Bo Molenda John Joseph " Bo " Molenda ( February 20 , 1905 – July 20 , 1986 ) was an American football player , primarily a fullback , who played for the University of Michigan and nine seasons in the NFL . He played for two Big Ten Conference championship teams and four NFL championship teams ( three with the Green Bay Packers and one with the New York Giants ) and later became a football coach . Youth . Molenda was born in Illinois and attended school in Decatur . He helped the Durfee School in Decatur win the Major School league cup . He moved with his family to Detroit , where he attended Detroit Northeastern High School . At Northeastern High , he was considered one of the best athletes ever produced by the city ' s school system . When Molenda and Bennie Oosterbaan both enrolled at the University of Michigan in September 1924 , a newspaper report called them " two of the greatest all round athletes ever turned out in Michigan prep school ranks . " In high school , Molenda excelled in football , baseball , basketball and track . He was selected as an All - American center in basketball at the national basketball tournament as a senior in high school . University of Michigan . Molenda played fullback for the Michigan Wolverines teams that won Big Ten championships in 1925 and 1926 . In 1925 , Molenda made a name for himself with his defensive performance against the University of Illinois team led by Red Grange . In 1924 , Grange had scored four touchdowns against Michigan in the span of ten minutes , and stopping Grange was the key to beating Illinois in 1925 . Michigan won the game and stopped Grange , and the Associated Press credited Molenda ' s efforts : " Molenda was the principal reason why the Illini ' s aerial attack was unsuccessful . Time after time he got in the way to make the pass incomplete or to gather it in his arms . " Molenda was reported to have intercepted five passes in the Illinois game . Molenda also scored three touchdowns in Michigan ' s 1925 victory over Navy . Molenda was picked as a second - team All - American in 1925 . Michigan Coach Fielding Yost said the 1925 team with Benny Friedman , Bennie Oosterbaan , and Molenda was the best team he ever coached . The 1925 team outscored its opponents 225 - 3 , but lost to Northwestern , 3 - 2 , on a muddy Soldier Field in Chicago . Sophomores Molenda and Oosterbaan also paired up on Michigan ' s basketball team in 1926 , leading some to conclude they were " even better cagers than footballers , which , by the way , is saying quite a little . " Molenda was a tough defensive player in basketball and was also the Wolverines ' top scorer in 1926 , until poor classroom performance resulted in his being placed on the " home list " in February 1926 . Molenda overcame his academic ineligibility in time for the 1926 football season . In a close victory over Illinois , Molenda scored Michigan ' s only touchdown . After the football season ended , Molenda again returned to his place on the Michigan basketball team . However , the university announced in February 1927 that Molenda had been again placed on the " home list " due to low grades , making him ineligible to re - enter the university for one year . Professional athlete . Basketball in Flint . In February 1927 , two weeks after being sent home due to academic deficiencies , Molenda signed a contract to pay professional basketball for the Industrial Mutual Association in Flint , Michigan . Football for the New York Yankees . In June 1927 , he signed a contract to play professional football for the New York Yankees team organized by sports promoter , C . C . Pyle , and featuring Red Grange . He played for the Yankees through the complete 1927 - 1928 season . He scored the Yankees ' only touchdown in a 7 - 0 win on Wrigley baseball field in Los Angeles in January 1928 . Baseball in Texas . In December 1927 , Molenda signed a contract to play professional baseball for the Waco team in Texas League starting in March 1928 . He had been considered one of the top pitchers in the Detroit high school system . When he reported to Waco in March 1928 , he brought his new bride with him , and the Associated Press reported that a number of major league clubs had been angling for his servics . In late June 1928 , Molenda was sent to the Texarkana club in the Lone Star League . Baseball and football in Green Bay . As a fullback , Molenda became one of the stars of the early Packers teams that won NFL championships in 1929 , 1930 , and 1931 . 1928 Packers . In November 1928 , the Green Bay Packers purchased Molenda ' s contracts from Charlie Pyle , and one Wisconsin newspaper wrote : " Packer football stock climbed a notch or two here Thursday when Bo Molenda , one of the best fullbacks in the National Football league , joined the Big Bay Blues . . . . With Molenda in the fold , the Packer squad is beginning to figure on a national championship . A big powerful fullback like Molenda rounds out the Bay machine to a nicety . " 1929 Green Sox . After playing several games with the Packers , Molenda went to California in early 1929 where he pitched in the winter league . He reported to the Denver baseball team in the spring of 1929 , but was able to secure his release when he learned of an industrial opening in Green Bay . In June 1929 , Molenda returned to Green Bay to establish his residence there and signed a contract to play for Green Bay ' s professional baseball team , the Green Sox of the Bay Fox River Valley League . Molenda had success for the Green Sox , striking out 14 batters in six innings of relief pitching in one game , striking out 10 and 11 in other games , and pitching a three - hit shutout . Molenda pitched for the Green Sox again in the summer of 1931 . 