Donn Greenshields

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Donn Greenshields
Personal information
Born:(1904-05-01)May 1, 1904
Cleveland, Ohio
Died:March 28, 1961(1961-03-28) (aged 56)
Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High school:Glenville (OH)
College:Penn State
Position:Tackle
Career history
Player stats at PFR

Donn D. Greenshields (May 1, 1904 – March 28, 1961) was an American football player. He played college football for Penn State (1926–1928) and professional football in the National Football League (NFL) for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1932–1933).

Early years[edit]

Greenshields was born in Cleveland in 1904.[1] He attended Glenville High School where he was teammates with Benny Friedman on the 1922 football team that won the greater Cleveland championship.[2]

Penn State[edit]

He enrolled at Penn State in 1924 and played that fall with the freshman football team.[3] He left the school in 1925 but returned in 1926.[4] He played for the Penn State varsity football teams from 1926 to 1928, playing at the tackle position. He was selected as captain of the 1928 team.[3] He was the first tackle to serve as a Penn State captain since 1900.[5]

NFL career[edit]

He then played professional football in the National Football League (NFL) as a tackle for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was reunited with high school teammate Benny Friedman as players on the Dodgers.[2] He appeared in 13 NFL games, eight as a starter, during the 1932 and 1933 seasons.[1]

Screw business[edit]

After retiring from football, Greenshields went into the screw business. He was employed, eventually as a vice president and director, of National Screw and Manufacturing Co. in Cleveland for 20 years.[6] In 1955, he became president of The Pittsburgh Screw & Bolt Co. He remained with the company as it changed its name to Screw & Bolt Corp. of America. He resigned as president in February 1961.[7]

Death[edit]

One month after his resignation, he was discovered dead in his automobile in the closed garage at his home in Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania, having expired from carbon monoxide poisoning. He was 57 years old at the time of his death. He was reportedly despondent after the death of his wife five months earlier.[7] Police stated that the death was apparently a suicide.[8]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Donn Greenshields". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Cleveland School Honors 3 Dodgers". New York Daily News. October 18, 1932. p. 51 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b "Who's Who Among Grid Leaders". The York Dispatch. NEA Service. September 24, 1928. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Wes W. Dunlap (August 22, 1928). "Littany Lions Must Be Watched Coming Season". Evening Herald. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Greenshields First Tackl to Captain Lions Since 1900". The Scranton Republican. December 8, 1927. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Donn G. Greenshields". The Pittsburgh Press. March 30, 1961. p. 41 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b "Auto Fumes Kill Ex-Chief Of Firm Here: D. D. Greenshields, Of Fox Chapel, Found In Garage". The Pittsburgh Press. March 29, 1961. p. 36 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Rites For Greenshields". The Daily American. March 30, 1961. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.