John Yonakor
No. 50, 79 | |||||||
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Position: | End, Defensive end | ||||||
Personal information | |||||||
Born: | Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | August 4, 1921||||||
Died: | April 18, 2001 Euclid, Ohio, U.S. | (aged 79)||||||
Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||
Weight: | 222 lb (101 kg) | ||||||
Career information | |||||||
High school: | Mechanic Arts (Boston, Massachusetts) | ||||||
College: | Notre Dame | ||||||
NFL draft: | 1945 / Round: 1 / Pick: 9 | ||||||
Career history | |||||||
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Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Player stats at NFL.com · PFR |
John Joseph "Jumbo" Yonakor (August 4, 1921 – April 18, 2001) was an
Yonakor grew up in
Yonakor worked in Cleveland's steel industry for several years after leaving pro football. He settled in Euclid, Ohio in the early 1960s and was an assembly-line worker making diesel engines for White Motor Company. His son Rich was a star athlete in Euclid and went on to play one season for the National Basketball Association's San Antonio Spurs. Yonakor died in 2001.
Early life and high school
Yonakor grew up in the
College and military career
At Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, Yonakor played on the football team as an end beginning in 1942, when he was a sophomore.[1][4][5] He was a starter at right end in 1943, when the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team won the national championship under Leahy.[5] The highlight of his college career was catching two touchdown passes from quarterback Angelo Bertelli in a game against Army.[3] Yonakor was known for his strength and large size. While watching track athletes practice at Notre Dame in 1943, he picked up a 16-pound shot putter's weight and returned it to the thrower.[6] Impressed by the distance of the throw, the track coach got Yonakor to compete in the event, and two weeks later Yonakor won the Amateur Athletic Union indoor shot put national competition at Madison Square Garden in New York City.[5][6] He was named an All-American by news outlets that year.[5]
Following the 1943 season, Yonakor spent two years in the
Professional career
The AAFC dissolved after the 1949 season and the Browns were absorbed by the
Later life
Yonakor went back home to Boston after ending his football career and worked in several sales jobs he found unsatisfying.[15] He planned to go to California to find work, but stopped off in Cleveland on the way to make some money for the journey onward. He worked briefly in the structural iron business before getting a job in 1956 at Republic Steel, then one of the country's largest producers of the metal.[10][15] He was promoted in 1959 to superintendent of Republic's general labor department and oversaw more than 500 workers.[10] He got married and settled down in Cleveland, attending Browns games as he worked at Republic.[15] "I learned teamwork and got used to being around men and learning to get along with them," he said in 1960. "Out here at Republic we operate on the same theory as the Browns – all for one and one for all."[15]
In 1961, Yonakor began working for the White Motor Company in Euclid, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland where he lived.[16] He made diesel engines on an assembly line in a White Motors plant there.[11] His son, Rich Yonakor, was a star athlete in Euclid who played basketball in Italy and one season for the San Antonio Spurs in the early 1980s.[17] Yonakor died in Euclid in 2001.[18]
References
- ^ a b "Notre Dame Relies On Own Stock For 10-Game Slate". Cleveland Plain Dealer. September 14, 1943. p. 14.
- ^ "United States Census, 1930". Familysearch.org. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Sauerbrei, Harold (September 17, 1946). "Yonakor Gains Grid Fame 11 Years After Quitting Invalid's Bed". Cleveland Plain Dealer. p. 18.
- ^ Dietrich, John (October 1, 1943). "Lujack Looms as Key Man in Irish Attack". Cleveland Plain Dealer. p. 15.
- ^ a b c d e f "John Yonakor Profile". University of Notre Dame. Archived from the original on September 23, 2012. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e Sauerbrei, Harold (October 17, 1947). "Yonakor Gets Chance Sunday to Display Pass Catching Brilliance of His Days at Notre Dame". Cleveland Plain Dealer. p. 20.
- ^ Piascik 2007, pp. 64, 81, 121, 146.
- ^ a b "John Yonakor NFL Football Statistics". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on November 12, 2012. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
- ^ Sauerbrei, Harold (August 29, 1948). "Lavelli Injured; Out For 6 Weeks". Cleveland Plain Dealer. p. 3C.
Brown chooses to experiment with Gillom as his offensive right end rather than John Yonakor because of the former Notre Dame star's value on defense.
- ^ a b c "Yonakor, Ex-Brown, Promoted by Republic". Cleveland Plain Dealer. January 29, 1959. p. 28.
- ^ a b c Lustig, Dennis (August 15, 1971). "Young Yonakor Stars as Little League Hurler". Cleveland Plain Dealer. p. 2C.
- ^ "Yonakor Is Sold To Grid Yanks". Cleveland Plain Dealer. August 28, 1950. p. 20.
- ^ "Montreal Signs Yonakor". Cleveland Plain Dealer. Montreal. Associated Press. July 25, 1951. p. 19.
- ^ Sauerbrei, Harold (October 22, 1952). "Browns Wary of Redskins' Williams, Who Raced Kickoffs Back 100 and 95". Cleveland Plain Dealer. p. 31.
Among the old-timers is John Yonakor, who played end for the Browns during four years in the All-America Conference. John has been used at both end and tackle by the Redskins.
- ^ a b c d Heaton, Chuck (February 14, 1960). "Ex-Brown Yonakor Returns to Win Job, Wife". Cleveland Plain Dealer. p. 6C.
- ^ Hickey, William (December 3, 1964). "This sporting life...". Cleveland Plain Dealer. p. 70.
- ^ "Spurs Deal Silas to Cavaliers". The New York Times. United Press International. June 17, 1981. Archived from the original on May 24, 2015. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
- ^ ""United States Social Security Death Index," John Yonakor, 2001". Familysearch.org. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
Bibliography
- Piascik, Andy (2007). The Best Show in Football: The 1946–1955 Cleveland Browns. Lanham, MD: Taylor Trade Publishing. ISBN 978-1-58979-571-6.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Pro Football Reference