Cecil Paul "Tex" Irvin (October 9, 1906 – February 11, 1978), also nicknamed "Honk", 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 ...

tackle who played five seasons 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

Providence Steam Roller The Providence Steam Rollers (also referred to as the Providence Steam Roller, the Providence Steamroller and the Providence Steamrollers) were a professional American football team based in Providence, Rhode Island in the National Football Leag ...

and

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 ...

. He first enrolled at the Schreiner Institute before transferring to

Davis & Elkins College Davis & Elkins College (D&E) is a private college in Elkins, West Virginia, United States. It operates as a nonprofit liberal arts college and is affiliated with the Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities. History The school was ...

Early life

Irvin first 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 ...

for the De Leon High School Bearcats for one year. He then played for the Stamford High School Bulldogs for one year. He played his final two years of high school football for the Cisco High School Lobos.

College career

Irvin first 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 ...

in 1926 at the Schreiner Institute. Irvin then transferred to play four years as a tackle and fullback for the Davis & Elkins Senators of

. He earned

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 ...

honors in 1929. He graduated from Davis & Elkins College in 1931.

Professional career

Irvin played in ten games, starting nine, for the

during the 1931 season. He played in 46 games, starting 20, for the

from 1932 to 1935.

Personal life

Irvin returned to

De Leon, Texas De Leon ( ) is a city located in Comanche County, Texas, Comanche County in the U.S. state of Texas. Its population was 2,258 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is commonly associated with being named after the Spanish explorer Ponc ...

to work for the Humble Pipeline Company after retiring from football. He spent time in 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 ...

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 ...

and served as a coach for several football programs for the military. His first stint came as a line coach at

Southwestern University Southwestern University (Southwestern or SU) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Georgetown, Texas. Formed in 1873 from a revival of collegiate charters granted in 1840, Southwester ...

Georgetown, Texas Georgetown is a city in Texas and the county seat of Williamson County, Texas, United States. The population was 67,176 at the 2020 census, and according to 2024 census estimates, the city is estimated to have a population of 101,344. It is no ...

, where the Navy had set a training program. Many players from Texas colleges who had entered the military were stationed at Georgetown and assigned to continue their college work at Southwestern. Irvin was later transferred to the Pacific and coached in the Central Pacific Area Football League. He returned to work in De Leon for Humble after the war. He was transferred several times while working for Humble but returned to De Leon after his retirement. Irvin was inducted into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame in 1969.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Irvin, Tex 1906 births 1978 deaths Players of American football from Texas American football tackles American football fullbacks Schreiner Mountaineers football players Davis & Elkins Senators football players Providence Steam Roller players New York Giants players United States Navy personnel of World War II Southwestern Pirates football coaches People from De Leon, Texas