Alphonse Emil "Tuffy" Leemans was an American professional football player who was a fullback and halfback who played on both offense and defense for the New York Giants of the National Football League.
35 Facts About Tuffy Leemans
2.
Tuffy Leemans was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1978 and was named in 1969 to the NFL 1930s All-Decade Team.
3.
Tuffy Leemans was drafted by the Giants in the second round of the 1936 NFL Draft and played eight years for the Giants from 1936 to 1943.
4.
Tuffy Leemans led the NFL as a rookie with 830 rushing yards and was selected as a first-team All-Pro in 1936 and 1939.
5.
Tuffy Leemans was selected to play in the Pro Bowl in 1938 and 1941 and helped lead the Giants to the 1938 NFL Championship and the 1939 and 1941 NFL Championship Games.
6.
Tuffy Leemans operated a laundry and dry cleaning business and a duckpin bowling alley.
7.
Tuffy Leemans's mother Hortense was born in Illinois, the daughter of Belgian immigrants.
Related searches
George Washington 8.
In 1932, Tuffy Leemans enrolled at the University of Oregon where he was a member of the freshman football team.
9.
Tuffy Leemans then transferred to George Washington University where he was the star of the George Washington Colonials football team from 1933 to 1935.
10.
Tuffy Leemans passed for 966 yards and returned 84 punts for 984 yards, an average of 11.7 yards per return.
11.
Tuffy Leemans was drafted by the New York Giants in the second round of the 1936 NFL Draft.
12.
Tuffy Leemans impressed with his defensive play at the safety position.
13.
Tuffy Leemans was the only rookie to be honored by the NFL as a first-team player on the 1936 All-Pro Team.
14.
Hank Soar took over as the Giants' leading rusher in 1937, and Tuffy Leemans gained only 429 rushing yards, roughly half his total from the prior year.
15.
Tuffy Leemans played professional basketball during the off-season, joining the Heurich Brewers in Washington, DC, after the 1937 NFL season.
16.
Tuffy Leemans continued to be one of the NFL's leading players, receiving either first- or second-team All-Pro honors every year from 1936 through 1942.
17.
Tuffy Leemans received first-team honors in 1936 and 1939 and second-team honors in each of the remaining years.
18.
Tuffy Leemans was selected to play in the Pro Bowl in 1938 and 1941.
19.
Tuffy Leemans ranked second in the NFL in rushing yardage in 1938 with 463 yards and third in 1940 with 474 yards.
20.
Tuffy Leemans helped lead the Giants to the 1938 NFL Championship as well as the 1939 and 1941 NFL Championship Games.
21.
On December 7,1941, the Giants celebrated "Tuffy Leemans Day," presenting him with a silver tray and $1,500 in defense bonds.
22.
Tuffy Leemans signed on as a backfield coach with the Giants in 1943, but shortly before the season started, he opted to return as a player for one final year.
23.
Tuffy Leemans appeared in 10 games during the 1943 season, only one as a starter.
24.
Tuffy Leemans appeared in 80 NFL games with the Giants from 1936 to 1943.
25.
Tuffy Leemans totaled 3,132 rushing yards on 919 carries and 17 rushing touchdowns, 2,318 passing yards and 25 passing touchdowns, 422 receiving yards on 28 receptions, and 339 yards on punt and kickoff returns.
Related searches
George Washington 26.
Tuffy Leemans returned to coaching in 1946 as the part-time backfield coach for the George Washington Colonials while continuing to operate his laundry and dry cleaning business.
27.
Tuffy Leemans coached football at St John's College High School and Archbishop Carroll High School, both in Washington, DC.
28.
In June 1937, after his great rookie season, Tuffy Leemans married Theodora Rinaldi at St Michael's Catholic Church in Silver Spring, Maryland.
29.
Tuffy Leemans operated a laundry and dry cleaning business in the Washington, DC, and Silver Spring dating back to and following his years as a football player.
30.
Tuffy Leemans was active in the Washington DC Touchdown Club and was elected as the organization's president in 1956.
31.
In 1969, Tuffy Leemans was selected as one of the backs on the NFL 1930s All-Decade Team.
32.
In 1978, Tuffy Leemans was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
33.
Tuffy Leemans' weight rose in his later years to 300 pounds from his playing weight of 180 pounds.
34.
In January 1979, less than six months after his induction into the Hall of Fame, Tuffy Leemans died from a heart attack at age 66 at his condominium in Hillsboro Beach, Florida.
35.
Tuffy Leemans was interred at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Silver Spring.