Top 100 NFL Running Backs - #93: Joe Maniaci

Joe Maniaci 

Teams

Brooklyn Dodgers (1936-1938)

Chicago Bears (1938-1941)

Playoffs

Appearances - 2 (1940,1941)

Conf Champ Games - 2 (1940,1941)

Championship Games - 2 (1940,1941)

Championships - 2 (1940,1941)

Awards and Honors

Pro Bowl - 2 (1940,1941)

All-Time Ranks

League Leads

Rushing Yards (#3-1939, #7-1937, #8-1938,1940)

Rushing Touchdowns (#6-1938,1939, #7-1937)

Yards per Rush (#1-1939, #3-1937, #4-1938,1940)

Rushing Yards per Game (#2-1939, #8-1937,1940, #10-1938)

Total Touchdowns (#7-1939)

Scrimmage Yards (#7-1938,1939)

Yards per Touch (#1-1939, #3-1938, #7-1937, #8-1940)

Joe Maniaci was the captain of the Fordham University football team in 1935, and was drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 6th round of the 1936 NFL Draft to play fullback. 

After a rookie season where he averaged only 2 yards per carry, he had a big rise in production in his second season, gaining 4.7 yards each time he touched the ball, and finishing 7th in the league in rushing yards. Just two games into the next season, he was traded away to the Chicago Bears, where he would make a much bigger impact.

In his first full season with the Bears, he averaged a league-leading 7.1 yards per carry, which is the ninth-best average over a full season in NFL history. He was also 6th in the league in touchdowns, and he did it all without catching a single pass.

The next year, his production was significantly lower, but he still managed to be voted into the Pro Bowl for the first time, and his Bears won their division, earning them a trip to the championship game. In that game, Maniaci rushed for 60 yards and a touchdown, and caught 3 passes for 39 yards and a 2-point conversion, and the Bears destroyed the Redskins 73-0, still the biggest blowout in NFL history.

He returned to the Bears for one final season in a very limited role, and though he only gained 95 rushing yards on the season, he was again voted into the Pro Bowl, probably on the strength of his previous seasons. The Bears again reached the championship game, with Maniaci picking up 11 yards and kicking an extra point in the 37-9 victory. He retired after the game at the age of 27.

Though his career was extremely short, he packed a lot into it. His 1939 rushing average is still one of the best of all time, and he won 2 championships to top off his career. He went on to a career in coaching, where he coached 2 undefeated teams before leaving the game for good in 1949. He may have played before most people you know were born, but he was still one of the best to ever carry a football.