George Grosvenor
{{Short description|American football player (1910–2001)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL player
|name=George Grosvenor
|image=
|caption=
|position=Quarterback, halfback, tailback
|number=
|birth_date={{Birth date|1910|8|4}}
|birth_place=Jefferson, Oklahoma, US
|death_date={{Death date and age|2001|9|20|1910|8|4}}
|death_place=Pueblo, Colorado, US
|height_ft = 6
|height_in = 0
|weight_lbs = 175
|high_school = Boulder (CO)
|college=Colorado
|pastteams=
- St. Louis/Kansas City Blues (1934)
- Chicago Bears ({{NFL Year|1935}}–{{NFL Year|1936}})
- Chicago Cardinals ({{NFL Year|1936}}–{{NFL Year|1937}})
|highlights=
- First-team All-Rocky Mountain Conference (1933)
- AFL champion (1934)
- First-team All-AFC team (1934)
- Second-team All-Pro (1936)
|statlabel1=Rushing yards
|statvalue1=1,307
|statlabel2=Average
|statvalue2=3.6
|statlabel3=Touchdowns
|statvalue3=6
|pfr=GrosGe21
|HOF=
|CollegeHOF=
}}
George Alfred Grosvenor (August 4, 1910 – September 20, 2001) was an American football player. He played college football for the University of Colorado Buffaloes and professional football for the St. Louis/Kansas City Blues in the American Football League and the Chicago Bears (1935–1936) and Chicago Cardinals (1936–1937) in the National Football League (NFL).
Early years
Grosvenor was born in Jefferson, Oklahoma, in 1910. His father, George H. Grosvenor, was an English immigrant, and his mother, Okaka "Okie" Grosvenor, was an Indiana native. As of 1920, the family lived on a farm in Rock Island, Oklahoma. Grosvenor had two olders siblings, Teddy (born c. 1906) and Ruby (born c. 1909).Census entry for George H. Grosvenor and family. Son George A., age 9, born in Oklahoma. Census Place: Rock Island, Grant, Oklahoma; Roll: T625_1460; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 102; Image: 1099. Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. At some point after 1920, the family moved to Colorado. Grosvenor attended Boulder High School in Boulder, Colorado.
Football player
=University of Colorado=
Grosvenor attended the University of Colorado where he played for the school's basketball and football teams. As a sophomore, he was the starting quarterback for the 1931 Colorado football team. On Thanksgiving Day in 1931, he returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown against Arizona.{{cite news|title=Power Drives Win Game for Colorado|newspaper=San Bernardino Daily Sun|date=November 27, 1931|page=14|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9994224/power_drives_win_game_for_colorado/}} Over the next two seasons, he became known as a triple-threat man for the Colorado football team. As a senior in 1933, he was selected as the first-team quarterback on the All-Rocky Mountain Conference team.{{cite news|title=All-Conference for 1933|newspaper=The Salt Lake Tribune|date=December 4, 1933|page=18|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9994423/allconference_for_1933_rocky_mountain/}}
=St. Louis/Kansas City Blues=
In 1934, Grosvenor played professional football as the starting quarterback for the St. Louis/Kansas City Blues of the American Football League (AFL). He led the team to the 1934 AFL championship with a 7-0-1 record and was selected by both the league's coaches and the Associated Press as the first-team quarterback on the All-AFL team. The AFL folded after the 1934 season.
=Chicago Bears/Cardinals=
In September 1935, Grosvenor joined the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL).{{cite news|title=Grosvenor Reports to Chicago Bears|newspaper=Greeley Daily Tribune|date=September 5, 1935|page=6|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9994865/grosvenor_reports_to_chicago_bears/}} Grosvenor was moved to the halfback position with the Bears.{{cite news|title=Newcomers Win Regular Places in Bear Lineup|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=October 18, 1935|page=34|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9994938/newcomers_win_regular_places_in_bear/}} During the 1935 NFL season, Grosvenor appeared in 11 games for the Bears, three as a starter, and totaled 234 rushing yards on 55 carries (4.3 yards per carry). He also completed 6 of 15 passes for 69 yards.
