Myth Or Fact? Hein's Gridiron Legend Lives On

Nearly six years after Mel Hein's death and 67 years after he led Washington State to the Rose Bowl, it's difficult to separate myth from reality.

Washington State's greatest player, and the man many consider to be football's finest center, has become a legendary figure. But what Hein accomplished is as amazing as the myths that surround him.

-- Myth or fact: Hein never missed a game in 23 seasons of prep, college and pro football.

Fact. Despite playing both ways as a center and linebacker in an era without facemasks and only rudimentary sports medicine, the worst injury Hein suffered was a broken nose. The 6-foot-2, 225-pounder was nicknamed "Old Indestructible" and his durability was featured in "Ripley's Believe It or Not."

-- Myth or fact: Hein and his brothers learned to play football with an inflated pig's bladder.

Who knows? Mel's daughter, Sharon Wood, said Hein told her he and his brothers Homer and Lloyd used the bladder for a makeshift ball growing up near Bellingham in the shadow of Mount Baker. Mel's youngest brother, George, now 74, isn't so sure. Though 14 years younger than Mel and too young to remember, George said his brother was a prankster who "loved a good joke."

-- Myth or fact: Hein almost became a Husky and nearly didn't play college football.

Fact. His goal as a youngster and as a prep star at Burlington was to row for the Husky crew. Lloyd, his older brother who went to Pullman on a track scholarship (as did younger brother, Homer), convinced Mel to become a Cougar. Mel was discouraged after being third-string on the freshman football team, but spent the summer wielding ax and shovel for the U.S. Forest Service. His conditioning paid off.

Hein, who also started one season for the Cougar basketball team, became a first-team All-American, and with another future Hall of Famer, tackle Glenn "Turk" Edwards, led the Cougars to the 1931 Rose Bowl, where they lost 24-0 to Alabama.

Hein signed a contract for $150 a game to play for the New York Giants and became one of the league's stars in a golden era that included Bronko Nagurski and Red Grange. Hein was an All-Pro eight times and played in seven NFL championships during his 15-year pro career. He won the league's first MVP award in 1938, the same year the Giants beat the Green Bay Packers for their second NFL title in five years. His No. 7 was retired by WSU and the Giants, and he was an original inductee to the college and pro football halls of fame. During football's centennial celebration, Hein was named one of the 11 greatest players.

He went on to become a pro and college assistant coach, including a 16-year stint at USC, and was the NFL's supervisor of officials for two years.

Hein married his college sweetheart, Florence Porter, and the romance between the football captain and the prom queen from Pullman lasted 60 years until Mel died of cancer in 1992 at age 82.

Tomorrow: Players of the decade through 1990s.