Walt Singer

Walter Wallace "Walt" Singer (December 6, 1911 – February 5, 1992) was an American college football player at Syracuse University, and a professional football player in the National Football League for the New York Giants.[1] He was also a sub-novice Intercollegiate boxing heavyweight champion, and hit a pivotal home run in the 1943 North African World Series to lead the Casablanca Yankees to victory over the Algiers Street Walkers.

Walt Singer
Born
Walter Wallace Singer

December 6, 1911
Jersey City, New Jersey
DiedFebruary 5, 1992(1992-02-05) (aged 80)
Resting placeBeth David Cemetery in Elmont, New York
EducationSyracuse University
OccupationCollege football player
Professional football player
Known forSub-novice Intercollegiate boxing heavyweight champion
Hit pivotal home run in the North African World Series
Height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Relativesidentical twin brother, Milton
AwardsThe Star Ledger All-New Jersey 1930's honorable mention (high school)
Hudson County Sports Hall of Fame

Early years

Singer was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, on December 6, 1911, and was Jewish.[1][2] He had an identical twin brother, Milton.[2][3]

Singer attended William L. Dickinson High School in Jersey City.[4] In 1930 he (as an end, and achieving First-Team All-State football honors) and his brother (at running back, and achieving honorable mention for All-State football player honors) led the Dickinson football team to a 9–0 record as it became the second-ever Hudson County Interscholastic Athletic Association champion.[5][6] He also played baseball for the high school team, as a catcher, alongside his brother, who was an All-State first baseman.[6]

College

Singer attended Syracuse University, where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity.[1][7] He played end for the Syracuse Orangemen football team for three seasons, from 1932–34, alongside his brother, who was the team's starting center.[2][6] In 1933 Singer received the AP All-East honorable mention.[2] In 1934 he was named First Team by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, at left end. His brother Milton, at center, was also named First Team.[8]

He and his brother also played baseball for Syracuse in 1933.[2] Additionally, he boxed, winning the sub-novice Intercollegiate boxing heavyweight championship in 1933. He quit that sport on the insistence of his football coach.[3][9][10]

NFL

Singer played offensive end and defensive end for the New York Giants in the NFL in 1935 – the year that the Giants won the NFL East – and in 1936.[1][2][11] He then went to the Jersey City Giants football team as player-coach, until he was drafted during World War II. In 1936 he also served as the athletic director of the Jersey City Community Center.[3][12]

World War II

As a private in the US Army, Singer tried out at Fort Dix, New Jersey, for the 44th Infantry Division baseball team in April 1941.[13] In April 1943, he was a lieutenant stationed in Africa.[14] He played in the North African World Series, a best two-out-of-three-game baseball championship played on October 3 and 4, 1943 in Algiers, Algeria, between the Casablanca Yankees and the Algiers Streetwalkers, drawn from the ranks of American soldiers and sailors stationed in North Africa during World War II.[15][16] Singer, the only officer in the games,[15] was the manager and first baseman for Casablanca. He hit a pivotal home run in the second game of the series – the only home run in the games – to carry the Casablanca Yankees to victory over the Algiers Street Walkers.[15][17] Singer ultimately reached the rank of major.[6]

Death and legacy

Singer died on February 5, 1992 at the age of 90. He is buried at Beth David Cemetery in Elmont, New York.[18]

In 1999, Singer received The Star Ledger's All-New Jersey 1930's honorable mention (high school).[2] In 2000, he was inducted into the Hudson County Sports Hall of Fame.[6]

References
  1. "Walt Singer NFL Football Statistics". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
  2. "Singer, Walt". Jewsinsports.org. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
  3. "Football Scores". Abilene Reporter-News. September 11, 1942. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
  4. "Walt Singer Past Stats, Statistics, History, and Awards". databaseFootball.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
  5. Jim Hague (October 14, 2007). "Moments of Gridiron Greatness; The history of football in Jersey City". Hudson Reporter. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
  6. "Milton Singer – Class of 2000". Hudson County Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
  7. "Class of 1935, Page 194". Syracuse University – Onondagan Yearbook (Syracuse, NY). Retrieved November 7, 2013.
  8. "The First Team". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. November 27, 1934. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
  9. "Tony Balash to Box for Orange" (PDF). Auburn Citizen. February 7, 1933. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
  10. "Herman Is Favored to Beat Nelson; Watch Novices Show Boxing Skill; Singer Cody Davis and Home Capture Campus Title". Syracuse Herald. December 18, 1932. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
  11. Joseph S. Page (2010). Pro Football Championships Before the Super Bowl: A Year-by-Year History, 1926–1965. McFarland. ISBN 978-0786457854. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
  12. "Strictly Confidential". Ohio Jewish Chronicle. April 10, 1936. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
  13. "Timeline 1941". Baseball in Wartime. October 1, 1940. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
  14. "In the Wake Of the News". The Salt Lake Tribune. May 16, 1943. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
  15. "The Yankees" Win North Africa, Too". Retrieved November 7, 2013.
  16. Wanda Ellen Wakefield (1997). Playing to Win: Sports and the American Military, 1898–1945. SUNY Press. ISBN 9780791433140. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
  17. "Service Dept". Lawrence Journal-World. November 18, 1943. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
  18. "Walter Wallace Singer (1911–1992)". Findagrave.com. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
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