“FENWAY'S BEST PLAYERS”

1932-1939 #5   TURK EDWARDS   T In the 1930s, pro football was a small world compared with today’s game. Turk Edwards, a 6-foot-2, 265-pound tackle, was gigantic for his day. Called the "Rock of Gibraltar" and the "bouncing boulder," among other nicknames, he was among the fastest men in pro football, despite his exceptional tonnage. For the Redskins, he was a tremendous blocker and tackler at a time when players often stayed on the field for 60 minutes. He toyed with opponents using overwhelming strength and power, yet he had the speed to chase down ball-carriers and used to spill many of the league’s fastest halfbacks after they had outdistanced all others. After graduating Washington State, Turk received offers in 1932 to play for the New York Giants, Portsmouth Spartans and Boston Braves (Redskins). He chose the Braves, who submitted the highest offer and he even drove a busload of his teammates to Boston for tryouts with the Braves. One of eight NFL teams, the Braves were kicking off their inaugural season. Turk proved to be one of their prized catches and established himself as a dominant force on offense and defense, playing eight seasons (1932 to 1939) for the Boston (Braves) Redskins and Washington Redskins franchise. The Boston "football" Braves played at Braves Field in 1932. In 1933 they moved into Fenway Park. When they moved to Fenway, they had a new head coach named "Lone Star" Dietz. Dietz was a Sioux Indian and played at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School of Carlisle, Pennsylvania. There, he was a teammate of Jim Thorpe, under famed coach Pop Warner. The team changed their nickname to the Redskins to honor him. Turk was a fixture on the front line, playing 710 of a possible 720 minutes. But the Redskins struggled as a team, finishing 5-5-2 in 1933, 6-6 in 1934 and 2-8-1 in 1935. They crafted a 7-5 record in 1936, which was good enough for an Eastern Division title and appearance in the NFL championship game which they lost to the Packers. Turk Edwards claimed All-NFL honors in 1932, 1933, 1936 and 1937, and in 1969, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which noted that he played with immovable and impregnable tendencies, becoming the best of his era. By the 1940 season, Turk was only one of two remaining players from the 1932 Braves. After a ling illness, Turk Edwards passed away at his home, on January 12, 1973, in Kirkland, Washington at age 65.