By Jason Krump
Staggered after taking a strike to the head, New York Giants center Mel Hein may have been unsure if he was even in New York City.
It was the second quarter of the 1938 NFL Championship Game between the Giants and Green Bay Packers at the Polo Grounds.
As Arthur J. Daley of the New York Times described, Hein was "kicked in the cheekbone at the end of the second quarter, suffered a concussion of the brain that left him temporarily bereft of memory."
Carted off the field, Hein was forced to leave a game for the first time in his career.
Before taking the hit, Hein, a charter member of the Pro Football, College Football, and Washington State Athletic Hall of Fame, was having a great day.
He was featured on the cover of the game program announcing his Most Valuable Player honor, the first in NFL history. Hein was presented with the award by Joe Carr, president of the NFL, on the Polo Grounds field.
And early in the second quarter, Hein, who played center and linebacker, recovered a fumble near midfield to set-up a Giants' touchdown.
It is doubtful he remembered that fumble recovery after being kicked in the face.
But the man known as "Old Indestructible" would not be down for long.
As Daley wrote, "(Hein) came to in the final quarter and finished the game."
The Giants defeated the Packers 23-17 and Hein won his second NFL Championship (the first in 1934). His heroic effort did not go unnoticed as Daley said Hein was "magnificent, as always."
The toughness shown by Hein that day was evident throughout his 15-year NFL career.
He never missed a game as as center and linebacker for the Giants.
In fact, along with '38 championship game, there was only one other instance Hein was forced to leave a game due to injury.
It was Dec. 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor Day, during a game against the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Hein was taken to the hospital in an ambulance after having his nose broken. Unlike the '38 title game, Hein did not return. It was the only time he was forced to permanently miss a remainder of a game.
But he soon returned to practice to help the Giants prepare for the 1941 NFL Championship. As he waited for a special guard to be created, Hein wore plaster over his injured nose.
Hein's NFL career his highlighted by his 1938 MVP season. That year marked the first season the NFL gave out a Most Valuable Player award. To this day, Hein is the only lineman to be named the league's MVP.
In addition to his MVP accolade, Hein was an All-Pro selection eight consecutive years (1933-40) and he was Giants' team captain 10 seasons.
Hein was so respected that when he decided to retire after the 1940 season, the Giants held "Mel Hein Day" at the end of the season. However, the team convinced him to come back and play a few more years.
Hein officially retired in 1945 and in 1963, he was enshrined as one of the 17 charter members of the Hall of Fame.
Hein's legacy endured well after his playing days were over. He was named to the NFL's 50th anniversary team in 1969 and 75th anniversary team in 1994. In 1999, 55 years after he retired from the NFL, Hein was ranked No. 74 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.
At Washington State, Hein was an All-America selection after leading the Cougars to a undefeated record and into the 1931 Rose Bowl against Alabama. During Hein's three season at Washington State, the Cougars were 26-6.
His No. 7 is retired by both the Giants and Washington State. The first Washington State player to have his jersey retired, Hein was inducted to the Washington State Athletic Hall of Fame in 1978.
"Everybody had what you would call the hello spirit," Hein told historian Dick Frey about attending Washington State during a 1987 interview. "You go along the walk, "hello!," "hello!," and you'd go to the bookstore, "hello!," "hello,!" and with this gang of football players we had as champion freshmen and we all got very close to each other and we were that way all, we had great spirit, all through our varsity career.
"I loved it there because of the sprit at Washington State."
