Art Spinney
 Spinney on a 1954 Bowman football card | |
| Born: | November 8, 1927 Saugus, Massachusetts |
|---|---|
| Died: | May 27, 1994 Lynn, Massachusetts |
| Career information | |
| Position(s) | Guard |
| College | Boston College |
| NFL draft | 1950, round: 15 / Pick 184 |
| Career history | |
| As player | |
| 1950, 1953–1960 | Baltimore Colts |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Honors | |
Arthur F. Spinney, Jr. (1927–1994) was an American gridiron football guard. He played nine seasons with the Baltimore Colts in the National Football League and was captain of the 1949 Eagles' football team.[1] Spinney attended Boston College. He missed the 1951 and 1952 NFL seasons due to military service.
After his career he served as an offensive line coach for Boston College and the Boston Patriots under Mike Holovak and was also a public relations official. For a brief time, Spinney worked for the American Biltrite Rubber Company of Cambridge, Massachusetts, as a consultant to its Sports Surfaces Division. In 1972, along with Lawrence J. Warnalis of Medford, Massachusetts, Spinney was awarded a patent that described Biltrite's artificial grass product Poly-Turf as well as its associated layers of product, applied on top of asphalt, as a suitable way to construct a football or soccer field with artificial turf.[2] This provided maximum comfort and safety to the players.
Spinney was inducted into the Boston College Varsity Club Athletic Hall of Fame in 1972.[1]
Former Governor of Massachusetts Edward J. King, who played college football with Spinney, said of him "He was the toughest single person I ever encountered, he handed out punishment with clean hard-hitting, but he'd play himself into total fatigue. As an individual, he was one good solid American man.[3][4]
References
- ^ a b "Art Spinney (1972) - Varsity Club Hall of Fame". Boston College Athletics. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
- ^ US 3661687, Spinney Jr., Arthur F. & Warnalis, Lawrence J., "Artificial grass sports field", published 1972-05-09, assigned to American Biltrite Rubber Co. Inc.
- ^ Lambert, Bill (2018). "Art Spinney". In Bozeka, George (ed.). The 1958 Baltimore Colts: Profiles of the NFL's First Sudden Death Champion. McFarland. ISBN 9781476671451.
- ^ Steadman, John (June 1, 1994). "Spinney was block of intensity Colts came to admire". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
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- 1927 births
- 1994 deaths
- American football offensive linemen
- Baltimore Colts (1947–1950) players
- Baltimore Colts players
- Western Conference Pro Bowl players
- Boston College Eagles football players
- Boston College Eagles football coaches
- People from Saugus, Massachusetts
- Boston Patriots (AFL) coaches
- Players of American football from Massachusetts
- Sportspeople from Essex County, Massachusetts
- American football offensive lineman, 1920s birth stubs