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| No. 3 | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Back | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1919-05-05)May 5, 1919 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Died | November 29, 2003(2003-11-29) (aged 84) Green Bay, Wisconsin, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||
| High school | Steinmetz College Prep(Chicago, Illinois) | ||||||||||||||||||
| College | Gonzaga (1938–1940) | ||||||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1941: 9th round, 77th overall pick | ||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||||||
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Anthony Robert Canadeo (May 5, 1919 – November 29, 2003) was an American professionalfootball player who was aback in theNational Football League (NFL) for theGreen Bay Packers from 1941 to 1952, although he missed most of the 1944 season and the entire 1945 season while serving in theU.S. Army duringWorld War II. Born and raised inChicago,Illinois, he attendedGonzaga University inSpokane, Washington, played football for theBulldogs, and earned the nickname "Gray Ghost of Gonzaga".
Canadeo was selected by the Packers in the1941 NFL draft.[1]
Before the war, Canadeo was atriple-threat halfback for the Packers, leading the team in rushing and passing in 1943. When he returned from the war in 1946, he served primarily as a running back, and in 1949 became the third player in NFL history to rush for 1,000 or more yards in a season.
He retired as the Packers' all-time rushing yards leader.[2] Canadeo's number 3 wasretired by the Packers immediately following his retirement as a player. He was inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame andWisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1974.
After his playing career, Canadeo worked as a color commentator forCBS television, covering Packers games withRay Scott. He also was a long-time member of theGreen Bay Packers, Inc. Board of Directors and Executive Committee, most notably during theVince Lombardi era.
Canadeo died in 2003 at the age of 84.
Born and raised inChicago,Illinois, Canadeo attended Charles P. Steinmetz Academic Centre, formerly known asSteinmetz High School, a public four-year high school located in theBelmont Cragin neighborhood.
Canadeo playedcollege football atGonzaga University inSpokane, Washington, where he was first known as the "Gray Ghost of Gonzaga,"[3][4] due to his prematurely graying hair. Of Italian ancestry, he was named an "outstandingItalian American athlete" for 1939 by the National Italian American Civic League. Others honored includedNew York Yankees' center fielderJoe DiMaggio and golferGene Sarazen.[5]
As a senior in1940, Canadeo starred in Gonzaga's 13–7 upset win over the heavily favoredUniversity of Detroit in November.[6] The football program was dropped after1941, and he was its last alumnus to play pro football. He alsoboxed for the Bulldogs during his senior year,[7] and was named team captain.[3][8]
Canadeo was not particularly fast or elusive, and was smaller than average NFL players even for his time. However, he was a determined and tenacious player.[9][10] ContemporaryJim Benton called him one of the three toughest players to tackle, alongsideFrank Sinkwich andSteve Van Buren.[11] He was also versatile, playing multiple positions on offense, defense, and special teams.[12] This versatility caused Packers head coachCurly Lambeau to take notice, despite Gonzaga being a smaller college.[12]
Canadeo was selected by the Packers in the ninth round with the 77th overall pick of the1941 NFL draft, held in December 1940. By August 13, Canadeo was one of only seven players to sign a contract with the team out of the twenty Green Bay had drafted.[13] Most of the remaining unsigned players either joined the military or chose not to play professional football. Lambeau looked to use Canadeo to bolster a backfield that included aging starsClarke Hinkle andArnie Herber.[12] Before the season, Canadeo competed with Herber andCecil Isbell for the startingquarterback role.[14] He starred in an exhibition game against theNew York Giants, as he andFrank Balasz led a scoring march through a muddy field in the third quarter.[15]
