HEIN, Mel(vin) John

(b. 22 August 1909 in Redding, California; d. 31 January 1992 in San Clemente, California), center who was one of the greatest stars in professional football during the first half of the twentieth century.

Hein began his football career at Burlington High School in the northwest corner of Washington State, near the Canadian border. He played college football at Washington State University (WSU), where he teamed with Turk Edwards to propel the Cougars to an undefeated season in 1930 and a berth in the 1931 Rose Bowl. The versatile Hein played every position on the line (center, guard, and tackle) in college, and even started on WSU's 1930 basketball team. After earning All-America status with the Cougars, Hein sought to play professional football.

The strapping young player wrote to three teams in 1931, seeking employment. The Providence Steamrollers responded first, offering him a $125-per-game contract. Hein signed the document and mailed it back, but the next day a better offer ($150 per game) arrived from the New York Giants. Hein immediately wired the postmaster in Providence, pleading with him to intercept the Steamroller contract and return it to his possession. Good fortune followed both the Giants and Hein as the postal official granted his request, thus beginning one of the greatest associations between a player and an organization in the history of professional football.

Hein played like his nickname, "Old Indestructible." His powerful six-foot, three-inch, 225-pound frame was nearly unstoppable on the field. He captained Giants teams that won seven division titles and two league championships in the 1930s and 1940s. On defense, he played line-backer and was known for his bone-crushing tackles and skilled pass coverage. When the Giants had the ball, Hein played center and snapped the ball unerringly. His skill in blocking and ability to devise unique methods on the field reached legendary status. Hein revolutionized his position on the offensive line through a number of strategic enhancements. He was the first professional center to pull from the line to lead blocking on running plays, and he helped pioneer the strategy of dropping back to pass block for the quarterback. The Giants even made use of Hein's athletic talents to employ a "center sneak," a special trick play. After taking the snap from Hein, the Giants quarterback would flip the ball back to him and fake a handoff to a back as Hein bulled his way downfield.

Hein was always on the field. During his fifteen years with the Giants, he played both sides of the ball and never missed a game. He was injured only once, during the 1938 championship game against the Green Bay Packers. Despite losing consciousness briefly and suffering a broken nose, Hein returned a few minutes later to help the Giants win the game. He usually played all sixty minutes in the more than 200 contests of his career. A team leader off the field as well as on, Hein was credited with ending a brutal Giants tradition of hazing young players by using his influence with squad veterans. In time, his perfection on the field was so respected that he served as almost as a player-coach. During the last four years of Hein's career, Giants head coach Steve Owen allowed him to limit his practices to one day a week because Hein was commuting from Schenectady while serving as head coach at Union College. Hein was well compensated with a salary of $5,000 a year, making him the highest-paid lineman in the National Football League (NFL).

After retiring as a player, Hein was an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Dons of the All-America Football League in 1947 and 1948, the New York Football Yankees in 1949, and the Los Angeles Rams of the NFL in 1950. He began coaching college football in 1951 at the University of Southern California (USC), where he stayed for fifteen years. Hein was also named supervisor of officials for the American Football League (AFL) in 1966, a position he continued to fill for the American Football Conference after the AFL merged with the NFL. Hein retired in 1974.

Over the years, Hein's reputation made him a legendary figure among New York sports fans. Giants owner Wellington Mara, who grew up awed by the great 1930s teams of his youth, once called Hein the best player of the team's first fifty years. Al Davis, legendary Raiders owner and former coach, who worked alongside Hein when both were assistants at USC in the 1950s, called him "one of the greatest football players who ever lived." Sports columnist Dave Anderson of the New York Times once picked the top twenty-five players ever to perform for New York football teams. Every position was worthy of debate except center. Anderson argued that no other candidate could compare to Hein.

In addition to being named All-Pro eight straight seasons, Hein is the only offensive lineman ever to win the NFL's Most Valuable Player award (1938). He received charter membership in the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954. When the Pro Football Hall of Fame opened its doors in 1963, Hein was a charter member, the first center to be enshrined. In 1983 he was the first athlete honored with the Washington State University Distinguished Alumnus Award. He was also recognized on the NFL's 75th Anniversary team in 1994, two years after his death. He was named to the Walter Camp All-Century Football Team on 28 December 1999. When retired coaches, sports information directors, and media selected the eighty-three-player Walter Camp squad, Hein was one of only three centers recognized. The Sporting News named Hein one of the top 100 football players of all time during the same year.

Hein died from complications of stomach cancer. He was survived by his wife Florance, a son and daughter, and four grandchildren.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, provides good background information about Hein and his career with the Giants. Some of the most voluminous material about Hein's football career has been produced by the Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA) in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. PFRA Executive Director Bob Carroll wrote an excellent biography of Hein in the group's journal, the Coffin Corner, V (1983). An obituary is in the New York Times (2 Feb. 1992). Washington State University houses some excellent resources specific to Hein's college career. Of particular interest are historical photographs of Hein available from the Hutchinson Studio Photographs of Washington State and Pullman, Washington, 1927–1973, available at the Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections section of the WSU library system.

R. Jake Sudderth