Albert Glen "Turk" Edwards (September 28, 1907 – January 10, 1973) 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 who was a tackle 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). He played his entire career for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

, starting with their first six seasons in

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, and later became the head coach. Edwards was inducted into the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

in 1969.

College career

After graduation from

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

in 1928 in Clarkston, Washington, Edwards 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 Washington State College in nearby Pullman from 1929 to

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

. He helped lead the Cougars to a record during the

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be on J ...

season and an invitation to the on Edwards and teammate became the first

All-Americans 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 ...

from Washington State. He was a member of the Alpha Omicron chapter of Theta Chi

fraternity A fraternity (; whence, "wikt:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular ...

while in college. The nickname "Turk" was given to him by head coach

Professional career

After finishing college, Edwards received offers from three NFL franchises, the recently created

Boston Braves The Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball club that originated in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, and played from 1871 to 1952. Afterwards they moved to History of the Atlanta Braves#Milwaukee, Milwaukee (and became the Milwaukee Braves). ...

, 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 ...

, and the Portsmouth Spartans. He chose the highest bid: $1,500 for 10 games from the Braves, a team that would later become the Boston Redskins and then move to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...

. Edwards played for the Braves/Redskins for nine seasons, winning All-NFL honors from major media outlets every year of his career except his last one. Edwards sustained a career-ending injury during a coin-tossing ceremony prior to a game against the New York Giants in

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, events related to World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *Janu ...

. After calling the coin toss and shaking hands with college teammate

Mel Hein Melvin Jack Hein (August 22, 1909 – January 31, 1992), nicknamed "Old Indestructible", was an American professional American football, football player. In the era of One-platoon system, one-platoon football, he played as a Center (gridiron foo ...

(the Giants' captain), Edwards attempted to pivot around to head back to his sideline. However, his cleats caught in the grass and his oft-injured knee gave way, ending his season and ultimately his career. Edwards was inducted into the

in 1969, which he described as "certainly the greatest honor." He was introduced at the ceremony by Mel Hein, who said, "The thing I'll remember most about Turk Edwards is that he was a true sportsman, a true gentleman and still is."

Coaching career

Edwards continued with the Redskins as an assistant coach from

1941 The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

and then as the

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

from

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

. After 17 consecutive seasons with the Redskins, Edwards retired from professional football.

After football

After retiring from football, Edwards returned to the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

and operated a sporting goods store in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

's University District. In 1961, he moved to Kelso, where he spent 11 years working in the Cowlitz County

Death

After a long illness, Edwards died at age 65 at his Kirkland home on

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Turk 1907 births 1973 deaths American football tackles Boston Braves (NFL) players Boston Redskins players Washington Redskins coaches Washington Redskins players Washington State Cougars football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees People from Clarkston, Washington People from Douglas County, Washington Players of American football from Washington (state) People from Kelso, Washington Sportspeople from Cowlitz County, Washington Washington Redskins head coaches