John Grigas: Difference between revisions

| name = John Grigas

| image = John_Grigas.png

| image_size = =

| alt =

| caption =

| number = 50

| position = [[Fullback (gridiron football)|Fullback]] / [[Halfback (American football)|halfback]]

| birth_date = {{birth date|1920|8|19}}

| birth_place = [[Chelsea, Massachusetts]], U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2000|5|19|1920|8|19}}

| death_place = [[Worcester, Massachusetts]], U.S.

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 0

| weight_lb = 204

| high_school = [[Chelsea High School (Massachusetts)|Chelsea]]<br>(Chelsea, Massachusetts)

| college = [[Holy Cross Crusaders football|Holy Cross]]

| draftyear = 1943

| draftround = 2

| draftpick = 14

| pastteams = =

| highlights = =

| statlabel1 = [[Rush (gridiron football)#Offense|Rushing]] attempts-yards

| statvalue1 = 465–1581

| statlabel2 = [[Reception (American football)|Receptions]]-yards

| statvalue2 = 30–379

| statlabel3 = [[Touchdown]]s

| statvalue3 = 11

| nflpfr = 2515404GrigJo20

| pfrHOF = GrigJo20

| HOFCollegeHOF =

Grigas was born [[Chelsea, Massachusetts]], in 1920 and attended [[Chelsea High School (Massachusetts)|Chelsea High School]].<ref name=PFR>{{cite web|title=John Grigas|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|work=Pro-Football-Reference.com|accessdateaccess-date=February 19, 2016|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/G/GrigJo20.htm}}</ref>

Grigas enrolled at the [[College of the Holy Cross]] in 1939 and played [[college football]] for the [[Holy Cross Crusaders football|Crusaders football]] team from 1940 to 1942. He was later inducted into the Holy Cross Varsity Club Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite web|title=John J. Grigas Bio|publisher=Holy Cross|accessdateaccess-date=February 18, 2016|url=http://www.goholycross.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=33100&ATCLID=210240270|archive-date=March 9, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309115406/http://www.goholycross.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=33100&ATCLID=210240270|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On November 28, 1942, Grigas was responsible for four touchdowns (two rushing, two passing) in a 55–12 upset victory over undefeated [[Boston College]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Holy Cross Routs B.C., 55–12|newspaper=Brooklyn Eagle|date=November 29, 1942|pages=B1, B3|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4363317/holy_cross_routs_bc/}}</ref> He played in the 1942 [[Blue–Gray Football Classic]] and was credited by the Associated Press with "brilliant play" in the game.<ref>{{cite news|title=South All-Stars Trim North, 24–0: Grigas Shines for Yanks|newspaper=Democrat and Chronicle|date=December 27, 1942|page=30|url=}}</ref>

In March 1943, Grigas reported in Boston for induction into the Army, but he was rejected due to an undisclosed ailment.<ref>{{cite news|title=Grigas, Grid Star, Rejected|newspaper=The Berkshire Eagle|date=April 21, 1943|page=15|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4363419/grigas_grid_star_rejected/}}</ref> Grigas instead opted to play professional football after being selected by the [[Chicago Cardinals]] in the second round, 14th overall pick, of the [[1943 NFL Draftdraft]].<ref name=PFR/>

During the 1943 season, Grigas appeared in all 10 games, principally as a fullback, for a [[1943 Chicago Cardinals season|Chicago Cardinals]] team that compiled a winless 0–10 record.<ref>{{cite web|title=1943 Chicago Cardinals|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|work=Pro-Football-Reference.com|accessdateaccess-date=February 19, 2016|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/crd/1943.htm}}</ref> In his rookie season, he was the Cardinals leading rusher and gained 558 yards from scrimmage, 333 rushing yards, and 225 receiving yards.<ref name=PFR/>

During the 1944 season, Grigas appeared in nine games for the [[Card-Pitt]] (a temporary wartime merger of the [[Pittsburgh Steelers]] and [[Chicago Cardinals]]), a team that compiled a winless 0–10 record.<ref>{{cite web|title=1944 Chi/Pit Cards/Steelers|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|work=Pro-Football-Reference.com|accessdateaccess-date=February 19, 2016|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/crd/1944.htm}}</ref> Grigas ranked first in the NFL with 1,154 all-purpose yards and 471 kickoff return yards, second with 1,300 yards of total offense and 610 rushing yards, and eighth with 690 passing yards.<ref>{{cite news|title=1944 NFL Leaders and Leaderboards|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|work=Pro-Football-Reference.com|accessdateaccess-date=February 19, 2016|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1944/leaders.htm}}</ref> On November 12, 1944, he outgained the entire [[Detroit Lions]] team 123 rushing yards to 78 and 177 passing yards to 41, but the Lions still won, 21–7.<ref>{{cite news|title=Grigas Outgains Whole Lion Team, but Card-Pitts Lose, 21–7|newspaper=Detroit Free Press|date=November 13, 1944|page=12|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4362731/griggs_outgains_whole_lion_team/}}</ref> At the end of the 1944 season, Grigas was selected as a first-team All-NFL player by the [[International News Service]] and as a second-team All-NFL player by the [[United Press International]].<ref name=PFR/> He was also one of six players to receive votes in balloting for the [[National Football League Most Valuable Player Award#Joe F. Carr Trophy|NFL Most Valuable Player Award]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Sinkwich Gets Most Valuable Player Award|newspaper=Detroit Free Press|date=April 3, 1945|page=10|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4363664/sinkwich_gets_mvp_award/}}</ref>

Grigas could have accumulated even more impressive statistics in 1944, but he quit the team before the final game, leaving the team with a letter citing his mental exhaustion at playing with a team that had gone 0–9 in the first nine games. Grigas wrote:<blockquote>"My action, for what I just did, may not be the best in regard to good, ethical business. Think what you may of me, but I sincerely believe that in all justice it is for the best. I had that desire which you so often mentioned in your lectures, but how long a person can have any desire depends on the frame of mind under which he plays. The human mind is the faculty of the soul, which is influenced by the human body. When your mind is changed because of the physical beating, week in and week out, your soul isn't in the game. . . . I tried to stick it out, but it has reached the stage where the mind is stronger than the will."<ref>{{cite news|title=Pro Gridders Draw Checks, Go Home|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|date=December 5, 1944|page=14|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4362670/pro_gridders_draws_checks_go_home/}}</ref></blockquote>

After retiring from the NFL, Grigas worked for 35 years as an industrial engineer for the American Optical Co. in [[Southbridge, Massachusetts]]. He and his wife, Helen, had two daughters. He died in [[Worcester, Massachusetts]], in 2000 at age 79.<ref>{{cite news|title=In Memoriam|publisher=Holy Cross Magazine|date=Summer 2000|url=http://www.holycross.edu/departments/publicaffairs/hcm/summer00/in_memoriam/1927.html|access-date=2016-02-19|archive-date=2016-04-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404144512/http://www.holycross.edu/departments/publicaffairs/hcm/summer00/in_memoriam/1927.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Category:Players of American football from Suffolk County, Massachusetts]]