Mayes McLain Mayes Watt McLain ( April 16 , 1905 – March 6 , 1983 ) , also known as Watt Mayes McLain , was a Native American football player and professional wrestler . He played college football for the Haskell Institute from 1925 to 1926 and for the University of Iowa in 1928 . In 1926 , he set college football ' s single - season scoring record with 253 points on 38 touchdowns , 19 extra point kicks , and two field goals . His record of 38 touchdowns in a season stood for more than 60 years until 1988 . McLain later played in the National Football League , under the name Chief McLain , for the Portsmouth Spartans ( 1930 - 1931 ) and Staten Island Stapletons ( 1931 ) . After retiring from football , McLain worked as a professional wrestler , sometimes under the name the " Masked Manager " , from 1933 to 1953 . Early years . Mayes was born in Pryor , Oklahoma in 1905 . He was part Cherokee and part Irish - American . His father , Pleas L . McLain , was a native of Texas and a farmer . His mother , Martha McLain , was also a native of Texas . Football career . Haskell . McLain attended the Haskell Institute in Lawrence , Kansas , and played football for Dick Hanley ' s Haskell Indians in 1925 and 1926 . During the 1926 season , McLain set the all - time college football scoring record with 253 points on 38 touchdowns , 19 extra point kicks , and two field goals . McLain was considered a triple - threat man who excelled at running , passing and kicking . He also played on defense as well as offense . McLain opened the 1926 season with two touchdowns in a 65 - 0 victory over Drury College and followed the next week with eight touchdowns and seven extra point kicks in a 57 - 0 rout of Wichita . After scoring 55 points against Wichita , " The Wichita Eagle " wrote , " McLain put up the most astonishing exhibition of football ever seen in Wichita . " On October 2 , 1926 , McLain scored six touchdowns in a 55 - 0 victory over Still College . The " Lawrence Journal - World " reported , " The Husky Cherokee fullback thrilled the fans by his broken field running and his vicious tackling . " In the fourth game of the 1926 season , McLain scored four rushing touchdowns in a 38 - 0 victory over Morningside College . For their fifth game , Haskell traveled to Ohio to play the undefeated Dayton Triangles professional football team . The attendance at the game set a Dayton record . Haskell won by a 30 - 14 score , as McLain rushed for four touchdowns and kicked a field goal . One newspaper account noted , " it was the terrific line smashing of McLain which provided the balance of power . . . McLain , a modern Goliath of strength , proved almost unstoppable against a fierce defense massed against him on every play . " The following week , McLain settled for four touchdowns in a 95 - 0 victory over Jackson College . In the seventh game of the season , McLain rushed for 129 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries in a 36 - 0 victory over Bucknell . One account noted that McLain was " on the rampage , tearing crazily thru the Bucknell line . " McLain sustained a knee injury against Loyola University Chicago and saw limited action . McLain also missed the following weeks ' game against Boston College and Michigan State College due to the injury . McLain returned to the lineup in a 27 - 0 victory over an undefeated Xavier College team on Thanksgiving Day in Cincinnati . McLain scored three touchdowns in the game . On December 4 , 1926 , McLain scored one touchdown in a 27 - 7 victory over Tulsa University . Haskell concluded the 1926 season on December 18 with a 40 - 7 victory over the Hawaii All - Stars . McLain scored three touchdowns in the game . McLain finished the season as college football ' s scoring leader with 253 points on 38 touchdowns , 19 extra point kicks , and two field goals . McLain ' s total of 38 touchdowns set a new single - season scoring record in college football . His record of 38 touchdowns stood for more than 60 years until 1988 . Iowa . McLain enrolled at the University of Iowa and played for the Iowa Hawkeyes football team during the 1928 season . In the preceding two seasons , Iowa had compiled a combined record of 7 - 9 . With the arrival of McLain , the Hawkeyes improved to 6 - 2 in 1928 . McLain was credited with the improvement in Iowa ' s fortunes in 1928 . At the end of the 1929 season , McLain was named to Pan - American Bank ' s All - American team . At the start of the 1928 season , the " United Press " ran a feature story describing Mayes as the " Big Hope of Hawkeye Gridders . " The story described the excitement on the Iowa campus : " ' Watch the Big Chief ' , is the cry of the tall corn fans who are prepared to name Mayes McLain as 1928 All - American fullback before he has ever appeared in Big Ten conference competition . McLain , a 210 pound , fair haired young giant who stands six feet two inches in his stocking feet and crashed the line in a manner which brings back memories of Gordon Locke , Iowa ' s All - American fullback of championship days , is the big hope of the Hawkeyes . " When the Iowa team played at Chicago ' s Soldier Field in October 1928 , " The New York Times " wrote : " Not since the days of Red Grange has Chicago and the Big Ten been as intensely interested in a single gridiron luminary as they are in that giant Indian line smasher , Mayes McLain of Iowa . . . . Weighing more than 215 pounds and standing six feet two inches , McLain , who led in individual scoring while at Haskell two years ago by burning up 253 points in thirteen games , is a terrific driver . " The Hawkeyes defeated the Chicago Maroons , 13 to 0 , as Mayes ran for 100 yards . " The New York Times " reported : " Mayes McLain , giant Indian fullback , swept the lighter Chicago team off its feet . " On November 10 , 1928 , McLain scored both of Iowa ' s touchdowns in a 14 - 7 victory over Ohio State . In early December 1928 , a Big Ten faculty eligibility committee declared McLain ineligible to play another year of Big Ten football . The committee ruled that his two years of play at Haskell counted toward his three years of eligibility under Big Ten rules . In January 1929 , McLain announced that he was working with Iowa ' s baseball coach " in an attempt to master the art of pitching . " That spring , allegations circulated that Iowa was paying athletes in violation of conference rules . An investigation revealed that a group of alumni had created a " Labor Fund " for the purpose of promoting work for Iowa athletes in local businesses . While most of the athletes were found to have performed actual work , McLain was singled out as an exception . McLain had been paid $ 60 per month during the 1928 - 29 academic year " for allegedly taking a ' real estate census ' of Iowa City . " Professional football . In August 1930 , McLain signed a contract to play for the Portsmouth Spartans ( later known as the Detroit Lions ) . During the 1930 NFL season , McLain , sometimes referred to as " Chief " McLain , scored four rushing touchdowns and three receiving touchdowns . His total of 42 points tied for the lead on the Spartans in their first NFL season . In August 1931 , the Spartans announced that McLain had been sent a contract to return to the team for the 1931 season . The " Portsmouth Times " reported at the time : " McLain is located at Pryor , Oklahoma and is in shape to play football on a moment ' s notice as he has been herding cattle and writes friends that he is hard as nails . " McLain appeared in only one game for Portsmouth in 1931 . He also played for the Staten Island Stapletons . He appeared in nine games for a Stapletons team that finished in seventh place in the NFL . McLain was the Stapletons ' second - leading scorer ( behind Ken Strong ) with two touchdowns and 12 points . McLain also played for the St . Louis Gunners at the end of the 1931 season . In December 1931 , he scored all of the Gunners ' points in a 10 - 0 victory over the Des Moines Hawkeyes . Wrestling career . After his professional football career ended , McLain became a professional wrestler . He was active in professional wrestling from March 1933 to May 1942 . His wrestling career was interrupted during World War II , but he resumed his participation in professional wrestling from April 1947 to July 1953 . During his wrestling career , he was often a featured attraction at venues such as Madison Square Garden ( New York ) , the New York Hippodrome , the Boston Garden , Maple Leaf Gardens ( Toronto ) , Sydney Stadium ( Australia ) , and the Olympic Auditorium ( Los Angeles ) . He was matched up against many of the most famous wrestlers of the day , including Strangler Lewis , Ed Don George , Ray Steele , and Wee Willie Davis . In 1938 , McLain became the heavyweight champion in the American Wrestling Association . He was inducted into the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1983 . Mayes ' notable matches include the following : Mayes also worked as a stunt man in the motion picture business . He appeared as a wrestler in the 1936 motion picture , " Magnificent Brute " . Later years . McLain died in 1983 at age 77 in Marietta , Georgia . In 1987 , he was posthumously inducted into the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame at Lawrence , Kansas .