Former Duke football standout George McAfee, a member of both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame, died Wednesday, March 4, in Durham, N.C. He was 90.
A native of Ironton, Ohio, McAfee lettered on the gridiron at Duke from 1937-39, helping the Blue Devils to a three-year ledger of 24-4-1 with two Southern Conference championships (1938 & 1939) and an appearance in the Rose Bowl following the 1938 campaign. As a senior in 1939, he led Duke in rushing, receiving, scoring, kickoff returns, punt returns, interceptions and punting en route to earning first team All-America honors as the Blue Devils went 8-1.
He could stun an opponent with a single play, often striking panic into unsuspecting enemy teams and prompting sports writers to nickname him "One play McAfee." The experts were particularly impressed with the lefthander's ability to employ the halfback pass with outstanding accuracy.
He joined fellow Hall of Famer Eric Tipton in forming the one-two punch of the great Duke teams of the late 1930s. There was no more "perfect" regular season than logged by the Blue Devils in 1938 when they rolled through nine games unbeaten, untied and unscored-upon, winning the Southern Conference title before suffering a heartbreaking loss to Southern California, 7-3, in the Rose Bowl.
A multi-sport athlete, McAfee batted .353 while playing centerfield on Duke's baseball squad that went 16-7 and also captured the 100-meter crown at the Southern Conference track and field championships during his senior year.
The second pick overall in the 1940 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, McAfee played eight seasons (1940-41 and 1945-50, breaking for service in the U.S. Navy during World War II) with the Chicago Bears and recorded career totals of 234 points, 5,022 combined yards and 21 interceptions. In his first regular season contest, McAfee returned a kickoff 93 yards and threw a touchdown pass as the Bears defeated Green Bay, 41-10.
An All-NFL selection in 1941, he led the league in punt return average in 1948 and set the all-time record for career punt return average (12.78). McAfee guided the Bears to NFL championships in 1940 and 1946 and had his jersey No. 5 retired by the organization.
McAfee was enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1961 and into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1966.
Following his playing career, McAfee officiated in the NFL for several years and operated an oil business in Durham. He was a member of the inaugural Duke Sports Hall of Fame class in 1975 along with Eddie Cameron, Dan Hill, Ace Parker, Wallace Wade and Bill Werber.
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