Garth Robert Cole (May 5, 1916 – September 7, 1971) 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 ...

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who played four seasons with 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 ...

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 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 Trinity University.

Early life and college

Garth Robert Cole was born on May 5, 1916, in

Stamford, Texas Stamford is a city on the border of Jones County, Texas, Jones and Haskell County, Texas, Haskell counties in west-central Texas, United States. The population was 2,907 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Henry McHarg, president of t ...

. He attended Stamford High School in Stamford. Cole was a member of the

Trinity Tigers The Trinity Tigers is the nickname for the sports teams of Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. They participate in the NCAA's Division III and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC). The school mascot is LeeRoy, a Bengal tige ...

of Trinity University from 1933 to 1936.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the

1937 NFL draft The 1937 NFL draft was the second draft held by the National Football League (NFL). The draft took place December 12, 1936, at the Hotel Lincoln in New York City. The draft consisted of 10 rounds, with 100 player selections, two of which would ...

, Cole signed with the

. He played in two games for the Giants during the 1937 season. He appeared in nine games, starting, one in 1938. Cole also played in the

1938 NFL Championship Game The 1938 NFL Championship Game was the sixth championship game played in the National Football League (NFL). It was played on December 11 at the Polo Grounds in New York City, with an attendance of 48,120, a record crowd for a title game. The ...

, a 23–17 victory over the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

. On January 15, 1939, the Giants played a team of football All-Stars in the NFL's first-ever All-Star game. Cole played in ten games in 1939. He also appeared in the

1939 NFL Championship Game The 1939 NFL Championship Game was the seventh league championship game of the National Football League (NFL), held on December 10 inside the Milwaukee Mile, located at the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, a suburb west of Milwaukee ...

but the Giants lost 27–0 to the Packers. He played in nine games in 1940.

Personal life

Cole died on September 7, 1971, in

Dallas County, Texas Dallas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 2,613,539, and was estimated to be 2,656,028 in 2024, making it the List of counties in Texas, second-most populo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Pete 1916 births 1971 deaths Players of American football from Haskell County, Texas American football guards Trinity Tigers football players New York Giants players People from Stamford, Texas