Herber was waived by the Packers at the end of training camp and Isbell became the Packers' quarterback, while Canadeo had a reserve role in the offense as a rookie in1941. That season, he played in thefirst ever NFL playoff game (unscheduled divisional tiebreaker), in which he picked up seven yards on five carries as the Packers lost 33–14 to the eventual NFL championChicago Bears.[16][17][18] As a backup to Isbell in1942, Canadeo passed for 310 yards and rushed for 272 more. One of his three touchdown passes was a toss to receiverDon Hutson from one inch away from the goal line. When scolded by one of his coaches for passing so close to the goal line, Canadeo quipped, "Cecil Isbell tossed a four-incher not long ago for a record and I wanted to beat it – you don't get an opportunity like that very often."[19]
In1943, Isbell quit his playing career to coach forPurdue University, his alma mater. Canadeo took over for Isbell attailback and led the Packers that season in both rushing and passing yards.[20] He gained 489 yards and three touchdowns on 94 carries, had 875 passing yards and nine touchdowns, and scored two touchdowns as a receiver. He andHarry Clarke of theBears battled for therushing title late in the season,[21] but Canadeo ultimately finished fifth in the league in yardage. After the season, he was named a first-teamAll-Pro by theAssociated Press.[22]
Canadeo'shonorable discharge from the navy in August 1943 had allowed him to play for the Packers that season.[23] However, he played in only three games during the1944 season, missing the team's victory in theNFL Championship Game due to service inWorld War II.[24][20] During the war, he first served in theU.S. Navy,[23] then joined theU.S. Army and missed all of the1945 season.[25][26]
Canadeo returned in1946, and in February he and several other Packers players received offers to play in theAll-America Football Conference, a rival league to the NFL.[4] He turned down the offer and during the season became Green Bay's primary running back.[26][12] He remained in that position for the next four seasons while still occasionally passing the ball. He led the Packers in rushing yards in each of those four seasons. In1948, he was named a second-team All-Pro byUnited Press andPro Football Illustrated.[27]
Canadeo became the first Packer and the third ever in the NFL to rush for 1,000 yards in a season when he rushed for 1,052 yards in1949.[10] However, he failed to win therushing title, asSteve Van Buren of theEagles claimed it with a record 1,146 yards. The two running backs ran a close race for the rushing yards lead throughout the season, with Canadeo leading for much of it. With three games to play, Canadeo was ahead of Van Buren 831 yards to 792.[28] Van Buren's 205 yards against theSteelers the next game to put him ahead for good.[29][30] Despite Canadeo's output the Packers struggled to a 2–10 (.167) record, and founder Lambeau resigned as head coach.
Sharing running back duties withBilly Grimes in1950 under new head coachGene Ronzani, Canadeo was fourth on the team in rushing yards,[31] but scored four touchdowns.[20] Grimes, who led the team in rushing yards and touchdowns, was quick to give Canadeo credit. "Tony Canadeo is one of the toughest players I ever played with," he said. "He did a lot of blocking for me, and that helped me a lot."[32]
Canadeo's production and carries dropped over his final two seasons, but in1951 he caught a career-high 22 passes. He retired after the1952 season, having carried 1,025 times for 4,197 yards and 26 touchdowns in his career. His carries and rushing yards totals were Packers records at the time.[20] He also passed for 1,642 yards and sixteen touchdowns, and caught 69 passes for 579 yards and five more scores. In addition to his accomplishments on offense, Canadeo recorded nine career interceptions on defense, and before the war was the team's primarypunter.
