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| No. 75 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Tackle | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | (1920-11-07)November 7, 1920 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died: | January 22, 1977(1977-01-22) (aged 56) Woodruff, Wisconsin, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 287 lb (130 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Steinmetz (Chicago, Illinois) | ||||||||
| College: | Alabama Ripon | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1942: 20th round, 186th pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Milburn Russell "Tiny" Croft (November 7, 1920 – January 22, 1977) was an American professional footballoffensive tackle in theNational Football League (NFL) for theGreen Bay Packers from 1942 to 1947. He playedcollege football atRipon College and theUniversity of Alabama. Croft was selected by theWashington Redskins in the 20th round of the1942 NFL draft. He won the1944 NFL Championship with the Packers.
Croft was born on November 7, 1920 inChicago, Illinois,[1] and graduated fromSteinmetz High School.[2] While there, he was selected to an all-star team of high school players from Chicago to travel to Arizona for a game against an all-star team of Phoenix area players.[3] Croft then began attendingRipon College. Despite his size, Croft was known to be gentle on the football field. Trying to stop this, the Ripon coaches set up a boxing match with a semi-professional boxer who punched Croft in the nose, angering him. This experience was seen as a turning point in his athletic career as he became more aggressive.[4] Croft went on to become a three-year starter as a lineman for the Ripon Red Hawks, earning first-team All-Midwest Conference in three consecutive years.[5] He playedplacekicker for the team.[6] He also played college football for theAlabama Crimson Tide.[2]
After finishing his college career, Croft was drafted as the 186th overall pick in the 20th round of the1942 NFL draft by theWashington Redskins.[7][2] He was the heaviest rookie in the NFL,[8] untilEd Neal was signed by theGreen Bay Packers.[9] Croft was acquired by the Packers during his first training camp before he had a chance to play a league game for Washington.[10][11] He won the1944 NFL Championship with the Packers.[12] Croft would go on to play for the Packers until 1947.[13] While with the Packers, he played as a right or left tackle in 51 games, 11 of which he started. During his career, he was 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighed 287 pounds.[14][2]
While not playing football, Croft worked inSturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.[15] In hisfreshman year, he wrote to actressAnn Sheridan to invite her to his college's prom. Sheridan wrote back to him, declining the invitation. However, she did send a signed picture inscribed with "To Milburn from Ann". Four other college "Glamor Boys" also invited actresses, with Croft being the only one to get a personal response.[16] He married Myra Ann Wasserburger, a fellow Ripon graduate and an English teacher in 1943.[17][15] He was a district manager forAmerican Motors.[1] He died of a heart attack on January 22, 1977, at age 56 inWoodruff, Wisconsin.[13][2]