1. John Joseph "Bo" Molenda was an American football player and coach.
37 Facts About Bo Molenda
1. 2.
Bo Molenda played primarily a fullback, in college at the for the University of Michigan and for nine seasons in the National Football League with the New York Yankees, the Green Bay Packers.
3.
Bo Molenda was the backfield coach for the Packers in 1947 and 1948, as has the same with the Chicago Hornets of the All-America Football Conference in 1949.
4.
Bo Molenda served as the head football coach at Menlo College, then a junior college, located in Atherton, California, from 1950 to 1969.
5.
Bo Molenda was born in Illinois and attended school in Decatur.
6.
Bo Molenda helped the Durfee School in Decatur win the Major School league cup.
7.
Bo Molenda moved with his family to Detroit, where he attended Detroit Northeastern High School.
8.
Bo Molenda was selected as an All-American center in basketball at the national basketball tournament as a senior in high school.
9.
Bo Molenda played fullback for the Michigan Wolverines teams that won Big Ten championships in 1925 and 1926.
10.
In 1925, Bo Molenda made a name for himself with his defensive performance against the University of Illinois team led by Red Grange.
11.
Bo Molenda scored three touchdowns in Michigan's 1925 victory over Navy.
12.
Michigan Coach Fielding Yost said the 1925 team with Benny Friedman, Bennie Oosterbaan, and Bo Molenda was the best team he ever coached.
13.
Bo Molenda overcame his academic ineligibility in time for the 1926 football season.
14.
However, the university announced in February 1927 that Bo Molenda had been again placed on the "home list" due to low grades, making him ineligible to re-enter the university for one year.
15.
In February 1927, two weeks after being sent home due to academic deficiencies, Bo Molenda signed a contract to pay professional basketball for the Industrial Mutual Association in Flint, Michigan.
16.
In December 1927, Bo Molenda signed a contract to play professional baseball for the Waco team in Texas League starting in March 1928.
17.
Bo Molenda had been considered one of the top pitchers in the Detroit high school system.
18.
In late June 1928, Bo Molenda was sent to the Texarkana club in the Lone Star League.
19.
Bo Molenda reported to the Denver baseball team in the spring of 1929, but was able to secure his release when he learned of an industrial opening in Green Bay.
20.
In June 1929, Bo Molenda returned to Green Bay to establish his residence there and signed a contract to play for Green Bay's professional baseball team, the Green Sox of the Bay Fox River Valley League.
21.
Bo Molenda had success for the Green Sox, striking out 14 batters in six innings of relief pitching in one game, striking out 10 and 11 in other games, and pitching a three-hit shutout.
22.
Bo Molenda pitched for the Green Sox again in the summer of 1931.
23.
Bo Molenda scored a touchdown and kicked two extra points in the game as Bo Molenda and Johnny Blood were credited with leading the Packers offense.
24.
Bo Molenda continued to play fullback for the Packers in 1930 and 1931, as the Packers won three consecutive NFL championships.
25.
Bo Molenda played in 111 NFL games and scored 108 points in NFL play, including 24 extra points, 12 rushing touchdowns, one receiving touchdown, and one interception returned for a touchdown.
26.
In December 1939, with Giants' head coach Steve Owen absent due to the death of his mother, Bo Molenda led the Giants in the 1939 NFC Championship Game against the Packers.
27.
In 1941, Bo Molenda worked as a baseball umpire in the International League.
28.
In January 1944, Bo Molenda was shipped overseas to active duty in the Pacific where he took part in the Hollandia and Leyte invasions.
29.
Bo Molenda said yes, and two weeks later Bo Molenda was back in the United States.
30.
In February 1949, head coach Curly Lambeau announced a wholesale shakeup in the coaching staff, and Bo Molenda was replaced after two years coaching the team's backs.
31.
In March 1949, Bo Molenda signed with the Chicago Hornets of the All-America Football Conference as the team's backfield coach.
32.
Bo Molenda spent the 1949 football season in Chicago with the Hornets.
33.
In March 1950, Bo Molenda was hired as the athletic director and head football coach at Menlo College in Atherton, California.
34.
Bo Molenda remained at Menlo for nearly 20 years, retiring in 1969.
35.
Bo Molenda won national attention when he noticed a soccer player go into convulsions after being knocked unconscious in a collision with another player.
36.
Bo Molenda was credited with saving the unconscious player's life after he pried the player's mouth open with his pipe and pulled his tongue clear of his windpipe.
37.
Bo Molenda was buried in Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California.