SALUTE to Delco Hometown Heroes & Pioneers, both on the field & off!

Emlen Lewis Tunnell (March 29, 1924 – July 23, 1975), an American professional football player and coach.

He was the first African-American to play for the New York Giants and also the first to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Emlen Lewis Tunnell was born in Bryn Mawr and graduated from Radnor High School.

He played college football at the University of Toledo before and after World War II, he enlisted from 1943 to 1946 and continued his collegiate career at the University of Iowa. After leaving college in 1948, he hitchhiked from his home in Pennsylvania to New York for a tryout with the New York Giants. Tunnell was the first Black player signed by the Giants (1948 to 1958) and later played for the Green Bay Packers (1959–1961).

In total, Tunnell played 14 seasons in the NFL as a defensive halfback and safety having been selected as a first-team All-Pro six times and having played in nine Pro Bowls. He was a member of NFL championship teams in 1956 and 1961. When he retired as a player, he held NFL career records for interceptions (79), interception return yards (1,282), punt returns (258), and punt return yards (2,209). He then became a scout and one of the league’s first Black assistant coaches, helping fully integrate both the Giants and the Packers. In 1967, Tunnell was the first Black man and the first defensive specialist to be enshrined in Canton. Tunnell passed away at 50 years old in 1975, but his legacy lives on.

At the beginning of 2017, the Sports Legends of Delaware County Museum in Wayne, PA, commissioned sculptor Jennifer Frudakis Petry to create a seven-foot bronze statue of Tunnell to commemorate the memory of this WWII and NFL hero. This statue is housed outside of the Museum where inside the Radnor Township Municipal Building, visitors are able to see displayed items such as his high school yearbook and NFL jerseys provided by his family.

In July 2017, NFL analyst Gil Brandt selected Emlen as the top safety of all time. This occurred just prior to Emlen’s fans celebrating the 50th Anniversary of his being the first African-American inducted into pro football’s Hall of Fame. Prior to the 2020 Super Bowl, Emlen was named one of NFL’s top 100 players of all time.

Honor, Respect, and Devotion to Duty!

Tunnell served in the United States Coast Guard from 1943 to 1946 and has been commemorated in several tributes for his service during World War II. He received the Silver Lifesaving Medal for heroism in rescuing a shipmate from flames during a Japanese torpedo attack in 1944 in Papua New Guinea, and for rescuing another shipmate who fell into the sea in 1946.

In October 2021, the U.S. Coast Guard announced that a new Sentinel-Class Fast Response Cutter (FRC) designed to serve a multi-mission role has been named for Delaware County’s own Steward’s Mate 1st Class Emlen Lewis Tunnell. The 45th FRC is the first military ship to carry the name of a professional athlete. Number 45 was Tunnell’s number with the New York Giants.

Each FRC is named for an enlisted Coast Guard hero who distinguished themselves in the line of duty. Tunnell’s exploits as a Coast Guardsman and then as a ground-breaking African-American in the world of professional sports, Tunnell, through his achievements both on and off the field, demonstrated the Coast Guard’s core values of Honor, Respect, and Devotion to Duty.

Bring Billy “White Shoes” Johnson Home!

PA Legendary NFL Football Star Billy ‘White Shoes’ Johnson grew up in Marcus Hook, PA where his father Leonard served as a Police Officer. As Mayor of Marcus Hook at the time, Curt Weldon had the honor of promoting Leonard to Sergeant and still retains his lifelong friendship with Billy and his family (now living in Atlanta).

Under the leadership of Jim Vankoski, the DelCo Sports Hall of Fame has announced plans to fund the design and erect the life size statue of hometown hero Billy to join the statue of another legendary Marcus Hook hometown hero – American League Baseball Star Mickey Vernon. Billy and Mickey exemplify the families of Marcus Hook that also include US Marine Corps General Bob Haebel. Please join in contributing to this noble effort to fund the statue of this great American role model!”

• Project Name: Team White Shoes Statue Fund • Presented by: Sports Legends of Delaware County Museum, a 501(c)(3), whose Mission Statement is: To honor an iconic Delaware County football legend, Billy “White Shoes” Johnson, with the creation of an over life size 7 foot bronze tribute statue, by sculptor Jennifer Frudakis Petry, to acknowledge excellence, preserving the heritage of our local sports history by recognizing and rewarding such excellence. www.delcosportsmuseum.org • Total Fundraising Goal for Project = $100,000 • Targeted Completion & Ceremony: Projected for Fall, 2022 • Site Location: The Borough of Marcus Hook

William Arthur Johnson (born January 27, 1952), better known as Billy “White Shoes” Johnson, is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL) from 1974 through 1988. Johnson was also a star sprinter, and competed in Masters Track and Field after his football career.

Johnson earned his famous nickname as a high schooler in the Chichester School District, Boothwyn, PA, where he dyed his shoes as part of a dare. Ever since then, he has been referred to by his nickname.

He was one of the first players to display elaborate celebrations in the end zone. As a rookie with the Oilers, he began celebrating touchdowns with a dance known as the “Funky Chicken,” a dance based on a song from soul singer Rufus Thomas. It was one of the first touchdown celebrations in league history.

As one of the most colorful and amazing open field runners in college football, Billy “White Shoes” Johnson graduated with over 20 school, game, season and career records. During his time at Widener College (1971-73), he shattered no less than nine all-time NCAA marks and 12 Middle Atlantic Conference records. Johnson scored 62 career touchdowns, rushed for 3,737 yards and accounted for 5,404 all-purpose yards. He was named All-American in 1972 and 1973 by both the American Football Coaches Association and the Associated Press. Johnson was also part of the first class inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996.

His play at Widener helped build the foundation for the national championship teams that were to follow. Johnson went on to play for the Houston Oilers, the Atlanta Falcons and the Washington Redskins in the NFL as well the Montreal Alouettes in the CFL. He was named to the NFL’s 75th Anniversary All-Time Team as a punt returner in 1994 and to the MAC All-Century Team in 2012. In 2018, he was inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame. He remains the only man selected to the National Football League 75th Anniversary All-Time Team who is not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. •