Fritz Hanson

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Fritz Hanson
Date of birth: July 13, 1914
Place of birth: Flag of the United States Perham, Minnesota
Date of death: February 14, 1996 (aged 81)
Place of death: Flag of Canada Calgary, Alberta
Career information
Position(s): RB
Weight: 145 lb (66 kg)
College: North Dakota State
Organizations
 As player:
1935–1946
1947–1948		 Winnipeg Winnipegs/Blue Bombers
Calgary Stampeders
Career highlights and Awards
CFL All-Star: All-Western running back (1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941)
Awards: Dave Dryburgh Memorial Trophy (1938)
Honors: Grey Cup wins: 1935, 1939, 1941, 1948
Records: 300 punt return yards in a Grey Cup game (1935)
Canadian Football Hall of Fame

Melvin "Fritz" Hanson (born July 13, 1914 in Perham, Minnesota, died February 14, 1996 in Calgary, Alberta) was a Canadian Football League player for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Calgary Stampeders. Hanson was signed by the Blue Bombers for $125 a game and free room and board, which was a considerable sum in the cash-strapped dirty thirties. Nicknamed the 'Galloping Ghost', 'Twinkle Toes', and the 'Perham Flash', Hanson was one of the pioneers of football in Western Canada and a huge star at the time. Although he weighed only 145 pounds he used his incredible quickness to evade defenders. He helped lead the Blue Bombers to the first Grey Cup victory by a western Canadian team in 1935 and won again with the Bombers in 1939 and 1941.[1][2] In the 1935 Grey Cup Game Hanson recorded 300 punt return yards, a record that still stands today, including a sensational 78 yard return for the winning touchdown.[2] He played seven seasons with Winnipeg before playing for the Calgary Stampeders where he won a fourth Grey Cup in 1948.[1]

Hanson was elected into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1963[1] and inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in 1980[2]. He became a Canadian citizen in 1966[2] and, in 2005, Hanson was named one of the Blue Bombers 20 All-Time Greats. He died in Calgary on February 14, 1996, at the age of 81.[3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Melvin "Fritz" Hanson. Hall of Fame players. Canadian Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved on 2008-01-04.
  2. ^ a b c d Fritz Hanson. The Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame & Museum. Retrieved on 2008-01-04.
  3. ^ Today in History >> February. CFL.ca. Retrieved on 2008-01-04.

[edit] External links

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