Alyn Richard Beals (April 27, 1921 – August 11, 1993) was a professional

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 ...

end End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: ** End (category theory) ** End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron footbal ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and 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 ...

(NFL). He played six seasons for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

from 1946 through 1951.

Early life

Beals grew up in San Francisco, California and was raised by his mother, who divorced his father when Beals was three years old. He excelled at

San Francisco Polytechnic High School San Francisco Polytechnic High School was a public secondary school in San Francisco, California. Located from 1912 at 701 Frederick Street, across from Kezar Stadium, the school was in operation from 1884 until 1973. History The school opened i ...

in football (right near

Kezar Stadium Kezar Stadium is an outdoor athletics stadium in San Francisco, California, located adjacent to Kezar Pavilion in the southeastern corner of Golden Gate Park. It is the former home of the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders (first AFL s ...

, which led to a scholarship from Santa Clara University after he picked them over the University of California. Beals was drafted by the Chicago Bears in 1942, but Beals elected to serve in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, where he later became a Field Artillery Battery Commander. Beals scored 46 touchdowns in four seasons with the team (1939 to 1943) and he was inducted into the university's Hall of Fame in 1964.

Football career

Beals was given a letter by the Chicago Bears to gauge his interest in playing for them in his senior season in 1942, but he served in

instead. He did ROTC at Santa Clara, and later served as a Field Artillery Battery Commander, seeing action at

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

and also serving as security during the

Nuremberg trials The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II. Between 1939 and 1945, Nazi Germany invaded m ...

. When the war ended, he was recruited to play for the newly formed

of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and play for

Buck Shaw Lawrence Timothy "Buck" Shaw (March 28, 1899 – March 19, 1977) was an American football player and coach. He was the head coach for Santa Clara Broncos football, Santa Clara University, the California Golden Bears football, University of Califor ...

, his former coach at Santa Clara, bolstered by a $4,500 contract that dwarfed his $275 a month when in the Army. Beals led the AAFC in receiving touchdowns all four years of the league's existence and in 1949 he was the AAFC leader in overall touchdowns (12) and points scored (73). His 14 receiving touchdowns in 1948 was a club record for nearly four decades. When the AAFC folded at the end of the 1949 season, he was the league's all-time scoring leader with 278 points. When Beals retired with 49 touchdowns as a receiver, he was 3rd all-time in pro football history. His 211 receptions were sixth all-time at the time of retirement. The dawn of a heightened passing game in the half century since his retirement has meant that he ranks in the top 140 in touchdowns as of .https://www.pro-football-reference.com/leaders/rec_td_career_1951.htm

References

External links

* 1921 births 1993 deaths People from Marysville, California Players of American football from California American football wide receivers San Francisco 49ers (AAFC) players San Francisco 49ers players Santa Clara Broncos football players Sportspeople from Greater Sacramento {{widereceiver-1920s-stub