Anthony Robert Canadeo was an American professional football player who was a back in the National Football League for the Green Bay Packers from 1941 to 1952, having missed most of the 1944 season and the entire 1945 season while serving in the US Army during World War II.
29 Facts About Tony Canadeo
2.
Tony Canadeo was selected by the Packers in the 1941 NFL Draft.
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Tony Canadeo was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1974.
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Tony Canadeo was a long-time member of the Green Bay Packers, Inc Board of Directors and Executive Committee, most notably during the Vince Lombardi era.
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Tony Canadeo played college football at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, where he was first known as the "Gray Ghost of Gonzaga," due to his prematurely graying hair.
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Tony Canadeo boxed for the Bulldogs during his senior year, and was named team captain.
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Tony Canadeo was not particularly fast or elusive, and was smaller than average NFL players even for his time.
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Tony Canadeo was versatile, playing multiple positions on offense, defense, and special teams.
9.
Tony Canadeo was selected by the Packers in the ninth round with the 77th overall pick of the 1941 NFL Draft, held in December 1940.
10.
Lambeau looked to use Tony Canadeo to bolster a backfield that included aging stars Clarke Hinkle and Arnie Herber.
11.
Herber was waived by the Packers at the end of training camp and Isbell became the Packers' quarterback, while Tony Canadeo had a reserve role in the offense as a rookie in 1941.
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Tony Canadeo took over for Isbell at tailback and led the Packers that season in both rushing and passing yards.
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Tony Canadeo gained 489 yards and three touchdowns on 94 carries, had 875 passing yards and nine touchdowns, and scored two touchdowns as a receiver.
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Tony Canadeo returned in 1946, and in February he and several other Packers players received offers to play in the All-America Football Conference, a rival league to the NFL.
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Tony Canadeo turned down the offer and during the season became Green Bay's primary running back.
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Tony Canadeo remained in that position for the next four seasons while still occasionally passing the ball.
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Tony Canadeo led the Packers in rushing yards in each of those four seasons.
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Tony Canadeo became the first Packer and the third ever in the NFL to rush for 1,000 yards in a season when he rushed for 1,052 yards in 1949.
19.
Tony Canadeo retired after the 1952 season, having carried 1,025 times for 4,197 yards and 26 touchdowns in his career.
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Tony Canadeo's carries and rushing yards totals were Packers records at the time, and as of 2016 he ranks fourth all-time for the franchise in rushing yards.
21.
Tony Canadeo passed for 1,642 yards and sixteen touchdowns, and caught 69 passes for 579 yards and five more scores.
22.
Tony Canadeo's number was retired immediately after he left the NFL in 1952, preceded by Don Hutson in 1951 and followed by Bart Starr in 1973, Ray Nitschke in 1983, Reggie White in 2005, and Brett Favre in 2015.
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Tony Canadeo joined former teammates Clarke Hinkle, Arnie Herber, and Don Hutson.
24.
Tony Canadeo was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1974, which he described as a dream come true.
25.
Tony Canadeo was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame the same year, the first player from Gonzaga to be so honored, edging Ray Flaherty by two years.
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Tony Canadeo remains the only player from the 1941 draft class inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
27.
Two years before his induction in Canton, Tony Canadeo received a kidney transplant, which was donated by his son Robert.
28.
Tony Canadeo remained listed as one of the directors emeritus until his death in 2003.
29.
Tony Canadeo worked as a sales representative in Green Bay for Whittaker Metals during the 1970s.