Wayland Herman Becker (November 2, 1910 – December 1, 1984) was an American football player. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons.

Early life

Becker was born in

Soperton, Wisconsin Soperton is an unincorporated community located within the town of Wabeno, in Forest County, Wisconsin, United States. History A post office called Soperton was established in 1905, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1956. T ...

, and attended East High School in

Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The county seat of Brown County, it is at the head of Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It is above sea lev ...

. While in high school, he twice led his football team to Fox River Valley conference championships, in 1928 and 1929. Becker went on to attend Marquette University, where he played football and basketball, lettering twice.

Football career

Becker began his NFL career with the

George Halas George Stanley Halas Sr. (; February 2, 1895October 31, 1983), nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was an American professional football player, coach, and team owner. He was the founder and owner of the National Football League's Chic ...

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 NF ...

in 1934. He played just two games for the Bears before completing the 1934 season with the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

, with whom he stayed through the 1935 season. In 1936 Becker went to 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 club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

, where he spent the next three seasons. Those Packers teams played in the NFL Championship Game twice during his tenure, winning in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

and losing in

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

. He finished his NFL career in 1939 with the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

. He was released by the Pirates after two games. In 1941 he turned up on the Columbus Bullies of the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

. The team won the AFL championship and Becker was named by the league's coaches as second-team All-League based on his performance that season.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Becker, Wayland 1910 births 1984 deaths American football defensive ends American football wide receivers Chicago Bears players Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL) players Green Bay Packers players Pittsburgh Pirates (football) players Columbus Bullies players Marquette Golden Avalanche football players Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball players People from Forest County, Wisconsin People from Shawano County, Wisconsin Players of American football from Wisconsin People from Lena, Wisconsin American men's basketball players Green Bay East High School alumni