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Comp | Pct | Yards | TD | Int | Rate | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Lng | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Lng | ||||
| 1941 | GB | 9 | 4 | 16 | 4 | 25.0 | 54 | 2 | 0 | 80.7 | 43 | 137 | 3.2 | 3 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1942 | GB | 11 | 5 | 59 | 24 | 40.7 | 310 | 3 | 4 | 46.6 | 89 | 272 | 3.1 | 3 | 50 | 10 | 66 | 6.6 | 0 | 15 | ||
| 1943 | GB | 10 | 8 | 129 | 56 | 43.4 | 875 | 9 | 12 | 51.0 | 94 | 489 | 5.2 | 3 | 35 | 3 | 31 | 10.3 | 2 | 15 | ||
| 1944 | GB | 3 | 0 | 20 | 9 | 45.0 | 89 | 0 | 0 | 58.1 | 31 | 149 | 4.8 | 0 | 34 | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| 1945 | GB | 0 | 0 | Did not play due to service inWorld War II | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1946 | GB | 11 | 5 | 27 | 7 | 25.9 | 189 | 1 | 3 | 29.0 | 122 | 476 | 3.9 | 0 | 27 | 2 | 25 | 12.5 | 0 | 15 | ||
| 1947 | GB | 12 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 37.5 | 101 | 1 | 1 | 85.4 | 103 | 464 | 4.5 | 2 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1948 | GB | 12 | 9 | 8 | 2 | 25.0 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 | 123 | 589 | 4.8 | 4 | 49 | 9 | 81 | 9.0 | 0 | 32 | ||
| 1949 | GB | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 208 | 1,052 | 5.1 | 4 | 54 | 3 | -2 | -0.7 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 1950 | GB | 12 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 93 | 247 | 2.7 | 4 | 15 | 10 | 54 | 5.4 | 0 | 20 | ||
| 1951 | GB | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 131 | 2.4 | 1 | 15 | 22 | 226 | 10.3 | 2 | 46 | ||
| 1952 | GB | 12 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 | 65 | 191 | 2.9 | 2 | 35 | 9 | 86 | 9.6 | 1 | 21 | ||
| Total | 116 | 80 | 268 | 105 | 39.2 | 1,642 | 16 | 20 | 49.1 | 1,025 | 4,197 | 4.1 | 26 | 54 | 69 | 579 | 8.4 | 5 | 46 | |||
| Source:Pro-Football-Reference.com[33] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Comp | Pct | Yards | TD | Int | Rate | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Lng | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Lng | ||||
| 1941 | GB | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 50.0 | 40 | 0 | 1 | 56.2 | 5 | 7 | 1.4 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 50.0 | 40 | 0 | 1 | 56.2 | 5 | 7 | 1.4 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Source:Pro-Football-Reference.com[33] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Sportswriter Tom Silverstein of theMilwaukee Journal Sentinel said of Canadeo in 2003, "Of all the players, coaches, and executives who left an imprint on the Packers organization, none did it for longer than the affable Canadeo."[26] Canadeo is one of six Green Bay Packers to have his number retired by the team. His number (3) was retired immediately after he left the NFL in 1952, preceded byDon Hutson (14) in 1951 and followed byBart Starr (15) in 1973,Ray Nitschke (66) in 1983,Reggie White (92) in 2005, andBrett Favre (4) in 2015. In1961, kickerBen Agajanian, who played only three games for the Packers, wore Canadeo's No. 3 after being assigned it by mistake.[20]
TheHelms Athletic Foundation named Canadeo to its football hall of fame in 1957. He joined former teammatesClarke Hinkle,Arnie Herber, and Don Hutson.[34] In 1973, he was inducted into theGreen Bay Packers Hall of Fame.
Canadeo was elected to theWisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1974, which he described as a dream come true.[35] He was inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame the same year, the first player from Gonzaga to be so honored, edgingRay Flaherty by two years.[36] He remains the only player from the 1941 draft class inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Two years before his induction in Canton, Canadeo received akidney transplant, which was donated by his son Robert.[37] Robert played football for theUniversity of Colorado in the 1960s.[38]
After his playing career, Canadeo continued his association with the Packers as a televisioncolor analyst—calling the team's games withRay Scott onCBS in the 1960s—and a member of the organization's executive committee. He remained listed as one of the directors emeritus until his death in 2003.[10] He worked as a sales representative in Green Bay for Whittaker Metals during the 1970s.[35] Canadeo and his wife, Ruth, married in 1943 during the football season. The Packers lost the following game, causing coach Lambeau to say there would never be another wedding during the season.[39] Canadeo and Ruth remained together until his death in Green Bay in 2003 at the age of 84.[26][10][40]
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Media related toTony Canadeo at Wikimedia Commons