Steve Lach Steve Lach ( August 6 , 1920 - July 12 , 1961 ) was an American football player . Lach was among a list of sixty - one nominees to the College Football Hall of Fame in March 1960 . He was elected in 1980 . Track and field athlete . Lach competed in the 5th annual National AAU high school and prep school indoor track and field championships at Madison Square Garden , in February 1938 . He placed 4th in the 12 - pound shot put , with a distance of 40 feet and 6 inches . While a Duke student , Lach took part in the shot put and discus events in the April 1941 Penn Relay Carnival , held on Franklin Field at the University of Pennsylvania . He came in 4th in the discus competition , with a throw of 140 feet , 11 inches . In the April 1942 Penn Relay Carnival Lach placed 5th in the shotput with a distance of 46 feet , 9 inches . He was also 5th in the discus throw , with a distance of 138 feet . Duke halfback ( 1939 " - " 1942 ) . He played running back as a member of the varsity football team at Duke University . As a senior he was a wingback , which allowed his team to take advantage of his fine blocking ability . His playing weight was 190 pounds . Lach scored from a half yard out in a 37 - 0 Duke pasting of Colgate University at Wallace Wade Stadium , in October 1939 . He carried three times after George McAfee set up the Blue Devils at the Red Raiders 8 - yard - line . Lach passed 42 yards to Tommy Prothro for the final touchdown in a 33 - 6 win over Syracuse University on October 21 . On the 7th play after halftime , Lach broke a 61 - yard run for a touchdown at Groves Stadium , against Wake Forest University , on October 26 . Wes McAfee tossed a 13 - yard pass to Lach against Georgia Tech in the second quarter to complete a 54 - yard drive . Lach was one of four Blue Devils selected to the eleven man Southern Conference 1940 Associated Press honor team . Lach caught two passes from Moffat Storer for touchdowns at Pitt Stadium on October 25 , 1941 . Duke triumphed over Pittsburgh University 27 - 7 . Lach caught a high pass from Tom Davis at the three yard line , which he converted for a touchdown against Georgia Tech in November . This reception , together with a number of fine kicks , helped Duke beat the Engineers in Atlanta , Georgia . He ran just eight times versus the University of North Carolina , but escaped for 23 and 17 yard runs in the third quarter . He punted the Tar Heels into a hole at their own 5 yard line late in the 3rd quarter . In all he accounted for 61 of Duke ' s 194 rushing yards . Lach returned in the fourth quarter after leaving the field near the end of the third period . He appeared still shaken after slipping and being hit while off - balance as he attempted a cutback play . As he walked slowly to the sidelines the Duke fans began to chant " a touchdown for Lach " . Only moments later a Blue Devil teammate got into the end zone . By the end of 1950 Wallace Wade had included only five sophomores as varsity starters in twenty - five years as a coach at the University of Alabama and Duke . Pooley Hubert and Johnny Mack Brown were the exceptions who played first team at Alabama . The Duke sophomores who played regularly for the varsity were Ace Parker , Lach , and Billy Cox . Chicago Cardinals ( 1942 ) . Lach was selected as the # 4 pick in the 1st Round of the 1942 N . F . L . Draft by the Chicago Cardinals . He was sworn into the U . S . Navy in Evanston , Illinois as a member of the Flying Cadets , in August 1942 . At the time he was in Chicago , Illinois training as a member of the College All Stars . On September 14 , 1942 Lach caught a pass from Bud Schwenk to account for the game ' s only touchdown , in the Cardinals ' 7 - 0 victory over the Cleveland Rams , at Civic Stadium in Buffalo , New York . The 6 - yard toss was batted by Lach with his left hand and then caught by him behind Bill Conkright . Against the Detroit Lions at Comiskey Park , Schwenk pounced on a loose ball fumbled by Harry Hopp on the last play of the third quarter . Schwenk then found right halfback Lach from the Lions ' 20 - yard - line for a touchdown , on the first play of the last period . The Green Bay Packers defeated the Cardinals despite trailing 13 - 10 midway through the fourth quarter in Chicago , on October 4 . Once