Badgro, "Red" (Morris H.)
Football
b. Dec. 1, 1902, Orillia, WA
d. July 13, 1998
At seventy-eight, Badgro was the oldest person ever inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the man who waited longest for induction after his retirement, forty-five years. Red Grange once said of him, "Playing offense and defense equally well, he was one of the best half-dozen ends I ever saw."
Badgro won a total of 12 letters in baseball, basketball, and football at the University of Southern California and was all-conference in both basketball and football in his senior year. After leaving school in 1927, he signed contracts with baseball's St. Louis Browns and the NFL's New York Yankees.
He left football in 1928 to concentrate on baseball and was a part-time outfielder with the Browns in 1929 and 1930. Badgro then returned to football with the New York Giants. He started for them from 1930 through 1935 and finished his career in 1936 with the NFL's Brooklyn Dodgers. He then returned to USC to get the credits he needed to graduate.
An All-Pro in 1931, 1933, and 1934, Badgro tied for the league lead with 16 receptions in 1934. He was the first player to score a touchdown in an NFL championship game, catching a 29-yard pass to give the Giants a 7-6 lead over the Chicago Bears in 1933. However, the Bears went on to win, 23-21.