Jay Arnold

{{Short description|American football player (1912–1982)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2021}}

{{Infobox NFL biography

| name = Jay Arnold

| image = Arnold-Jay-1940.jpg

| caption = Arnold in 1940

| position = Halfback
Defensive back

| number = 34

| birth_date = {{birth date|1912|9|9}}

| birth_place = Rogers, Texas, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|1982|4|8|1912|9|9}}

| death_place = Houston, Texas, U.S.

| undraftedyear = 1937

| high_school = Greenville (Greenville, Texas)

| college = Texas

| teams =

| statlabel1 = Games played

| statvalue1 = 50

| statlabel2 = Starts

| statvalue2 = 33

| statlabel3 = Yards rushing

| statvalue3 = 43 (1.2 average)

| statlabel4 = Yards receiving

| statvalue4 = 573 (16.4 average)

| statlabel5 = Touchdowns

| statvalue5 = 4

| pfr = ArnoJa20

}}

Jay Lawrence Arnold (September 9, 1912 – April 8, 1982) was a professional American football player who played five seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1937-1941. He played halfback — generally slotted out to the wing as a receiver — and defensive back.

High school

Arnold played high school football at Greenville High School where he made the 1931 Texas All-State Team as a fullback and led his team to the state semi-finals.{{cite news |last1=Parker |first1=Bill |title=Wilson of Corsicana Leads on All-State Eleven |url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn86063730/1932-01-01/ed-1/?sp=5&q=%22jay+arnold%22&r=0.089,0.058,0.542,0.339,0 |access-date=27 February 2025 |work=Brownsville herald |date=1 January 1932}}{{cite news |title=Abilene Favored Over Greenville in Game Today |url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn86063730/1931-12-17/ed-2/?sp=5&q=%22jay+arnold%22&r=0.003,0.271,0.543,0.339,0 |access-date=27 February 2025 |work=The Brownsville Herald |date=17 December 1931}}

College career

Arnold played college football at the University of Texas where he lettered in 1933, 1935 and 1936 as a halfback.{{cite web |title=Texas Football History and Honors |url=https://texaslonghorns.com/documents/2024/8/8/Football_History___Honors.pdf |access-date=20 February 2025}}

Pro career

Arnold was undrafted but was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1937. He played in 50 games over 5 seasons between 1937-1941, playing offense, defense, punting and kicking.

In 1938 Arnold became one of only six NFL players to have a receiving touchdown, a fumble recovery for a touchdown, and an interception return for a touchdown in the same season.

Later life

Arnold died in Harris County, Texas, in 1982.

References