Joseph Daniell Hoague (February 18, 1918 – January 4, 1991) 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 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 ...

(NFL) with the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

and later the Philadelphia-Pittsburgh Steagles and

Boston Yanks The Boston Yanks were a National Football League team based in Boston, Massachusetts, that played from 1944 to 1948. The team played its home games at Fenway Park. Any games that conflicted with the Boston Red Sox baseball schedule in the Ameri ...

. Before joining the NFL, Hoague 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 ...

Colgate University Colgate University is a Private university, private college in Hamilton, New York, United States. The Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York ...

Early life

Hoague began his athletic career while attending

The Governor's Academy The Governor's Academy (informally known as Governor's or Govs) is a co-educational, college-preparatory day and boarding school in Byfield, Massachusetts. Established in 1763 in memory of Massachusetts governor William Dummer, Governor's is ...

, the oldest

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. There, he played five varsity sports and served as the

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

team captain in his senior year. In his junior year, Hoague played football,

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

, and baseball; as a senior, he competed in football,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, winter track, and baseball. While at the school he was also awarded the Academy’s most honored prize, the Morse Flag, for earning the highest respect of the faculty.

College career

Hoague graduated in 1937, and so afterward attended Colgate University. At Colgate, he was a three-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

and honorable

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. He was inducted into the Colgate University Hall of Honor in 1990.

Pro football

After college, he was drafted by 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

in the 13th round (111th overall) of the

1941 NFL draft The 1941 NFL draft was held on December 10, 1940, at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Chicago Bears selected halfback Tom Harmon. The Bears selected 24 players, but forfeited their final fou ...

. His rights were transferred to the

due to the events later referred to as the Pennsylvania Polka. He played in two seasons with the Steelers. However, he was later called up to fight in

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 was drafted into the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

and was out of football until 1946, when he played one last season with the Boston Yanks. However, before he left for the Navy, Steagles coach

Walt Kiesling Walter Andrew Kiesling (May 27, 1903 – March 2, 1962) was an American professional football guard and coach who spent 36 years in the National Football League (NFL). He was posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1966 and ...

placed Hoague in the line-up one last time in a game against 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 ...

Coaching career

In 1980, Hoague was named to the National High School Association Hall of Fame for his dedication to coaching football at Melrose High School in

Melrose, Massachusetts Melrose is a city located in the Greater Boston metropolitan area in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Its population as of the 2020 census was 29,817. It is a suburb located approximately seven miles north of Boston. It is situate ...

. As a high school football coach at Melrose,

Natick Natick ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 37,006 at the 2020 census. west of Boston, Natick is part of the Greater Boston area. ...

, and

Taunton High School Taunton High School (often abbreviated THS) is located within a large, three-floor, interconnected, multi-block complex in the eastern section of Taunton, Massachusetts, United States. It is an urban public high school with an estimated average s ...

s, Hoague achieved a combined record of 200 victories. He was also recognized by his induction into the Massachusetts Football Coaches Hall of Fame.

References

External links

Governor's Academy profile

Last Team Standing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoague, Joe 1918 births 1991 deaths Players of American football from Brookline, Massachusetts United States Navy personnel of World War II Boston Yanks players Pittsburgh Steelers players Steagles players and personnel Colgate Raiders football players The Governor's Academy alumni