Dom Moselle
Dom Moselle in a Green Bay Packers uniform on 1952 football card
Moselle on a 1952 football card
No. 92, 93, 47, 24
Position:Defensive back, Halfback
Personal information
Born:(1926-06-23)June 23, 1926
Gile, Wisconsin
Died:August 19, 2010(2010-08-19) (aged 84)
Superior, Wisconsin
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:192 lb (87 kg)
Career information
High school:Hurley (WI)
College:University of Wisconsin–Superior
NFL Draft:1950 / Round: 23 / Pick: 299
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Rush yards:176
Receiving yards:475
Touchdowns:6
Interceptions:4
Player stats at PFR

Dominic Angelo "Dom" Moselle (June 23, 1926 – August 19, 2010) was an American football defensive back and halfback who played in the National Football League (NFL) during the early 1950s.

Moselle grew up in Wisconsin and attended University of Wisconsin-Superior (UWS) starting in 1946 after serving two years in the U.S. Army during World War II. Playing as a halfback for the school's football team, he set a number of records, including most rushing yards in a career and most touchdowns in a game, season and career. He was the team's captain and was chosen as an all-conference player. The NFL's Cleveland Browns selected him in the later rounds of the 1950 draft after he was recommended to Cleveland head coach Paul Brown by the coach of one of his opponents in college. The Browns won the NFL championship in 1950, but Moselle was traded the following year to the Green Bay Packers. He played two seasons in Green Bay and one season for the Philadelphia Eagles before playing a final season in the Canadian Football League for the Calgary Stampeders in 1955.

After ending his playing career, Moselle got a master's degree in education and coached at Wabash College for three years. He then moved back to UWS as a teacher and coach, staying at his alma mater until he retired in 1986. He was inducted into the UWS hall of fame in 1973 and into the Superior Sports Hall of Fame in 1996. Moselle died in 2010.

Early life and college

Moselle was born in Gile, Wisconsin and attended Hurley High School, where he played basketball, baseball and football.[1] After graduating in 1943, he joined the U.S. Army and served in Guam and Hawaii during World War II between 1944 and 1945.[1] When the war ended, he enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, then known as Superior State Teachers College, where he studied health and physical education.[1] Playing as a halfback on the school's Yellowjackets football team between 1946 and 1949, Moselle set school records for rushing yards in a career, with 2,652 on 491 carries.[1] He also set a single-season school rushing record in 1948 with 962 yards.[1] He still holds the record for most touchdowns in a game, season and career, as well as for kickoff returns for touchdowns.[1] He was the football team's captain, and was named an all-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference player in football and basketball.[1]

Professional career

Moselle was selected by the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) in the 23rd round of the 1950 draft after he was recommended to head coach Paul Brown by one of his opposing college coaches.[2][3] He was the first player from the Wisconsin State University system to be drafted into the NFL.[1] In the Browns, Moselle joined a team transitioning into the NFL after four years and four championship victories in the All-America Football Conference.[4] Led by quarterback Otto Graham, fullback Marion Motley and ends Dante Lavelli and Mac Speedie, the Browns finished the season with a 10–2 win–loss record and won the NFL championship over the Los Angeles Rams.[5][6] Moselle returned kicks and served as a backup halfback for the Browns, rushing for 39 yards.[3] He also played as a defensive back.[3][7]

Brown traded Moselle to the Green Bay Packers in 1951 along with linebacker Walt Michaels and several other players in exchange for the rights to tackle Bob Gain.[8] Moselle played the following two seasons for Green Bay, but the team finished no better than fourth place in the NFL's National division.[3][9][10] After a season away from the NFL, he played with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1954.[3] The Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League bought Moselle from the Eagles in 1955, and he played there for one season.[11]

Later life and death

Moselle earned a master's degree in education from Indiana State University after his playing career, and then spent three years teaching and coaching football and basketball at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana.[1][12] He resigned in 1961 to take a job at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, his alma mater.[12] He taught physical education there and coached the school's football, baseball, basketball and track teams.[1] Moselle resigned as the basketball coach in 1970 to devote more of his time to teaching.[13] He retired in 1986.[1]

Moselle was inducted into the University of Wisconsin-Superior hall of fame in 1973 and the Superior Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.[1] He and his wife, Patricia O'Keefe, had three children.[1] He died in 2010.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Dominic A. Moselle". Superior Telegram. August 19, 2010. Archived from the original on August 21, 2010. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
  2. ↑ Piascik 2007, p. 157.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Dom Moselle NFL Football Statistics". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on September 22, 2013. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
  4. ↑ Piascik 2007, pp. 144–150.
  5. ↑ "1950 Cleveland Browns Statistics & Players". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
  6. ↑ Piascik 2007, pp. 177–182.
  7. ↑ Piascik 2007, p. 155.
  8. ↑ Piascik 2007, p. 220.
  9. ↑ "1951 NFL Standings, Team & Offensive Statistics". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
  10. ↑ "1952 NFL Standings, Team & Offensive Statistics". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
  11. ↑ Hunter, Gorde (November 15, 1955). "One Man's Opinion". The Calgary Herald. p. 26. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
  12. 1 2 "Wabash College Coach Resigns". Warsaw Times-Union. Crawfordsville, Ind. Associated Press. August 28, 1961. p. 7. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Whitewater Hires Coach". The Milwaukee Journal. March 10, 1970. p. 14. Retrieved September 27, 2013.

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.
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