Benny Friedman
| Benny Friedman | |
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Positions: quarterback , placekicker |
Jersey numbers: 1, 6, 17, 21, 26 |
| born March 18, 1905 in Cleveland , Ohio | |
| died on November 24, 1982 in New York City | |
| Career information | |
| Active : 1927 - 1934 | |
| College : University of Michigan | |
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player
Assistant coach
Trainer
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| Career statistics | |
| Games | 81 |
| as a starter | 71 |
| Touchdown by pass | 68 |
| Stats at pro-football-reference.com | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Pro Football Hall of Fame | |
| College Football Hall of Fame | |
Benjamin "Benny" Friedman (born March 18, 1905 in Cleveland , Ohio , † November 24, 1982 in New York City ) was an American American football player . He played as a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cleveland Bulldogs , Detroit Wolverines , New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers . Friedman is considered the first quarterback to draw attention more through his performance as a passer than through his skills as a runner and blocker .
youth
Benny Friedman was born in Cleveland as the son of Orthodox Jewish immigrants from Russia . He was the fourth of six children. His father worked as a furrier and tailor . He played basketball and baseball at Cleveland East Tech High School . As a football player, he was soon no longer accepted by the team's coach. He was considered too skinny. After moving to Glenville High School, he was also able to convince there as a football player. He was able to defeat the team of his former school with 31-0 in the regular season in 1922 . In the final of the city championship, his team won again 13-0. The scouts of the college football teams became aware of Friedman. The Pennsylvania State University refrained from a scholarship for Friedman because the trainer of the "Nittany Lions" did not consider him physically suitable.
Player career
College career
Benny Friedman studied at the University of Michigan from 1923 to 1926 . Since his financial resources were limited, he worked as a drummer in a Chinese restaurant, sold theater tickets and books in the university bookstore. From 1924 he played for the college football team on the position of a quarterback. American football was primarily a running game. The rules for the passing game were complicated and put the attacking team at a disadvantage. The quarterback was only allowed to go five steps behind the line of scrimmage to throw the pass and could also be attacked by the defense after the throw . Friedman was one of the first players to use the pass throw as a dominant attacking tactic. In order to be able to grip the football better, he constantly trained his hands and fingers. Since he gave the ball a rotation around its longitudinal axis when it was thrown, it achieved a stable trajectory. This made it easier for your own pass recipient to catch the ball. In the game years 1925 and 1926 Friedman led his team to the Conference championship. In both years he was voted All-American and in 1926 the most valuable player in his team and the league .
Professional career
Benjamin Friedman became a professional player for the Cleveland Bulldogs in 1927. He was used as a quarterback and placekicker . After the Bulldogs had to stop playing after the season, he moved to the Detroit Wolverines. Friedman was now known nationwide. After the 1928 season, the owner of the New York Giants, Tim Mara , bought the Chicago team. He left the game operations and Friedman played for an annual salary of US $ 10,000 for the team from New York City . With the commitment of Friedman Mara managed to lead his team into the profit zone. While the team made a loss of $ 40,000 in 1928 (according to other sources, $ 54,000), Friedman's spectacular style of play resulted in an annual profit of $ 8,500 in 1929 and a profit in 1930 and 1931 from $ 23,000 and $ 35,000. With Ray Flaherty and Red Badgro , players were in the ranks of the Giants who were able to catch Friedman's passes and use them for touchdowns .
In 1929 and 1930, the Giants finished the game years in second place in the table. At times, Friedman also held the position of Head Coach of the Giants in 1930 . Friedman was the top pass thrower in the NFL for all four years of play. After the 1931 season Friedman, who had suffered a serious knee injury in the middle of the season, left the team now coached by Steve Owen . He had previously asked Tim Mara to participate in the Giants, which the latter refused. The owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers took the opportunity and hired Friedman in 1932 as quarterback and coach. In Brooklyn Friedman could no longer follow up on his previous achievements. The knee injury he suffered in 1931 hit him hard. He failed to appear in numerous Dodgers games. After the 1934 season, he ended his playing career.
Coaching career
As early as 1932, Friedman was an assistant coach at Yale University . Immediately after finishing his playing career, he received an offer from Fiorello LaGuardia , the mayor of New York City, to work as a coach of the City College of New York . The office was rewarded with an annual salary of $ 4,500. Friedman kept the job until 1941. After serving in the US Navy , he was active as a sports director and coach at Brandeis University from 1949 to 1963 . From 1964 he ran a summer camp for boys, which also included a football school.
Off the field
Friedman was considered a difficult person. During his playing career he was considered a " prima donna ". He frequented the so-called better society and refused contact with his teammates outside the field. In 1953, at the age of 48, he publicly claimed that he could now play football professionally. This was interpreted as arrogance. After the opening of the Pro Football Hall of Fame , he wrote letters to the press and the judges demanding his admission to the Hall of Fame . In 1970 Friedman led a lawsuit against the NFL. The league refused to pay a pension to players who were active before 1958. His behavior was seen as inappropriate and was instrumental in his late induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005. Benny Friedman suffered from diabetes and had a leg amputated in 1978 due to his illness . He was not supposed to recover mentally from this operation . In 1982 he shot himself dead in his own apartment in New York City. He found his final resting place in Mount Carmel Cemetery in Glendale .
Honors
Benjamin Friedman has been voted All-Pro five times . He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame (his induction was posthumous ), the College Football Hall of Fame , the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, and the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame .
literature
- Murray Greenberg: Passing Game. Benny Friedman and the Transformation of Football. PublicAffairs, New York NY 2008, ISBN 978-1-58648-477-4 .
Web links
- Benny Friedman in the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
- Benny Friedman in the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
- Short biography ( Memento from August 25, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- Short biography II (PDF file; 23 kB)
- biography
- Benny Friedman at College ( March 23, 2011 memento in the Internet Archive )
- Throwing technique from Friedman
- Benny Friedman at the New York Giants ( October 27, 2012 memento in the Internet Archive )
- Obituary in the New York Times
- Comparison between Brett Favre and Friedman, Friedman Behavior in the New York Times
- NFL coach stats
Individual evidence
- ↑ Annual statistics of the Giants 1929
- ↑ Annual statistics of the Giants 1930
- ^ Tomb in the Find a Grave database
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Friedman, Benny |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Friedman, Benjamin |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American football player and coach |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 18, 1905 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Cleveland , Ohio |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 24, 1982 |
| Place of death | New York City |