Gasper George Urban (March 18, 1923 – May 17, 1998) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who played one season with the Chicago Rockets of the

All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a major professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many ...

(AAFC). He was selected by the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

in the 17th round of the 1946 NFL draft. 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 ...

at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

Early life

Gasper George Urban was born on March 18, 1923, in

Lynn, Massachusetts Lynn is the eighth-largest List of municipalities in Massachusetts, municipality in Massachusetts, United States, and the largest city in Essex County, Massachusetts, Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line ...

. He played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

at Lynn Classical High School in Lynn. He was a team captain his senior year in 1941, earning All-North Shore honors and helping Classical win the Class A state title with a 13–0 record.

College career

Urban was a member of the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 26 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

of the

from 1942 to 1943. The 1943 Fighting Irish were national champions. He then served in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He then returned to play for the Fighting Irish from 1946 to 1947 and alternated with George Connor at tackle. Notre Dame won the national championship both seasons. Urban graduated from Notre Dame in 1948.

Professional career

Urban was selected by the

in the 17th round, with the 160th overall pick, of the 1946 NFL draft. He signed with the Chicago Rockets of the

in 1948. He played in all 14 games, starting one, for the Rockets during the 1948 season and recorded one interception. The Rockets finished the year with a 1–13 record. Urban became a free agent after the season.

Personal life

After his football career, Urban became a sales trainee with

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

. He was called back into the Marines during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. He was later a New England branch manager for

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

. He died on May 17, 1998, in

St. Augustine, Florida St. Augustine ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Located 40 miles (64 km) south of downtown Jacksonville, the city is on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. Founded in 1565 by Spani ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Urban, Gasper 1923 births 1998 deaths American football guards American football linebackers American football tackles Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Chicago Rockets players Players of American football from Lynn, Massachusetts United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War