John Mellekas

John Mellekas
No. 76, 75, 65
Position:Center
Offensive tackle Defensive tackle
Personal information
Born:(1933-06-14)June 14, 1933
Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.
Died:June 2, 2015(2015-06-02) (aged 81)
Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.
Career information
College:Arizona
NFL draft:1956 / round: 4 / pick: 47
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played:84
Games started:9
Fumble recoveries:5
Stats at Pro Football Reference

John Stavros Mellekas (June 14, 1933 – June 2, 2015) was an American football offensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL).[1]

Mellekas played 4 years of football and basketball at Rogers High School in Newport and was named as an inaugural inductee into the Rogers High School hall of fame in January 2008[2] and then played college football at the University of Arizona.[3] He was a 4th round selection (47th overall pick) in the 1956 NFL draft by the Chicago Bears.[4] He played for the Bears (1956–1961),[5] the San Francisco 49ers (1962),[6] and the Philadelphia Eagles (1963).[7]

1961 Chicago Bears offensive line in action. "Bears Workout at Soldier Field for Armed Forces game Friday."

Following his career, he was employed by the Newport school department as a physical education teacher for 36 years, retiring in 1996. Mellekas died in his hometown of Newport, Rhode Island on June 2, 2015.[8] He was a Greek Orthodox Christian.[9][circular reference]

  1. ^ "John Mellekas". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved January 2, 2009.
  2. ^ "Hall of fame inductees listed for Rogers High". The Providence Journal. Retrieved January 2, 2009.
  3. ^ "John Mellekas". databasefootball.com. Archived from the original on February 18, 2010. Retrieved January 2, 2009.
  4. ^ "1956 NFL Player Draft". databasefootball.com. Archived from the original on January 2, 2009. Retrieved January 2, 2009.
  5. ^ "Chicago Bears All-Time Roster". chicagobears.com. Archived from the original on November 16, 2009. Retrieved January 2, 2009.
  6. ^ "San Francisco 49ers All-Time Roster (I-M)". sf49ers.com. Archived from the original on October 11, 2008. Retrieved January 2, 2009.
  7. ^ "Philadelphia Eagles All-Time Roster". philadelphiaeagles.com. Retrieved January 2, 2009.
  8. ^ "John S. Mellekas (June 14, 1933 – June 2, 2015)". The Newport Buzz. Archived from the original on June 4, 2015. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  9. ^ List of Eastern Orthodox Christians#Athletes