during the 1916 and 1917 football seasons. By October 1916, he had won a reputation as "the best man" in Dartmouth's line. He reportedly used the stub of his severed right arm "with telling effect in blocking and straight arming."{{cite news|title=Crippled Athlete Often Makes Good|newspaper=The Day|date=July 14, 1917| page=10 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1915&dat=19170714&id=4P0gAAAAIBAJ&sjid=rnUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3264,1192953}} Despite his handicap, he was also able to intercept and return a forward pass, later described by Life magazine as a "spectacular" play, during a game against West Virginia.{{cite news|title=Doctor Football: Stomach specialist is expert on gridiron facts|author=Jean Libman Block|publisher=Life|date=December 2, 1946|page=20|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nk0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA20}}{{cite book|title=Athletics at Dartmouth|author=Horace Gibson Pender|author2=Raymond Francis McPartlin|publisher=Dartmouth College Athletic Council|year=1923|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XpQXAAAAYAAJ&q=dartmouth+neeley+guard}}(describing Neely's interception and "the ensuing run" as "spectacular") After the 1917 season, he was selected as a consensus first-team guard on the 1917 College Football All-America Team.{{cite web|title=2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections|publisher=National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)|year=2014|accessdate=August 16, 2014|page=4|url=http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2014/Awards.pdf|archive-date=May 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200513011009/https://web.archive.org/web/20141006082159/http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2014/Awards.pdf|url-status=dead}}

Later years

After leaving Dartmouth, Neely returned to Texas and coached football at the Terrill School (now known as St. Mark's School of Texas).{{Cite web|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/obituary-clipping-dec-03-1949-2005134/|title=Obituary-Dec-03-1949-2005134 | NewspaperArchive}} He was married shortly after returning to Texas, and he and his wife Nell had two children, Stanley (born {{circa|1919}}) and Adele (born 1920). In 1920, he was living in Comanche, Texas, working as an oil dealer.1920 U.S. Census for Eugene G. Neely, age 23, born in Texas. Census Place: Comanche, Comanche, Texas; Roll: T625_1789; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 70; Image: 609. Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. In 1930, he was living in Dallas and working as a securities broker.1930 U.S. Census for E. G. Neely, age 34, born in Texas. Census Place: Dallas, Dallas, Texas; Roll: 2318; Page: 41A; Enumeration District: 0067; Image: 83.0; FHL microfilm: 2342052. Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. In 1940, he was living in Dallas and working as a loan agent for life insurance.1940 U.S. Census entry for Eugene G. Neely, age 43, born in Texas. Census Place: Dallas, Dallas, Texas; Roll: T627_4172; Page: 61A; Enumeration District: 255-20. Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. In 1942, he was employed by the Federal Housing Administration in Dallas.

Neely died in Dallas on December 2, 1949, at the age of 53.{{cite news |author= |title=One-Arm All-American Football Star Dies |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/obituary-clipping-dec-03-1949-2005134/ |newspaper=Wichita Daily Times |location=Wichita Falls, Texas |agency=Associated Press |date=December 3, 1949 |page=2 |access-date=October 8, 2020 |via=NewspaperArchive {{Open access}} }}Death certificate for Eugene Gentry Neely, born Feb. 9, 1896, died Dec. 2, 1949. Ancestry.com. Texas, Death Certificates, 1903–1982 [database on-line].