Tonnemaker, weighing in at 11 pounds, was born on June 8, 1928, on a farm near Ogilvie, Minnesota, to Anna Nelson and Frank Clayton Tonnemaker. After his father died when Clayton was 7, he and his mother and sister, Lucille, sold their farm at auction and moved to the town of Rush City, Minnesota. The family later moved to Northeast Minneapolis, and Clayton attended Edison High School.
Football careeredit
Youthedit
Tonnemaker lettered in football at Rush City High School as an 8th grader. After moving to Minneapolis, Tonnemaker played center for the Edison football team, serving as captain and winning All-City Honors. He unofficially played for the Minnesota Gophers while in high school, even scoring a touchdown during a 1946 spring season scrimmage. It was not legal for a high schooler to train with a college team at the time, so the Gophers did not acknowledge this.[1]
College: University of Minnesotaedit
Tonnemaker officially began playing center linebacker for the Gophers during his freshman year, 1946, when a World War II-era ruling made it legal for freshman to play in the Big Ten. Before the war this was not allowed. He became part of a group of Gopher players known as the '49ers, their year of graduation.[1] He was a regular from mid-freshman year, with the Gophers winning 23 out of 30 games, and a "win-loss edge over every Big Ten rival except Michigan".[2] Along with Leo Nomellini, Tonnemaker was part of a defensive line that allowed "an average of less than nine points a game in the '49ers’ final season".[3]
Originally drafted by the San Francisco 49ers, his pro contract was transferred to the Green Bay Packers after the All-America Football Conference merged with the NFL in 1950 and the rules changed.[5] The Packers made him their number one National Football League draft pick in 1950 (4th in the NFL overall),[6] and paid him $8,000 a year, the top salary on the team. Tonnemaker played center and middle linebacker.
Named All-Pro in his rookie season (1950) and again after his war service in 1953
Picked to play in the first Pro Bowl ever (January 14, 1951)[6] but missed it because he had to report for Army duty
clayton, tonnemaker, frank, clayton, clayt, tonnemaker, june, 1928, december, 1996, american, football, player, played, center, linebacker, green, packers, from, 1950, 1954, tonnemaker, american, university, minnesota, where, played, center, linebacker, 1980, . Frank Clayton Clayt Tonnemaker June 8 1928 December 25 1996 was an American football player who played center and linebacker for the Green Bay Packers from 1950 to 1954 Tonnemaker was an All American at the University of Minnesota where he played center linebacker In 1980 he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame Clayton TonnemakerTonnemaker while playing at Minnesota c 1940sNo 15Position Center LinebackerPersonal informationBorn 1928 06 08 June 8 1928Ogilvie Minnesota U S Died December 25 1996 1996 12 25 aged 68 St Paul Minnesota U S Height 6 ft 2 in 1 88 m Weight 237 lb 108 kg Career informationHigh school Minneapolis MN EdisonCollege MinnesotaNFL draft 1950 Round 1 Pick 4Career historyGreen Bay Packers 1950 1954 Career highlights and awardsConsensus All American 1949 Third team All American 1948 First team All Big Ten 1949 Second team All Big Ten 1948 Career NFL statisticsPlayer stats at NFL com PFRCollege Football Hall of Fame Contents 1 Early life 2 Football career 2 1 Youth 2 2 College University of Minnesota 2 3 Professional Green Bay Packers 2 4 Honors and awards 3 Career 4 ReferencesEarly life editTonnemaker weighing in at 11 pounds was born on June 8 1928 on a farm near Ogilvie Minnesota to Anna Nelson and Frank Clayton Tonnemaker After his father died when Clayton was 7 he and his mother and sister Lucille sold their farm at auction and moved to the town of Rush City Minnesota The family later moved to Northeast Minneapolis and Clayton attended Edison High School Football career editYouth edit Tonnemaker lettered in football at Rush City High School as an 8th grader After moving to Minneapolis Tonnemaker played center for the Edison football team serving as captain and winning All City Honors He unofficially played for the Minnesota Gophers while in high school even scoring a touchdown during a 1946 spring season scrimmage It was not legal for a high schooler to train with a college team at the time so the Gophers did not acknowledge this 1 College University of Minnesota edit Tonnemaker officially began playing center linebacker for the Gophers during his freshman year 1946 when a World War II era ruling made it legal for freshman to play in the Big Ten Before the war this was not allowed He became part of a group of Gopher players known as the 49ers their year of graduation 1 He was a regular from mid freshman year with the Gophers winning 23 out of 30 games and a win loss edge over every Big Ten rival except Michigan 2 Along with Leo Nomellini Tonnemaker was part of a defensive line that allowed an average of less than nine points a game in the 49ers final season 3 Gopher Co Captain 1949 Consensus All American 1949 unanimous choice 1949 Look Magazine Eleven named by the Football Writers Association of America 1st Team 1949 Sporting News All American 1949 Minneapolis Star named him Minnesota s greatest center in football history 1949 7 in the Heisman Trophy voting 4 Co Captain of the winning East team in the East West Shrine Game December 1949 scored his only touchdown on an intercepted pass and 70 yard run Co Captain of the All Star Team at the Chicago College All Star Game that beat the Philadelphia Eagles 17 7 August 1950 Professional Green Bay Packers edit Originally drafted by the San Francisco 49ers his pro contract was transferred to the Green Bay Packers after the All America Football Conference merged with the NFL in 1950 and the rules changed 5 The Packers made him their number one National Football League draft pick in 1950 4th in the NFL overall 6 and paid him 8 000 a year the top salary on the team Tonnemaker played center and middle linebacker Named All Pro in his rookie season 1950 and again after his war service in 1953 Picked to play in the first Pro Bowl ever January 14 1951 6 but missed it because he had to report for Army duty Captain 1953 1954 Played from 1950 54 6 Honors and awards edit Minnesota Football Hall of Fame 1946 47 48 49 National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame 1980 Played on 10 teams and named the captain of each one 7 Chicago Tribune All Time All Big Ten Team Center 8 State of Minnesota Football Hall of Fame 1981 Gopher Men s Sports Hall of Fame 1992Career editServed in the Korean War for 32 months 18 months as a lieutenant in the Medical Service Corps in Japan 9 Left the Green Bay Packers in 1954 to begin a 22 year career with Cargill achieved VP status 6 1961 1965 NFL football commentator on CBS 1979 Became President of Coal Creek Mining Co in Ashland Montana 6 Tonnemaker spent the last years of his life in Minnesota and Wisconsin close to his family where he was involved in private business ventures 6 References edit a b Maroon and Gold Forever Ross Bernstein 2009 Printing Enterprises New Brighton Minnesota Viking Update Dick Gordon October 9 1995 Gold Glory Richard Rainbolt 1972 R Turtinen Publishing Co Wayzata Minnesota p 133 Pittsburgh Post Gazette November 30 1949 p 19 Minneapolis Tribune Sid Hartman Feb 6 1980 p 2C a b c d e f Green Bay Press Gazette Don Langenkamp January 21 1979 St Paul Pioneer Press Don Riley October 19 1980 Chicago Tribune July 31 1995 Section 7 pg 7 Interview with daughter Susan Tonnemaker Hunter Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Clayton Tonnemaker amp oldid 1215617762, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
