Charles Frederick DeShane (December 10, 1918 – November 5, 2006) was a professional

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 ...

player in 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 ...

for 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) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

from 1945 to 1949.

Career

Born in

Waukesha, Wisconsin Waukesha ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 71,158 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Fox River (Illinois River tributary), Fox River adjacent to th ...

, DeShane was the starting

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

in 1939 and 1940 and was named to the

All-Southeastern Conference The All-SEC football team is an annual Southeastern Conference (SEC) honor bestowed on the best players in the conference following every college football season. Seasons

Following is a list of all-conference teams in the history of the SEC: ...

team his senior season. He coached football from 1942 to 1944 at his alma mater, Creston High School (

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

), before signing with the Lions. From 1945 to 1946, Deshane played quarterback and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

for the Lions. He played

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

from 1947 to 1949.

Personal life

DeShane was also a

railroad conductor A conductor (North American English) or guard (Commonwealth English) is a train crew member responsible for operational and safety duties that do not involve actual operation of the train/locomotive. The role is common worldwide under various j ...

during the offseasons. He was married to his second wife Evelyn for 31 years and had four children with his wife Lorraine, 14 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren. He died in

. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Pamela Rae and his son, Robert Floyd. His son Charles Jr and daughter Sandra survive.

External links

*
''Detroit Free Press'' obituary
1918 births 2006 deaths Players of American football from Waukesha, Wisconsin Players of American football from Grand Rapids, Michigan American football linebackers American football quarterbacks American football offensive guards Alabama Crimson Tide football players Detroit Lions players Conductor (rail) 20th-century American sportsmen {{quarterback-1910s-stub