Today’s card of the day is a 1955 Topps All-American card of George Cafego. Nicknamed “Bad News,” Cafego was a star halfback, punter, and kickoff returner at the University of Tennessee. He placed seventh in voting for the Heisman Trophy in 1938, and fourth in 1939. (See the Gallery’s page of Heisman candidates.) He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1969.
The Chicago Cardinals chose Cafego with the first overall pick of the 1940 NFL Draft. Cafego never played for the Cardinals, however. He ended up with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1940 (though I couldn’t find the reason), then served two years in the Army, then returned to the Dodgers in 1943. Midway through the 1943 season, he moved to the Washington Redskins, and he finished his pro career with the Boston Yanks in 1944 and 1945.
After retiring as a player, Cafego began a forty-year coaching career in college and the pros, including thirty years back at the University of Tennessee.
Cafego is one of five first-overall NFL draft picks who appear on cards in the 1955 Topps All-American set. You can see the others on the Gallery’s First Overall Draft Picks page.
