Paul Christman

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Paul Joseph Christman^[1] (March 5, 1918 - March 2, 1970) was an American football player and a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. He played college football for the University of Missouri and professionally for the Chicago Cardinals and Green Bay Packers.

[edit] Collegiate career

A St. Louis native, Christman led the Missouri Tigers to a 20-8 record during his three seasons as their starting quarterback. He was a two-time All-American, and led the nation in touchdown passes in 1940. He was Missouri's all-time leading passer until 1976, when he was surpassed by Steve Pisarkiewicz. While at Missouri University he was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity. His jersey number, 44, is one of six retired by the school. In 1956, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

[edit] National Football League career

Christman played six seasons in the National Football League, from 1945-1950. He was a member of the so-called "Million Dollar Backfield," which led the Cardinals to the 1947 NFL Championship. A notoriously poor ball-handler, at one time he owned the record for most fumbles in a game (five) and most own fumbles recovered in a season (eight).

[edit] Broadcasting career

After retiring as a player he worked as a color commentator for American Football League games, opposite legendary play-by-play announcer Curt Gowdy. In 1967, the pair called Super Bowl I for NBC.

[edit] Personal

His daughter is noted Scientology critic Tory Christman.

[edit] Death

Christman died in 1970 in Lake Forest, Illinois from a heart attack.

[edit] See also

• List of NFL on NBC commentator pairings
• List of NFL on CBS commentator pairings

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• NFL.com list of fumble records
• Pro Football Hall of Fame article on the "Million Dollar Backfield"
• Career statistics at databaseFootball.com
• Biography from the College Football Hall of Fame
• Tigers Football Honors and Records