Joseph C. Winkler (March 9, 1922 – March 21, 2001) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

who played one season with the

Cleveland Rams The Cleveland Rams were a professional American football team that played in Cleveland from 1936 to 1945. The Rams competed in the second American Football League (AFL) for the 1936 season and the National Football League (NFL) from 1937 to 19 ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and ...

and attended Catholic Central High School in

Hammond, Indiana Hammond ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area, and the only city in Indiana to border Chicago. First settled in the mid-19th century, it is one of the oldest cities of northern Lake County. As of the ...

Early years

Winkler played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, partl ...

at Bishop Noll Institute as a fullback. He earned Indiana Catholic all-state and Chicago Area All-Catholic team honors. He was also a two-time winner of the team’s Outstanding Player award. Winkler graduated in 1941. He was inducted into the Hammond Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.

College career

Winkler played for Purdue Boilermakers as a center and graduated in 1945.

Professional career

Winkler was selected by the Cleveland Rams with the 114th pick in the 1945 NFL Draft and played in eight games for the team during the 1945 season.

References

External links

Just Sports Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winkler, Joe 1922 births 2001 deaths Players of American football from Indiana American football centers Purdue Boilermakers football players Cleveland Rams players Sportspeople from Hammond, Indiana People from Lansing, Illinois