Alexander Francis "Wojie" Wojciechowicz (; August 12, 1915 – July 13, 1992) 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 wit ...
player from 1935 to 1950. He was a two-way player who played at
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 eccentricity ...
on offense and at
linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, pl ...
on defense. He has been inducted into both the
College
A college ( Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...
NFL Alumni Association
The NFL Alumni Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is composed of former National Football League (NFL) players, coaches, team staff members and associate members who work voluntarily to raise funds for youth-oriented causes and ...
Fordham Rams
The Fordham Rams are the Varsity team, varsity sports teams for Fordham University. Their colors are maroon and white. The Fordham Rams are members of NCAA Division I and compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference for most sports. In football, the R ...
from 1935 to 1937 and was a member of the line that became known as the
Seven Blocks of Granite The Seven Blocks of Granite were the Fordham University football team's offensive line under head coach "Sleepy" Jim Crowley and line coach Frank Leahy. The individuals identified among the Seven Blocks of Granite were Leo Paquin, Johnny Druze, Al ...
. He was selected as the consensus first-team All-American center in both 1936 and 1937.
Wojciechowicz was selected by the
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...
in the first round of the 1938 NFL Draft and played for the Lions from 1938 to 1946. He was selected as a first-team All-NFL player in 1939 and 1944. In 1946, he was released by the Lions and then sold to the
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
, for whom he played from 1946 to 1950. He won two NFL championships with the Eagles, in
1948
Events January
* January 1
** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated.
** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect.
** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...
and
1949
Events
January
* January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022.
* January 2 – ...
.
Early years
Wojciechowicz was born in 1915 in
South River, New Jersey
South River is a borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 16,008,South River High School. His father, Andrew Wojciechowicz (1890–1974), was a Polish immigrant and tailor.
College football
Wojciechowicz enrolled at
Fordham University
Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...
Fordham Rams football
The Fordham Rams football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Fordham University, located in the borough of The Bronx in New York City. The team competes in the NCAA Division I NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivisi ...
team from 1935 to 1937. He was a member of the Fordham line, alongside
Vince Lombardi
Vincent Thomas Lombardi (June 11, 1913 – September 3, 1970) was an American football coach and executive in the National Football League (NFL). Lombardi is considered by many to be the greatest coach in football history, and he is recognized a ...
, that became known as the
Seven Blocks of Granite The Seven Blocks of Granite were the Fordham University football team's offensive line under head coach "Sleepy" Jim Crowley and line coach Frank Leahy. The individuals identified among the Seven Blocks of Granite were Leo Paquin, Johnny Druze, Al ...
. The undefeated 1937 Fordham team, with Wojciechowicz at center, compiled a 7–0–1 record, was ranked #3 in the final
AP Poll
The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broa ...
, and gave up only 16 points all season. He was selected as the consensus first-team All-American center in both 1936 and 1937.
Fordham coach
Jim Crowley
James Harold "Sleepy Jim" Crowley (September 10, 1902 – January 15, 1986) was an American football player and coach. He gained fame as one-fourth of the University of Notre Dame's legendary " Four Horsemen" backfield where he played halfback f ...
called Wojciechowicz "one of the great defensive centers" and noted that he "seldom made a bad pass from center." He made a name for himself in the annual rivalry games with
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
, resulting in three consecutive scoreless ties. The final tie was the only blemish on the record of the 1937 Pitt team that won the national championship in the
AP Poll
The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broa ...
. Wojciechowicz later cited the Pitt games as his three biggest thrills in football, saying, "Pitt had the dream backfield, with all-America
Marshall Goldberg
Marshall Goldberg (October 24, 1917 – April 3, 2006) was a National Football League (NFL) All-Pro American football player. He played college football as a halfback and fullback at the University of Pittsburgh. At Pittsburgh, Goldberg was ...
, and we had the dream line. It was a stalemate for three years. Those three games proved what football is all about."
Professional football
Detroit Lions
Wojciechowicz was selected by the
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...
in the first round, sixth overall pick, of the 1938 NFL Draft. He signed with the Lions in July 1938. For nine years, Wojciechowicz was a fixture in the Lions' lineup, a 60-minute player who played at center on offense and linebacker on defense. He was selected as a first-team All-NFL player in 1939 and 1944 and had seven interceptions in 1944, a Lions single-season record at the time. Between 1938 and 1946, he appeared in 86 games for the Lions, 61 of them as a starter. The
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coac ...
, in its biography of Wojciechowicz, states: "On the field, . . . he was all business, one of the last of the 'iron men' of football, a center on offense and a sure-tackling linebacker with unusually good range, on defense." In October 1946, after the Lions lost their season opener, Detroit coach
Gus Dorais
Charles Emile "Gus" Dorais (July 2, 1891 – January 3, 1954) was an American football player, coach, and athletic administrator.
Dorais played college football at the University of Notre Dame, where he was an All-American in 1913 at quarterbac ...
released four linemen, including Wojciechowicz. Wojciechowicz announced at the time that he would return to his business in New Jersey and added, "This day had to come, and I can't say I'm disappointed that it happened now."
Philadelphia Eagles
Two days after the Lions announced his release, the Eagles purchased the Lions' rights to Wojciechowicz for an undisclosed sum. He appeared in seven games for the Eagles, only one as a starter, during the 1946 season.