1929 Packers . Even before the first game of the 1929 season , the Packers , with Molenda at fullback , were being touted as " the greatest team ever . " The Packers won their first NFL championship in 1929 after a key 20 - 6 win over a New York Giants team led by Molenda ' s former Michigan teammate , Benny Friedman . Molenda scored a touchdown and kicked two extra points in the game as Molenda and Johnny Blood were credited with leading the Packers offense . The 1929 game against the Giants has gone down as one of the great games in Packers ' history , in part due to the fact that only 12 Packers played in the game , with the 12th player coming into the game as a last minute substitute . Newspapers described Molenda as the " sparkplug " and the workhorse of the 1929 Packers : " Molenda was the workhorse . He played 60 minutes in nearly every game . " The 1929 Packers were the first NFL team to finish the season undefeated with a 13 - 0 record as the undisputed NFL champions . After the 1929 season , Molenda worked for an engineering concern . 1930 and 1931 Packers . Molenda continued to play fullback for the Packers in 1930 and 1931 , as the Packers won three consecutive NFL championships . Though Molenda ' s contributions as a blocker and defensive player do not show up in offensive statistics , he also ranked as the Packer ' s fourth leading scorer in 1929 and 1930 and as the fifth leading scorer in 1931 . New York Giants . In 1931 , the Packers sold Molenda to the New York Giants , where he played until 1936 . He was credited with " carrying the brunt of the Giants ' victorious offense in the famous " gumshoe game " against the Chicago Bears in 1934 . In his football career , he blocked for Benny Friedman , Red Grange and Johnny Blood ( McNally ) . He played in 111 NFL games and scored 108 points in NFL play , including 24 extra points , 12 rushing touchdowns , one receiving touchdown , and one interception returned for a touchdown . Football coach and service in World War II . New York Giants . In 1936 , he was hired as an assistant coach for the New York Giants , a position he held until 1941 . In December 1939 , with Giants ' head coach Steve Owen absent due to the death of his mother , Molenda led the Giants in the 1939 NFC Championship Game against the Packers . The Packers beat the Giants in Milwaukee , 27 - 0 , to win the title . In 1941 , Molenda worked as a baseball umpire in the International League . Naval service in World War II . With the U . S . entry into World War II , Molenda enlisted in the Navy in early 1942 as a chief petty officer . After duty at Redlands University in charge of the Navy ' s physical education program , Molenda was promoted to a lieutenant and assigned in the September 1943 as the head coach of the football team at the naval training station in San Diego . His Navy team defeated both USC and UCLA . The defeat of USC , by a 10 - 7 score , drew attention as the Trojans had been undefeated front - ranking team that had not been scored on in the first six games of the season . In January 1944 , Molenda was shipped overseas to active duty in the Pacific where he took part in the Hollandia and Leyte invasions . Molenda later recalled that he was in the Philippines " going on 28 months . " He was supposed to have been rotated at 18 months , but the Navy lost his records and he was stuck . One day , George Halas visited and asked Molenda if he would like to return home . Molenda said yes , and two weeks later Molenda was back in the United States . He noted , " That ' s why I like George Halas . " Green Bay Packers . In the spring of 1947 , Molenda was living in Manhattan Beach , California and working as a baseball umpire . At that time , Curly Lambeau hired Molenda to return to Green Bay as the Packers ' backfield coach . In March 1948 , the Packers signed Molenda for a second season as the team ' s backfield coach . In 1948 , the Packers had the worst season in club history , finishing with a 3 - 9 record . In February 1949 , head coach Curly Lambeau announced a wholesale shakeup in the coaching staff , and Molenda was replaced after two years coaching the team ' s backs . Chicago Hornets . In March 1949 , Molenda signed with the Chicago Hornets of the All - America Football Conference as the team ' s backfield coach . He spent the 1949 football season in Chicago with the Hornets . Menlo College . In March 1950 , Molenda was hired as the athletic director and head football coach at Menlo College in Menlo Park , California . He remained at Menlo for nearly 20 years , retiring in 1969 . Molenda ' s Menlo College team ' s won seven championships , but went into a winless streak in 1966 that lasted until 1968 . Molenda won national attention when he noticed a soccer player go into convulsions after being knocked unconscious in a collision with another player . Molenda was credited with saving the unconscious player ' s life after he pried the player ' s mouth open with his pipe and pulled his tongue clear of his windpipe . During Molenda ' s final game as a coach was a November 1969 , after which Molenda told a reporter : " I ' ve played on nine championship teams during my career , and last Saturday was a helluva way to end it all . We lost 70 - 6 . " He was inducted into the Menlo College of Atherton Hall of Fame in 1999 . Later years . In 1975 , 13 living members of the 1925 Michigan team , including Molenda , Benny Friedman , and Bennie Oosterbaan returned to Ann Arbor and were introduced to the homecoming crowd of 93 , 000 fans . Molenda died in July 1986 in Banning , California . After his death in 1986 , the Pro Football Hall of Fame ' s veterans committee was reportedly considering Molenda as a possible inductee .