Max Krause Max Joseph Krause ( April 5 , 1909 – July 11 , 1984 ) was an American football running back in the National Football League for the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins . High school career . Krause played high school football at Gonzaga Preparatory School in Spokane , Washington , where he starred as an all - city running back and linebacker . He won 14 letters in four high school sports and in basketball he made the all - city second team as a guard . In baseball , Krause played outfield , and in track he participated in the broad jump and ran the 220 yard low hurdles . College career . Krause stayed in Spokane for his college years , graduating from Gonzaga University with a B . A . degree in Philosophy . As fullback and halfback for the Bulldogs . Krause led the varsity backfield for three years . Reporter Abe Kemp described sophomore Krause in his first varsity year at Gonzaga during a game on October 12 , 1930 against St . Ignatius ( now the University of San Francisco ) . It was a close game that included a 70 yard scoring run from scrimmage by Krause : " They said Krause was good . . . He was better than good ; he was immense . Whether he ran , kicked , passed or tackled , there was a deadly and skilled earnestness about him that won the sympathy of the crowd and even the partisans . " In the buildup to the 1932 cross - state matchup between Gonzaga and the University of Washington , Clarence Dirks wrote that " A coach couldn ’ t ask for a better back than stocky Max Krause . He kicks , passes , tackles viciously and in an open field is as illusive as a cemetery shadow . " During his senior year ( 1932 season ) , Krause was the leading scorer on the West Coast with 88 points and 1044 yards ( 130 . 5 yards / game from scrimmage , averaging 8 . 5 yards per carry ) . He scored four touchdowns in his final college game , a 56 - 13 win over the University of Montana . Krause was named 1st team All - West Coast fullback , and first choice Little All - American halfback . In the annual East - West Shrine Game , Krause started for the West at left halfback . Babe Hollingbery , famed Washington State coach and co - coach of the victorious West squad , described Krause as the " hardest - hitting back on the field " in the Shrine game . Professional career . After college , Krause played professional football for four seasons with the New York Giants . In his initial year with the Giants he had the distinction of scoring the first rushing touchdown in the NFL ' s first title game , the 1933 NFL Championship Game . In 1937 , Krause moved to the Washington Redskins for an additional four seasons . Coach Ray Flaherty of the Redskins , former Gonzaga star himself , invited Krause along with other former Zags to Washington , including Ed Justice and George Karamatic . During his first year with the Redskins , the 1937 championship season , Krause was mainly a substitute and blocking back for the running back , Cliff Battles . After Battles retired in 1938 over a salary dispute , Krause started in the season opener in Philadelphia ’ s Municipal Stadium , as described by Shirley Povich of the " Washington Post " : " But the hero of the Redskins ’ victory was not Sammy Baugh . It was short , stocky , swarthy chap who was given the fullback job in the absence of Cliff Battles , and his name is Max Krause . Krause it was who made three of the four Redskin touchdowns . It was Krause throwing panic into the Eagle ’ s defense , Krause taking long passes and short passes , Krause bursting through the Eagles ’ line for a 48 - yard touchdown gallop in the second quarter , Krause tearing loose with a 71 - yard sprint over the goal line in the third period . He was something to see today , Krause was . He had a day such as Cliff Battles , his illustrious predecessor , would have had at his best . The flying form of Krause galloping goalward was an agonizing sight before the eyes of the Eagles all afternoon . " For the 1938 season , Krause finished second in the NFL in total yards rushing ( averaging 8 . 6 yards per carry ) , behind Byron " Whizzer " White of the Pittsburgh Pirates ( now Steelers ) . For many years , Krause also held the record for the longest kickoff return for a touchdown in an NFL championship game . Life after football . A knee injury ended Krause ' s football career in 1940 . After the attack on Pearl Harbor , Krause joined the United States Navy and fought in World War II . Later he established himself in the brewery business . From 1956 - 1983 he owned Spokane Distributors , Inc . , a wholesale liquor warehouse for beer and wine . On April 24 , 1981 Krause was inducted into the Inland Northwest Sports Hall of Fame . In 1989 , he was inducted into the Gonzaga Hall of Fame . Krause died in Spokane on July 11 , 1984 at the age of 75 , and was interred in Holy Cross Cemetery . His wife of 42 years , Eleanor ( Olson ) Krause , died two years later . Their only child , Mike Krause , ( b . 1954 ) lives and works in western Washington .