Abe Eliowitz (November 10, 1910 – November 19, 1981) was a star football player in

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

college football and in the days before the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). He also played college baseball.

Early life and education

Eliowitz attended

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

from 1930 to 1932. In 1931, Eliowitz was named an

All America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

all-star honorable mention, and received the first MVP (Governor of Michigan) award ever given by Michigan State, and the Spartans finished with a record of 5–3–1. In 1932, Abe was co-captain and was named Grantland Rice All America honorable mention as MSU had its best season during his career, compiling a record of 7–1–0. An all-around athlete, Eliowitz played on the baseball team and is sixth all-time in school history in triples in a season with six (1931), and triples in a career with 10. Eliowitz always attracted attention, as both a college and professional player, with his highly skilled left-handed passing and punting.

Career

After graduating, Eliowitz went to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

to play football. He played five seasons (1933–1937), three with the

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded on September 19, 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup cham ...

and two with the Montreal Indians. He was an all-star five times as a running back and as a flying wing. In 1935, he led the

Interprovincial Rugby Football Union The East Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League, its counterpart being the West Division. Although the CFL was not founded until 1958, the East Division and its clubs are descended from earlier leagues. T ...

with 62 points and was the winner of the

Jeff Russel Memorial Trophy The Jeff Russel Memorial Trophy is a Canadian football award recognizing the most outstanding football player of the Quebec Student Sport Federation (RESQ) The trophy was originally donated to the Canadian Rugby Union in 1928 to honour former Mon ...

for fair play and sportsmanship. He was inducted into the

Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about the CFL, ...

in 1969. After playing in Canada, he became a physical education teacher in the

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

school system and continued to coach football, winning city league championships at

Denby Denby is a village in the England, English county of Derbyshire that is notable as the birthplace of John Flamsteed, England's first Astronomer Royal, and the location of the Denby Pottery Company. Denby is east from Belper and north of Derb ...

and

Cooley High School Thomas M. Cooley High School is an abandoned high school located at the intersection of Hubbell Avenue and Chalfonte Street, on the northwest side of Detroit, Michigan. The three-story, Mediterranean Revival-style facility opened its doors on S ...

.Mail brings back memories of great Abe Eliowitz Ottawa Citizen, December 10, 1981
/ref> He was married to Gertrude Lipman on July 26, 1933, in Detroit and later to Ida Sara Lachman on February 14, 1945, in Detroit.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eliowitz, Abe Players of American football from New York City Ottawa Rough Riders players Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees Jewish American players of American football Michigan State Spartans football players 1910 births 1981 deaths High school football coaches in Michigan 20th-century American Jews Players of Canadian football from New York City Jews from New York (state)