John Francis Helwig (December 5, 1927 – December 2, 1994) 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 ...

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 ...

who played four seasons with 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 ...

of 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). He was selected by the Bears in the eleventh round of the

1950 NFL draft The 1950 NFL draft was held January 20–21, 1950, at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia. With the league absorbing the Baltimore Colts, Cleveland Browns, and San Francisco 49ers from the All-America Football Conference, these three t ...

after playing

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 and college

John Francis Helwig was born on December 5, 1927, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He attended Mount Carmel High School in Los Angeles. Helwig played

at the

. He was also an

All-America 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 ...

shot putter The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival (1896), and women's competition beg ...

for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish track and field team, placing 8th at the 1949 NCAA Track and Field Championships.

Professional career

Helwig was selected by the

in the 11th round, with the 140th overall pick, of the

. However, he was drafted into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

in April 1951 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 ...

. After the war, he signed with the Bears on July 7, 1953. Helwig played in 42 games, starting 23 games, for the Bears from 1953 to 1956.

Personal life

Helwig's wife had been illegally collecting John's NFL

pension A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a " defined benefit plan", wh ...

since his death and had twice told officials that he was alive. After his wife's death in 2007, their daughter began collecting the pension before she was charged with fraud in 2011. The pension collected by John's wife and daughter after his death added up to over $200,000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Helwig, John 1927 births 1994 deaths Players of American football from Los Angeles American football linebackers Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Chicago Bears players American male shot putters Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's track and field athletes Track and field athletes from Los Angeles United States Army personnel of the Korean War