again the aerial combination of Schwenk passing to Lach dominated the highlights . Lach received a 20 - yard pass and then raced in from the 15 in the first quarter . Lach accounted for one of two touchdowns the Cardinals made during a lopsided loss to the Chicago Bears on October 11 . Schwenk lofted a 47 - yard strike to Lach in the first quarter of a game witnessed by 38 , 500 fans . In July 1943 Lach was scheduled to play with the College All - Star team against the N . F . L . champion Washington Redskins , at Dyche Stadium in Evanston . Otto Graham and Charley Trippi were other backs on the collegiate squad . Lach was kept from suiting up for the game by a directive preventing Navy athletes from participating in off - station contests , except as members of Navy teams . Great Lakes Blue Jackets ( 1943 ) . Lach ran for touchdowns of 13 and 65 yards as a member of the Great Lakes Blue Jackets on October 2 , 1943 . The 40 - 0 defeat of the University of Pittsburgh Panthers was the third win in four tries for the team of sailors . Lach scampered 28 yards for a third period touchdown in Great Lakes ' 13 - 6 victory over Ohio State University at the naval training stations ' Ross Field Stadium , in Great Lakes , Illinois . Lach played a key role in a last minute comeback upset of Notre Dame University on November 27 . The Fighting Irish scored what seemed to be the winning touchdown against Great Lakes with merely one minute and six seconds left in the fourth quarter . Starting from his own 37 - yard line Lach found Emil Sitko with a strike to the Notre Dame 46 - yard line . He then took a snap from center , faded , was rushed , and abruptly lofted a high pass , directed to the far corner of the field . The football was caught by Paul Anderson , who had played the majority of the final period at quarterback . Anderson was running with intensity and was many yards behind the closest Irish defender . He gathered it in on the 7 - yard line and ran into the end zone . With the extra point the Blue Jackets prevailed 19 - 14 . It was " a finish no Hollywood script writer would dare to turn in to his boss . " A New York Times writer called the Great Lakes Naval Station victory over undefeated , 9 - 0 Notre Dame , " the biggest upset of this or any recent football season . " An audience of 23 , 000 , composed primarily of sailors and naval officers , watched from wooden stands in close proximity to Lake Michigan . Pittsburgh Steelers ( 1946 – 1947 ) . He played with the Pearl Harbor All - Stars in 1944 – 1945 . Lach signed to play with the New York Yankees ( AAFC ) on January 21 , 1946 . In the fall of 1946 Lach was a back ( sports ) with the Pittsburgh Steelers after he was traded from the Cardinals . In October against the Boston Yanks he scored two touchdowns during a 16 - 7 Steelers ' triumph . Lach scored from five yards out on the fifth play following Charley Seabright ' s interception of a Sammy Baugh pass , on November 3 . Pittsburgh defeated the Washington Redskins 14 - 7 before a record - setting home crowd of 39 , 060 . Lach , playing fullback ( American football ) , caught a 15 - yard pass from Johnny Clement in a game with the Redskins at Griffith Stadium , in October 1947 . The lead seasawed back and forth eight times before the Redskins won 27 - 26 . At Fenway Park on October 12 the Steelers gained 276 yards employing the single wing of Jock Sutherland , occasionally switching to a double wing set - up . Lach scored from six inches out following a 40 - yard run by Bob Cifers , which set up the first touchdown . Pittsburgh defeated Boston 30 - 14 in front of 18 , 894 spectators . Lach ' s nine touchdowns in 1947 set a Steelers ' club record . He was Pittsburgh ' s second leading ground gainer with 372 yards in 129 carries . Lach tied for 9th in the N . F . L . in points scored , with 54 . Lach was one of eight members of the 1947 Pittsburgh Steelers team chosen as a pallbearer for the funeral of Coach Dr . John B . ( Jock ) Sutherland on April 13 , 1948 . Sutherland died following a brain operation in West Penn Hospital . Lach was released without explanation by new Steelers ' coach , John Michclosen , on September 21 , 1948 . The Pittsburgh fullback job was awarded to Jerry Shipkey , who played collegiate football at U . C . L . A . .