Hust Stockton

John Houston Stockton (September 23, 1901 – April 27, 1967) was a professional football player, a back in the late 1920s in the National Football League. He played with the Frankford Yellow Jackets from 1925 until 1928, and was a member of Yellow Jackets' 1926 NFL Championship team. During his final season in 1929, Stockton split time between the Boston Bulldogs and the Providence Steamroller. He was the grandfather of basketball Hall of Fame inductee, John Stockton, who played point guard for the National Basketball Association's Utah Jazz from 1984 to 2003.[1][2]

Hust Stockton
Hap Moran (left) and Stockton (right) in 1926,
with the NFL's Frankford Yellow Jackets
Position:Fullback, Halfback, Tailback
Personal information
Born:(1901-09-23)September 23, 1901
Parma, Idaho
Died:April 27, 1967(1967-04-27) (aged 65)
Bremerton, Washington
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:193 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school:Portland (OR) Columbia Prep
College:Gonzaga
Career history
Career highlights and awards
  • NFL champion (1926)
  • GB Press-Gazette: 2nd team All-NFL (1926)
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com

Early years

Born in Parma, Idaho, Stockton set high school football scoring records as a back at Columbia Prep in Portland, Oregon.[3] Originally enrolled at St. Mary's College, then in Oakland, California, he transferred as a sophomore in 1922 to Gonzaga in Spokane, Washington,[4] where he played baseball and football.[5] A triple-threat halfback,[6][7] Stockton threw passes to Ray Flaherty, a future member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame,[8] and their head coach was Gus Dorais,[1] who popularized the passing game as a player at Notre Dame with teammate Knute Rockne.[9][10] While in college, Stockton was compared to the top back of the era, Red Grange of Illinois.[11]

Professional career

During a Thanksgiving Day game in 1926, a pass from Stockton to Two-Bits Homan netted the Yellow Jackets a 20–14 victory over the Green Bay Packers.[12] Stockton made the same pass to Homan again that season, this time against the Chicago Cardinals for a 7–6 Frankford win.[13] In 1928, against the Chicago Cardinals, Stockton threw an 18-yard pass to Carl Waite for a 19–0 win for the Jackets.[14] At the start of his last season in 1929, Stockton and former Gonzaga teammate Flaherty were in training camp with the New York Giants.[15]

Stockton was an assistant coach at his alma mater Gonzaga during the 1927 season.[16]

After football

Following his football career, he was briefly a professional wrestler in Spokane,[17][18][19] and worked for the highway department in Idaho.[20]

References
  1. McCallum, Jack (April 25, 1988). "Not a passing fancy". Sports Illustrated: 72.
  2. "Philly.com: Health and Medical News". www.philly.com. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  3. "Stockton's record still stands; was scoring backfield marvel". Spokane Daily Chronicle. November 7, 1931. p. 12.
  4. Flynn, Mike (December 9, 2009). "When football was king at Gonzaga". Flynn's Harp. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
  5. "Stockton put on all-star eleven". Spokesman-Review. December 18, 1923. p. 13.
  6. "Stockton and Bross use football just as if it was a baseball". Spokane Daily Chronicle. November 22, 1923. p. 21.
  7. "Stockton rates among greatest gridiron performers of all time". Spokesman-Review. December 30, 1928. p. 3, sports.
  8. Missildine, Harry (April 30, 1967). "The days of Stockton". Spokesman-Review. p. 1, sports.
  9. "From the bench". Spokane Daily Chronicle. December 8, 1938. p. 15.
  10. "Gonzaga University campus". Spokesman-Review. (Then and Now galleries). Retrieved February 6, 2014.
  11. "Gonzaga ace hard man to go up against in game". Spokane Daily Chronicle. November 29, 1924. p. 10.
  12. http://www.paulandrewsports.com/vintagefootball.htm%5B%5D
  13. Carroll, Bob. "The Grange War - 1926" (PDF). Pro Football Researchers Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 17, 2013. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
  14. "Frankford Yellow Jackets: Elkin". Ghosts of the Gridiron. 1928. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
  15. "Stockton and Flaherty go to New York Giants". Spokesman-Review. September 8, 1929. p. 3, sports.
  16. "Another Stockton arrives". Spokesman-Review. December 16, 1927. p. 18.
  17. "Houston Stockton turns pro wrestler in quest of heavyweight championship". Spokane Daily Chronicle. February 17, 1931. p. 14.
  18. "Stockton will appear on mat card Tuesday". Spokane Daily Chronicle. April 8, 1931. p. 16.
  19. "Kruse crushes big Cantonwine". Spokane Daily Chronicle. April 15, 1931. p. 19.
  20. "Houston Stockton sues for divorce". Spokane Daily Chronicle. May 12, 1936. p. 11.
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