1. Roy Lee "Father" Lumpkin was an American football player.
20 Facts About Father Lumpkin
1. 2.
Father Lumpkin played college football for Georgia Tech and was an All-Southern fullback for the undefeated 1928 Georgia Tech Golden Tornado football team that defeated California in the 1929 Rose Bowl.
3.
In 1929, Father Lumpkin left Georgia Tech to play professional football for the Portsmouth Spartans.
4.
Father Lumpkin played five seasons for Portsmouth from 1929 to 1933 and was selected as a second-team All-Pro in 1930 and a first-team All-Pro in 1932.
5.
Father Lumpkin played one season with the Detroit Lions in 1934 after the Spartans moved to Detroit.
6.
Father Lumpkin scored the first touchdown in Detroit Lions history.
7.
Father Lumpkin concluded his football career with the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1935 to 1937.
8.
Father Lumpkin was the son of Balcombe Lumpkin and Naomi Lumpkin.
9.
Father Lumpkin attended Oak Cliff High School in Dallas where he played fullback for the football team in 1926.
10.
In 1927, Father Lumpkin enrolled at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, planning to study textile engineering.
11.
Father Lumpkin did not return to Georgia Tech for his junior year in 1929.
12.
In 1932, Father Lumpkin played in the first NFL championship game as Chicago defeated Portsmouth.
13.
Father Lumpkin remained with the Spartans as they joined the National Football League in 1930 and through their move to Detroit as the Detroit Lions in 1934.
14.
Father Lumpkin earned a reputation as an excellent blocker, leading the way for the Spartans' other backs, Dutch Clark, Glenn Presnell, and Ace Gutowsky.
15.
Father Lumpkin was one of the last players in the NFL who refused to wear a helmet.
16.
Father Lumpkin was one of the toughest human beings I ever saw.
17.
Father Lumpkin was a great blocker, and he would say if he didn't take out two men on each play, then he wasn't doing his job.
18.
Father Lumpkin meant putting them on the ground, not just bump them and go ahead.
19.
Father Lumpkin was selected as a second-team player on the 1930 All-Pro Team and a first-team player on the 1932 All-Pro Team.
20.
Father Lumpkin was buried at Pike Cemetery in Pike, Texas.