1. Steve Hamas was a multi-sport athlete at Pennsylvania State University in the late 1920s, receiving 12 varsity letters in football, boxing, lacrosse, basketball, and track and field.
13 Facts About Steve Hamas
1. 2.
Steve Hamas played professional football in the National Football League in 1929 and then turned to professional boxing, defeating former heavyweight champions Tommy Loughran and Max Schmeling.
3.
Steve Hamas's father was an immigrant from Austria-Hungary who operated a tavern.
4.
Steve Hamas enrolled at Pennsylvania State University on a football scholarship.
5.
Steve Hamas's progress was slowed by a broken wrist, and he underwent an operation to straighten the wrist.
6.
Steve Hamas defeated "Dynamite Joe" LaVoti of Syracuse in his first meet and went on to win the national collegiate championship.
7.
Steve Hamas was the first athlete in Penn State history to receive 12 varsity letters, and as of 2015, the feat had been matched only by Tubby Crawford in the 1940s.
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Max Schmeling 8.
Steve Hamas played professional football in the National Football League as a fullback for the Orange Tornadoes.
9.
Steve Hamas appeared in 12 NFL games, five as a starter, during the 1929 season.
10.
Steve Hamas twice defeated former light-heavyweight champion Tommy Loughran, and in February 1934, he defeated former champion Max Schmeling.
11.
Steve Hamas was hospitalized for months after the fight, suffering a concussion and having his left side paralyzed for three years.
12.
Steve Hamas had 41 professional bouts from 1930 to 1935, winning 35, losing four, and two draws.
13.
Steve Hamas was assigned to physical fitness training for airmen.