Mel Triplett
| No. 33 | |
| Born: | December 24, 1930 Indianola, Mississippi, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Died: | July 25, 2002 (aged 71) Toledo, Ohio, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| Position(s) | Running back |
| College | Toledo |
| NFL draft | 1955, round: 5, pick: 56 |
| Career history | |
| As player | |
| 1955–1960 | New York Giants |
| 1961–1962 | Minnesota Vikings |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Career stats | |
| |
Melvin C. Triplett (December 24, 1930 – July 25, 2002)[1] was an American football running back in the National Football League (NFL) who played for eight seasons for the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings. He played high school football at Girard High School in Girard, Ohio. He graduated from Girard in 1951 and was inducted into the Girard Hall of Fame in 1997. He played college football at the University of Toledo and was drafted by the Giants in the 1955 NFL draft, where he played for six seasons. He scored the opening touchdown against the Chicago Bears in the 1956 championship game, won by the Giants 47–7. He was named New York's outstanding offensive player in the game. He left the Giants for the Minnesota Vikings, where he played in 1961 and 1962. Including both teams, he totaled 2,857 yards and 14 touchdowns in his NFL career.
Among the fans of Mel Triplett during his days on the New York Giants was a young basketball player in New York named Lew Alcindor, later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Abdul-Jabbar says in his 1983 memoir Giant Steps that it was largely Triplett's wearing of uniform No. 33 that made Abdul-Jabbar adopt No. 33 as well, a number he made famous.
References
[edit]- ^ Frank Litsky (July 27, 2002). "Mel Triplett, 71; Helped Giants Win '56 Title". The New York Times. Retrieved July 28, 2009.
External links
[edit]- Career statistics and player information from Pro Football Reference
| International | |
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| National | |
 | This biographical article relating to an American football running back born in the 1930s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1930 births
- 2002 deaths
- American football running backs
- People from Indianola, Mississippi
- People from Girard, Ohio
- New York Giants players
- Minnesota Vikings players
- Toledo Rockets football players
- Players of American football from Youngstown, Ohio
- Players of American football from Mississippi
- 20th-century African-American sportsmen
- 21st-century African-American sportsmen
- 20th-century American sportsmen
- American football running back, 1930s birth stubs