Alphonse William Hoptowit (September 7, 1915 – April 6, 1981), nicknamed "Hoppy" and "Tonto", was an

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

tackle who played four seasons with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was drafted by 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 ...

in the eleventh round of the

1938 NFL draft The 1938 NFL draft was held on December 12, 1937, at the Sherman House Hotel in Chicago, Illinois. The draft consisted of 12 rounds and 110 player selections. It began with the Cleveland Rams using the first overall pick of the draft to selec ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Washington State University Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...

and attended

Wapato High School Wapato High School is a public high school serving 874 students in grades nine through 12 located in Wapato, Washington, United States. WHS is part of the Wapato School District. The athletics team is the Wolves. The school was constructed in ...

Wapato, Washington Wapato () is a town in Yakima County, Washington, United States. The population was 4,607 at the 2020 census. It has a Hispanic majority. History Origins The town was founded in 1885 by Indian Postmaster Alexander McCredy as a railroad stop on ...

. Hoptowit was also a member of the Newark Bears of the American Association.

College career

Hoptowit played for the

Washington State Cougars The Washington State Cougars (known informally as the Cougs) are the sport, athletic teams that represent Washington State University. Located in Pullman, Washington, WSU is a member of the Pac-12 Conference in NCAA Division I. The athletic pr ...

from 1933 to 1937. He earned Second-team All- PCC honors his senior year in 1937.

Professional career

Hoptowit was selected by the

with the 91st pick in the

. He played two seasons of rugby in Canada prior to joining the

. He came up to the Chicago Bears in 1941 before playing for the Newark Bears of the American Association the same year. Newark was Chicago's

farm team In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a Team sport, team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any s ...

. Hoptowit later played in 41 games, starting nineteen, for the Chicago Bears from 1942 to 1945.

Coaching career

Hoptowit served as an assistant coach for the Chicago Bears' farm team, the Akron Bears, in 1946. He was an assistant coach for the Washington State Cougars in 1947.

Personal life

Hoptowit was a Native American.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoptowit, Al 1915 births 1981 deaths American football tackles Washington State Cougars football players Chicago Bears players Washington State Cougars football coaches 20th-century Native American people Native American players of American football Native Americans in Washington (state) Players of American football from Yakima, Washington American Association (American football) players