The 1935 season was Grosvenor's first as a backup player; he expressed dissatisfaction with his status and initially declined to report for the 1936 season.{{cite news|title=Cardinals Nurse Grudge As They Drill For Lions|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=November 19, 1936|page=32|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9995384/cardinals_nurse_grudge_as_they_drill/}} Grosvenor ultimately reported to the Bears for the 1936 season, though he was sold to the Chicago Cardinals after the first game of the season.{{cite news|title=Cardinals Buy Grosvenor, Half back, From Bears|newspaper=Chicago Daily Tribune|date=October 7, 1936|page=27|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9995110/cardinals_buy_grosvenor_half_back/}} The Cardinals moved him from the halfback to the tailback position. On November 29, 1936, Grosvenor scored both touchdowns, including a 66-yard run, in the Cardinals' 14-7 victory over the Bears.{{cite news|title=Cards Beat Bears 14-7: 66 Yard Run By Grosvenor Breaks 7-7 Tie|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=November 30, 1936|page=17|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9995520/cards_beat_bears_147_66_yard_run_by/}} During the 1936 season, Grosvenor rushed for 612 yards on 170 carries (3.6 yards per carry). His rushing yardage ranked fifth best in the NFL for the 1936 season. At the end of the 1936, he was selected by the United Press as a second-team player on the 1936 All-Pro Team.{{cite news|title=Four Packers Picked On Pro All-Star Eleven: Dutch Clark Regarded As Greatest Pro|newspaper=The Sheboygan (WI) Press|date=December 18, 1936|page=14|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9984110/four_packers_picked_on_pro_allstar/}}
Grosvenor returned to the Cardinals in 1937. He again ranked fifth in the NFL in rushing yardage, totaling 461 yards on 143 carries.{{cite news|title=Grosvenor Is Fifth Among Ground Gainers|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|author=George Strickler|date=December 16, 1937|page=27|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9995640/grosvenor_is_fifth_among_ground_gainers/}}
Family and later years
Grosvenor was married in April 1932 to Wilma A "Billie" Hibler (1912-2007) in Gilpin County, Colorado.Ancestry.com. Colorado, County Marriages and State Indexes, 1862-2006 [database on-line]. They had two sons, George D. Grosvenor (born c. 1933) and Paul R. Grosvenor (born c. 1938).Census entry for George A. Grosvenor, age 29, born in Oklahoma, and family. Census Place: Pueblo, Pueblo, Colorado; Roll: T627_475; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 51-3. Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line].
In January 1938, Grosvenor accepted a job as a biology teacher and the head wrestling coach and assistant basketball coach at Golden High School in Golden, Colorado. In March 1938, he announced his retirement from professional football and agreed to become the head football and basketball coach at Centennial High School in Pueblo, Colorado, starting in September 1938.{{cite news|title=Grosvenor Joins Staff of Golden High School|newspaper=Greeley (CO) Daily Tribune|date=January 11, 1938|page=6|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9993417/grosvenor_joins_staff_of_golden_high/}}{{cite news|title=Grosvenor To Coach|newspaper=Greeley (CO) Daily Tribune|date=April 19, 1938|page=8|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9993519/grosvenor_to_coach/}}{{cite news|title=George Grosvenor Gets Coaching Job|newspaper=Oakland Tribune|date=March 17, 1938|page=25|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9993601/george_grosvenor_gets_coaching_job/}} During the 1939-1940 academic year, he led the Centennial football team to runner-up status in the Colorado state championship game and the basketball team to a Colorado Class A state championship.{{cite news|title=Sports|author=Wayne Ray|newspaper=The Poudre Valley|date=March 21, 1940|page=1|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9993745/sports_by_wayne_ray/}}{{cite web|title=GPSA Greatest Moments|publisher=The Greater Pueblo Sports Association|access-date=April 2, 2017|url=http://www.pueblogshof.com/index.php/great-moments}}
In February 1942, Grosvenor announced that he would resign his position at Centennial High School in June 1942 to accept a position with the engineering department of the Colorado Fuel and Iron company.{{cite news|title=Grosvenor to Resign Pueblo Coaching Job|newspaper=The Salt Lake Tribune|date=February 9, 1942|page=9|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9993870/grosvenor_to_resign_pueblo_coaching_job/}} In 1961, he published a paper about the company's basic oxygen steel-making plant in Pueblo, Colorado.{{cite news|title=Colorado Fuel and Iron Corporation's Basic Oxygen Steelmaking Plant|author=George Grosvenor|publisher=Open Hearth|year=1961|url=http://library.aimehq.org/library/books/Open%20Hearth%201961/Open%20Hearth%201961%20-%20048.pdf|access-date=2017-04-02|archive-date=2017-04-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170403111244/http://library.aimehq.org/library/books/Open%20Hearth%201961/Open%20Hearth%201961%20-%20048.pdf|url-status=dead}} In all, Grosvenor spent approximately 30 years with Colorado Fuel and Iron, retiring as the superintendent of steel production. He later worked for several years as a consultant to Fundidora Steel in Monterey, Mexico.{{cite news|title=Obituary for George A. Grosvenor|newspaper=Pueblo Chieftain|date=September 22, 2001}}
Grosvenor died in 2001 at age 91 in Pueblo.{{cite web|title=George Grosvenor Stats|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|work=Pro-Football-Reference.com|access-date=April 2, 2017|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/G/GrosGe21.htm}}