Mel Triplett
{{Short description|American football player (1930–2002)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox CFL biography
| name =
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1930|12|24}}
| birth_place = Indianola, Mississippi, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2002|7|25|1930|12|24}}
| death_place = Toledo, Ohio, U.S.
| team =
| number = 33
| status =
| position1 = Running back
| height_ft =
| height_in =
| weight_lb =
| college = Toledo
| NFLDraftedYear = 1955
| NFLDraftedRound = 5
| NFLDraftedPick = 56
| NFLDraftedTeam =
| playing_years1 = 1955–1960
| playing_team1 = New York Giants
| playing_years2 = 1961–1962
| playing_team2 = Minnesota Vikings
| career_highlights =
- 2× NFL champion (1955, 1956)
- Toledo Rockets No. 82 retired
| NFL = TRI302028
| DatabaseFootball = TRIPLMEL01
}}
Melvin Christopher Triplett (December 24, 1930 – July 25, 2002) was an American football fullback. He played eight years in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants (1955–1960) and Minnesota Vikings (1961–1962). He played college football for the Toledo Rockets from 1951 to 1954.
Early years
Triplett was born in 1930 at Indianola, Mississippi. He moved with his family to Ohio and played football at Girard High School in Girard, Ohio. He was inducted into the Girard Hall of Fame in 1997.
Triplett enrolled at the University of Toledo. He led the 1954 Toledo Rockets football team to a 6–2–1 record, rushing for 803 yards.{{cite web|title=Toledo Football 2015 Media Guide|publisher=University of Toledo|year=2015|pages=218-221|accessdate=September 23, 2016|url=http://sidearm.sites.s3.amazonaws.com/utrockets.com/documents/2015/8/17/Toledo_Football_Media_Guide_2015b.pdf}} He was inducted into the University of Toledo Athletic Hall of Fame in 1983.{{cite news|title=Former fullback Triplett dead at 71|newspaper=The Journal News|date=July 27, 2002|page=8C|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-journal-news-triplett/165232848/|via=Newspapers.com|agency=Associated Press}}
Professional football
Triplett was selected by the New York Giants in the fifth round, 56th overall pick, of the 1955 NFL draft. He played at the fullback position for the Giants from 1955 to 1960. He scored the opening touchdown against the Chicago Bears in the 1956 NFL Championship Game, won by the Giants 47–7. He was named New York's outstanding offensive player in the game.{{cite news |url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1956/12/30/page/15/article/bears-seek-chicagos-1st-title-since-47|newspaper=Chicago Sunday Tribune |last=Strickler |first=George |title=Bears seek Chicago's 1st title since '47 |date=December 30, 1956 |page=1, part 2}}{{cite news |url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1956/12/31/page/17/article/masthead-2-no-title |newspaper=Chicago Daily Tribune |last=Strickler |first=George |title=Why Bears were crushed in title game |date=December 31, 1956 |page=1, part 2}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TLxRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8moDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7410%2C4492087 |newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |last=Sell |first=Jack |title=Giants crush Bears in title game, 47-7 |date=December 31, 1956 |page=12 }}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-E41AAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZH4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6718%2C3562757 |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal |last=Mosby |first=Wade |title=Giants outclass Bears, 47-7, to win first pro football title in 18 years |date=December 31, 1956 |page=9, part 2 }} In 1960, he ranked ninth in the NFL with 573 rushing yards.
On July 1, 1961, Triplett was traded by the Giants to the Minnesota Vikings as part of a seven-player deal.{{cite news|title=Vikings Get Mel Triplett, Bob Schnelker|newspaper=Sioux Falls Argus-Leader|date=July 2, 1961|page=3D|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/argus-leader-mel-triplett/165231730/|via=Newspapers.com}} He played for the Vikings in 1961 and 1962.
In seven NFL seasons, Triplett totaled 2,857 yards and 14 touchdowns.{{cite web|title=Mel Triplett|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|work=Pro-Football-Reference.com|accessdate=February 11, 2025|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/T/TripMe00.htm}}
Triplett's younger brother Bill Triplett played 11 years in the NFL.
Among the fans of Mel Triplett during his days on the New York Giants was a young basketball player in New York named Lew Alcindor, later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Abdul-Jabbar says in his 1983 memoir Giant Steps that it was largely Triplett's wearing of uniform No. 33 that made Abdul-Jabbar adopt No. 33 as well, a number he made famous.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}
Later years
Triplett became diabetic and spent the last few months of his life at a Toledo nursing home. He died in 2002 at age 71 in Toledo, Ohio.{{cite web |author=Frank Litsky |title= Mel Triplett, 71; Helped Giants Win '56 Title|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/27/sports/mel-triplett-71-helped-giants-win-56-title.html |date=July 27, 2002 |work=The New York Times |publisher= |access-date=July 28, 2009}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Giants1955DraftPicks}}
{{1956 New York Giants}}
{{1961 Minnesota Vikings}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Triplett, Mel}}
Category:American football running backs
Category:People from Indianola, Mississippi
Category:People from Girard, Ohio
Category:New York Giants players
Category:Minnesota Vikings players
Category:Toledo Rockets football players
Category:Players of American football from Youngstown, Ohio
Category:Players of American football from Mississippi
Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen
Category:21st-century African-American sportsmen
Category:20th-century American sportsmen
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