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Paul Giel

American baseball player (1932–2002)

Summary

American baseball player (1932–2002)

Field	Value
name	Paul Giel
image	Giel Bowman card 2816315f.jpg
birth_name	Paul Robert Giel
birth_date
birth_place	Winona, Minnesota, U.S.
death_date
death_place	Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
module	{{Infobox baseball biography
embed	yes
name	Paul Giel
position	Pitcher
bats	Right
throws	Right
debutleague	MLB
debutdate	July 10
debutyear	1954
debutteam	New York Giants
finalleague	MLB
finaldate	June 2
finalyear	1961
finalteam	Minnesota Twins
statleague	MLB
stat1label	Win–loss record
stat1value	11–9
stat2label	Earned run average
stat2value	5.39
stat3label	Strikeouts
stat3value	145
embed	yes
name	Paul Giel
currentnumber	10
currentposition	Halfback
highschool	Winona
height_ft	5
height_in	11
weight_lb	185
CFBHOF_id	1786
CFBHOF_year	1975

New York / San Francisco Giants (–, )
Pittsburgh Pirates (–)
Kansas City Athletics ()
Minnesota Twins ()
Minnesota (1951–1953)
UPI Player of the Year (1953)
Consensus All-American (1953)
First-team All-American (1952)
2× Big Ten Most Valuable Player (1952, 1953)
3× First-team All-Big Ten (1951–1953)
Minnesota Golden Gophers No. 10 retired Paul Robert Giel (February 29, 1932 – May 22, 2002) was an American college football and professional baseball player from Winona, Minnesota. He was an All-American in both sports at the University of Minnesota.

Collegiate career

Giel attended the University of Minnesota, where he was a star single wing tailback for the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team. While at Minnesota, Giel was a member of Phi Kappa, which later merged with Phi Kappa Theta fraternity. During his career at Minnesota he rushed for 2,188 yards and had 1,922 yards passing. Giel received the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the Big Ten's most valuable player twice, in 1952 and 1953, was named an All-American twice. Giel was the captain of the football team in 1953 that featured an upset of No. 5 Michigan for the Little Brown Jug. That year, he was the runner-up to Johnny Lattner of Notre Dame for the Heisman Trophy. His 1,794 votes received are the most by any player not to win the award. He was United Press International's college player of the year and the Associated Press back of the year.

Giel was a pitcher for the Minnesota Golden Gophers baseball team. He was selected to the 1953 College Baseball All-America Team by the American Baseball Coaches Association.

Giel was especially known for his speed and rapid cutting to change direction on the football field. At 185 pounds he was not a power runner. In the final game of the 1953 football season, Giel was clipped (tackled from behind while near the ball-carrier) on a kick return. This illegal action by an opposing player led to a fifteen-yard penalty and a broken ankle that for many confirmed the belief that Giel was too slight to have a professional football career. Despite this, the Canadian Football League (CFL) offered him $75,000 over three years.

Professional career

Instead of professional football, after his collegiate days Giel pitched in the major leagues for the New York / San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, Minnesota Twins, and Kansas City Athletics. He signed with the Giants for a $60,000 bonus, which was their highest ever at the time.

After his retirement from baseball, Giel was a color commentator on Minnesota Vikings radio broadcasts from 1962 to 1969, and served as the University of Minnesota's Director of Athletics from 1971 to 1989. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1975.

Personal life

Giel died following a heart attack on May 22, 2002. He was buried in Lakewood Cemetery.

References

[http://purl.umn.edu/134859 1954 ''Minnesota Gopher'' yearbook, p.322], accessed 12 Aug 2020.
"The Winning Margin: Year By Year". CBS Interactive.
"NCAA Baseball Award Winners". NCAA.
(May 26, 2002). "Paul Giel, 70, All-American In Two Sports and Pro Pitcher". The New York Times.
(2002-05-24). "Paul Giel Dies at 69". Winona Daily News.

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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