Gonzaga Athletic Hall of Fame
Tony Canadeo carried one of the great alliterative nicknames in American sports from this university’s campus into the National Football League Hall of Fame – “The Gray Ghost of Gonzaga” was prematurely gray when he arrived from Chicago. He boxed a bit here, but what Canadeo did best was run with a football. Team captain his senior season of 1940, he was named All-West Coast and Little All-American at halfback. Legend has it that Canadeo’s play in a 13-7 upset of Detroit University late in the 1940 season – he scored all of Gonzaga’s points – prompted Green Bay to draft him. Canadeo played 11 seasons for the Packers in a career interrupted by World War II service. Ever versatile, he played defense as well as offense, was an efficient passer and receiver, and ran back punts and kickoffs. All told, Canadeo amassed 8,682 yards on 1,487 multi-categoried plays. He was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1974.
