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ecfritz

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  1. ecfritz
    The football player on the cover could be a slightly fictionalized version of Emlen Tunnell, who played for Toledo in 1942 before serving in the U.S. Coast Guard from 1943-1946 and going on to a Hall of Fame NFL career (the first black NFL HOFer). Tunnell wore number 45 rather than 15, but the face looks pretty similar. Notably, Tunnell actually broke his neck playing football in October 1942 before recovering to lead Toledo to the NIT Basketball Finals in spring 1943 and joining the U.S. Coast Guard in May 1943. It seems quite possible that the cover artist may have read a contemporaneous news story about Tunnell recovering from his serious injury and joining the Coast Guard sometime in mid-1943 and was inspired to draw him as the cover athlete.