Rex Daniel Grossman Sr. (February 5, 1924 – June 13, 1980) was an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...
linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, pl ...
and
fullback who played for two seasons in the
All-America Football Conference
The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a 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 of the ...
(AAFC) and one season in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...
(NFL). After playing
college football for
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...
, 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
in the twenty-ninth round of the
1948 NFL Draft
The 1948 National Football League Draft was held on December 19, 1947, at the Fort Pitt Hotel in Pittsburgh. This was the second year that the first overall pick was a bonus pick determined by lottery, with the previous year's winner Chicago Bea ...
. He played for the
Baltimore Colts
The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...
of the AAFC from
1948
Events January
* January 1
** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated.
** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect.
** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...
to
1949
Events
January
* January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022.
* January 2 – ...
, until they merged with the NFL in
1950
Events January
* January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed.
* January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...
, and for 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) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...
of the NFL in 1950. His grandson,
Rex
Rex may refer to:
* Rex (title) (Latin: king, ruler, monarch), a royal title
** King of Rome (Latin: Rex Romae), chief magistrate of the Roman Kingdom
People
* Rex (given name), for people with the given name
* Rex (surname), for people with t ...
, is a former NFL
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
who played for 11 seasons in the league and started for 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...
in
Super Bowl XLI
Super Bowl XLI was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Chicago Bears to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grossman, Rex Sr.
1924 births
1980 deaths
American football linebackers
American football fullbacks
People from Huntington, Indiana
Players of American football from Indiana
Indiana Hoosiers football players
Baltimore Colts (1947–1950) players
Detroit Lions players