Ibrahim Khalil "Abe" Mickal was a Lebanese-American college football player and a doctor.
33 Facts About Abe Mickal
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Abe Mickal played as a halfback for the LSU Tigers football team of Louisiana State University, where he was notable for his passing skills and play-making ability, which earned him the nickname "Miracle Mickal".
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In 1936, Abe Mickal played quarterback for a college all-star team that was the first team of college players to defeat a professional team.
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Abe Mickal was a charter member of the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1937 and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1967.
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Abe Mickal earned his medical degree in 1940, and after serving in World War II began a lifelong career in obstetrics and gynecology.
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Actively involved in various university affairs during and after his time as a student, Abe Mickal was honored as LSU's "Alumnus of the Year" in 1980.
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Abe Mickal was born in the Levant in an area that is today part of Lebanon.
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Abe Mickal immigrated with his family to the United States in 1920, where they arrived on Ellis Island.
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Abe Mickal settled in McComb, Mississippi and attended McComb High School, where he played football, baseball, and basketball and ran track.
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Abe Mickal was an all-around player; a triple-threat running back who played on defense.
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Abe Mickal showed his versatility in the first game of the 1933 season against Rice, tossing a 40-yard pass on the first play from scrimmage to end Pete Burge and booting punts of 76 and 61 yards.
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Abe Mickal scored the only touchdown of LSU's final game of the season, against Tennessee, with a goal line dive into the end zone.
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Late in the fourth quarter and down by a touchdown, Abe Mickal dropped back at his own 35-yard line and hurled a pass down the middle of the field.
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Abe Mickal averaged over 50 yards per punt on nine punts.
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Abe Mickal was named a first-team All-SEC selection as a fullback by the Associated Press and as a halfback by the UP.
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When it came time for his ceremonial "seating" Abe Mickal refused to appear for the ceremony, despite the urging of Long.
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The day he was to be inducted, Abe Mickal said in a telegram to Long that if he accepted the senatorship he would introduce a joint resolution that made it "unlawful" for any Tulane player to cross the LSU goal line in 1934.
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Abe Mickal had a slow start to 1935 while he recovered from a broken ankle he suffered over the summer.
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Abe Mickal was named to the AP All-SEC second-team as a fullback after the season, and earned second-team All-America honors from Liberty magazine.
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In September 1936, Abe Mickal played quarterback for the Centennial College All-Stars, a team composed of college players from southern schools to play against the National Football League's Chicago Bears at Cotton Bowl stadium.
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Abe Mickal scored the All-Stars' only touchdown with a dive into the end zone from the one-foot line in the third quarter.
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Abe Mickal had a chance to tackle Nagurski before the goal line.
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Abe Mickal was actively involved in the university's Reserve Officers' Training Corps.
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Abe Mickal received the Outstanding Cadet Award as a freshman and was regimental sergeant major as a junior.
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Abe Mickal was a member of the Theta Kappa Nu fraternity.
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Abe Mickal was the first player from LSU to ever be drafted into the NFL, selected in the sixth round of the 1936 NFL draft by the Detroit Lions.
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Abe Mickal instead chose to complete his medical degree at the Louisiana State University School of Medicine, where he graduated from in 1940.
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Abe Mickal served as a major in the US Army Medical Corps during World War II.
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Abe Mickal was a founding member of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology and the Infectious Disease Society for Obstetrics and Gynecology, and served as president of the Society of Gynecologic Surgeons from 1981 to 1982.
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Abe Mickal was a charter member of the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1937.
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Abe Mickal was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1969 and the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 1985.
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Abe Mickal was named LSU's "Alumnus of the Year" in 1980 and its "Medical Alumnus of the Year" in 1985.
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The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists gave Abe Mickal its Distinguished Service Award in 1991.