In 1947, he became the Eagles' starting center, appearing in all 12 games for the club, 11 as a starter. The 1947 Eagles compiled an 8–4 record, finished in first place in the NFL East, but lost to the Cardinals in the
1947 NFL Championship Game
The 1947 NFL Championship Game was the 15th annual National Football League (NFL) championship game, held December 28 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. The attendance was 30,759, well
The game featured the Western Division champion Chicago Cardina ...
.
In 1948, Wojciechowicz lost the starting center job to
Vic Lindskog
Victor Junior Lindskog (December 3, 1914 – February 28, 2003) was an American football offensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Background
Victor J. Lindskog was born in Roundup, Montana. He played ...
, but appeared in 10 games, mostly on defense, for the 1948 Eagles team that shut out the Cardinals in the
1948 NFL Championship Game
The 1948 NFL Championship Game was the 16th title game of the National Football League (NFL), played at Shibe Park in Philadelphia on December 19.
The game was a rematch of the previous year's title game between the defending champion, the Ch ...
. In 1949, he appeared in all 12 games, but only one as a starter, as
Chuck Bednarik
Charles Philip Bednarik (May 1, 1925 – March 21, 2015), nicknamed "Concrete Charlie", was an American professional football player in the National Football League (NFL). He has been ranked one of the hardest hitting tacklers in NFL history an ...
was the starting center for the Eagles team. That year, the Eagles won their second consecutive NFL championship, shutting out the
Rams
In engineering, RAMS (reliability, availability, maintainability and safety)1949 NFL Championship Game
The 1949 NFL Championship Game was the 17th title game for the National Football League (NFL), played on December 18 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. It is remembered for the driving rain that caused the field to ...
.
He was considered past his prime when he joined the Eagles, but head coach
Greasy Neale
Alfred Earle "Greasy" Neale (November 5, 1891 – November 2, 1973) was an American football and baseball player and coach.
Early life and playing career
Neale was born in Parkersburg, West Virginia. Although writers eventually assumed that Nea ...
Asbury Park Press
The ''Asbury Park Press'' is a daily newspaper in Monmouth and Ocean counties of New Jersey and has the third largest circulation in the state. It has been owned by Gannett since 1997.
Its reporting staff has been awarded numerous national hono ...
'', July 15, 1992. Accessed May 10, 2017. "Alex Wojciechowicz , one of 12 Philadelphia Eagles in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, died Monday at his home in Forked River, N.J." Teammate
Jack Hinkle
John M. Hinkle (October 31, 1917 – November 17, 2006) was an American football player and coach. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) with the New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles and the " Steagles". Hinkle la ...
called Wojciechowicz the "toughest guy" on the Eagles' championship teams and added, "He looked like a big, shaggy dog. A sad-eyed St. Bernard. But he'd rip your head off."
In his final NFL season, Wojciechowicz appeared in nine games, none as a starter, and saw only limited action. In December 1950, he announced that he was retiring as a player.
Family, honors and later years
Wojciechowicz was married to Katherine Mallen, and they had three sons and a daughter. For many years after retiring from the NFL, he lived in
Wanamassa, New Jersey
Wanamassa is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) within Ocean Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States.NFL Alumni Association
The NFL Alumni Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is composed of former National Football League (NFL) players, coaches, team staff members and associate members who work voluntarily to raise funds for youth-oriented causes and ...
, established to negotiate with the owners for the creation of a pension plan to benefit the game's early players, and was elected as its president in 1968. His son recalled: "He worked hard to establish the indigent players' fund and establish pensions."
After retiring from football, Wojciechowicz received numerous honors including the following:
* In 1955, he was inducted to the
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were v ...
.
* In 1968, he was inducted into the
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coac ...
. At the time, Bill Daley wrote in ''The New York Times'': "Fewer than a dozen men had the durability and continuing excellence to survive the rigors of smashing play for a longer period of time."
* In 1969, he was selected to the
National Football League 1940s All-Decade Team
This is a list of all NFL players who had outstanding performances throughout the 1940s and have been compiled together into this fantasy group. The team was selected by voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame retroactively in 1969 to mark the leag ...
.
* In 1970, he was one of the five inaugural inductees into the Fordham University Athletic Hall of Fame.
* In 1971, he was inducted into the New Jersey All Sports Hall of Fame.
* In 1975, Wojciechowicz was inducted into the National Polish American Sports Hall of Fame.
* In 1982, he became the third player, after
Bronko Nagurski
Bronislau "Bronko" Nagurski (November 3, 1908 – January 7, 1990) was a Canadian-born professional American football player in the National Football League (NFL), renowned for his strength and size. Nagurski was also a successful professional w ...
and
Red Grange
Harold Edward "Red" Grange (June 13, 1903 – January 28, 1991), nicknamed "the Galloping Ghost" and "the Wheaton Iceman", was an American football halfback for the University of Illinois, the Chicago Bears, and the short-lived New York Yankees ...
Forked River
Forked River () is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Lacey Township, in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.
section of
Lacey Township, New Jersey
Lacey Township is a township in Ocean County, New Jersey and is considered part of the Jersey Shore and South Jersey regions. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 27,644, reflecting an increase of 2,298 (+9.1%) fr ...