Roy Lee "Father" Lumpkin (January 27, 1907March 31, 1974) 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 ...

player. A native of

Jefferson, Texas Jefferson is a city and county seat of Marion County, Texas, in Northeast Texas. It has a population of 1,875 as of the 2020 United States census. History Almost every commercial building and house on the main arterial road in Jefferson has a h ...

, Lumpkin attended high school in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. 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 ...

for

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

and was an All-Southern fullback for the undefeated

1928 Georgia Tech Golden Tornado football team The 1928 Georgia Tech Golden Tornado football team represented the Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly known as Georgia Tech) during the 1928 Southern Conference football season. The team, which was a member of the Southern Conference (S ...

that defeated

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

in the

1929 Rose Bowl The 1929 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game and the 15th annual Rose Bowl Game. Played on January 1, 1929, the game saw the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (also known at the time as the Georgia Tech Golden Tornado) defeat the California Gol ...

. In 1929, Lumpkin left Georgia Tech to play professional football for the

Portsmouth Spartans The Portsmouth Spartans were a professional American football team that played in Portsmouth, Ohio, from their founding in 1928 to their relocation to Detroit in 1934. Originally drawing players from defunct independent professional and semi-prof ...

. He played five seasons for Portsmouth from 1929 to 1933 and was selected as a second-team

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

in 1930 and a first-team All-Pro in 1932. He played one season with 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 ...

in 1934 after the Spartans moved to Detroit. He scored the first touchdown in Detroit Lions history. He concluded his football career with the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

from 1935 to 1937.

Early years

Lumpkin was born in

, in 1907. He was the son of Balcombe Lumpkin and Naomi (Davis) Lumpkin. He attended Oak Cliff High School in

where he played fullback for the football team in 1926.

College

In 1927, Lumpkin enrolled at the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public university, public research university and Institute of technology (United States), institute of technology in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, planning to study textile engineering. As a freshman in 1927, he was given the nickname "Father" because of his fatherly manner. As a sophomore, he helped lead the

to an undefeated season and a victory over California in the

. Lumpkin also intercepted two passes in a 13–0 victory over Notre Dame. At the end of the season, he was selected as a fullback on the All-Southern team of

Nash Higgins Alfred Nash Higgins (February 29, 1896 – October 29, 1984) was an American football and track and field coach as well as athletic director, the first in the history of the University of Tampa. He later worked as superintendent of recreation for ...

, chief football scout and assistant coach for the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

. One writer called Lumpkin "the most powerful individual factor" on the 1928 Georgia Tech team and noted: "This big, fast and powerful

backfield The offensive backfield is the area of an American football field behind the line of scrimmage, and players positioned there on offense who begin plays behind the line, typically including the quarterback and running backs ( halfbacks and full ...

star, who is just as valuable as an offensive interferer as a runner,

passer ''Passer'' is a genus of Old World sparrow, sparrows, also known as the true sparrows. The genus contains 28 species and includes the house sparrow and the Eurasian tree sparrow, two of the most common birds in the world. They are small birds wi ...

and pass-receiver, is the best protectionist we have seen this year in staving off opponents who attempt to reach the player who is carrying the ball."

Professional football

Lumpkin did not return to Georgia Tech for his junior year in 1929. Instead, he joined a professional football team in Ohio called the

. On November 24, 1929, he returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown against the

Ironton Tanks The Ironton Tanks were a semi-professional football team organized in 1919 in Ironton, Ohio. Their historical marker gives the story of the Tanks origin: "Semi-professional football began in Ironton in 1893 with a team known as the Irontonians. ...

. Lumpkin became the star of the 1929 Portsmouth team that compiled a 12-2-1 record. In 1932, Lumpkin played in the first

NFL championship game Throughout its history, the National Football league (NFL) and other rival American football leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champions, including a period of inter-league matchups to determine a true national ...

as Chicago defeated Portsmouth. Lumpkin remained with the Spartans as they joined 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) in 1930 and through their move to Detroit as the

in 1934. He earned a reputation as an excellent blocker, leading the way for the Spartans' other backs,

Dutch Clark Earl Harry "Dutch" Clark (October 11, 1906 – August 5, 1978), sometimes also known as "the Flying Dutchman" and "the Old Master", was an American football player and coach, basketball player and coach, and university athletic director. He gain ...

Glenn Presnell Glenn Emery "Press" Presnell (July 28, 1905 – September 13, 2004) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He set the NFL single-season scoring record in 1933 and led the league in total offense. He was the l ...

, and

Ace Gutowsky LeRoy Erwin "Ace" Gutowsky (August 2, 1909 – December 4, 1976) was an American professional American football fullback. He played professional football for eight years from 1932 to 1939 and set the NFL career rushing record in October 1939. ...

. He was also one of the last players in the NFL who refused to wear a helmet. Presnell later recalled: "Probably our most popular player was Father Lumpkin . . . He was one of the toughest human beings I ever saw. I remember seeing him wrestle during the off-season. He was just a very athletic individual. He was a great blocker, and he would say if he didn't take out two men on each play, then he wasn't doing his job. He meant putting them on the ground, not just bump them and go ahead." Lumpkin was selected as a second-team player on the

1930 All-Pro Team The 1930 All-Pro Team consisted of American football players chosen by various selectors for the All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given s ...

and a first-team player on the 1932 All-Pro Team. On September 23, 1934, Lumpkin scored the first touchdown in the Detroit Lions' first game, intercepting a pass and returning it 45 yards for a touchdown in a 9-0 victory over the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

before a crowd of 12,000 persons at the University of Detroit Stadium. In May 1935, the Lions sold Lumpkin to the Brooklyn Dodgers. According to Dutch Clark, the Lions dropped Lumpkin because he refused to give up professional wrestling. He played for Brooklyn from 1935 to 1937. After spending 1938 as a professional wrestler, he signed in 1939 as the head coach of the Louisville Tanks of the American Professional Football League.

Later years

Lumpkin was married to Inez P. Lumpkin. After retiring from football, Lumpkin and his wife lived in

. In his later years, Lumpkin sold bowling supplies. Lumpkin died in 1974 at age 67 in

. The cause of death was cerebral insufficiency and pneumonia due to recent subendocardial infarction. For the last three-and-a-half years of his life, he suffered from ischemic heart disease with episodes of cardiac arrhythmia.Death certificate for Roy Lee Lumpkin, born January 27, 1907, died March 31, 1974. Texas Department of State Health Services; Austin Texas, USA; Texas Death Certificates, 1903–1982. Ancestry.com. Texas, Death Certificates, 1903-1982 atabase on-line He was buried at Pike Cemetery in

Pike, Texas Pike is an unincorporated community in Collin County, located in the U.S. state of Texas. According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had a population of 80 in 2000. It is located within the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. History The area ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lumpkin, Father 1907 births 1974 deaths People from Jefferson, Texas Players of American football from Texas American football fullbacks American football halfbacks American football quarterbacks Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football players Portsmouth Spartans players Detroit Lions players Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL) players All-Southern college football players