Otto Ole Schnellbacher was an American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 defensive back

Defensive back

In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...

 in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 for the New York Giants

New York Giants

The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

. He was a 2-time Pro Bowl

Pro Bowl

In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...

er. Also a professional basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 player, Schnellbacher played for the Basketball Association of America

National Basketball Association

The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

's Providence Steamrollers

Providence Steamrollers

The Providence Steamrollers were a National Basketball Association team based in Providence, Rhode Island. As of November 2011, the Steamrollers remain the last pro sports franchise from one of the Big Four leagues to be based in Rhode Island....

 and St. Louis Bombers

St. Louis Bombers (NBA)

The St. Louis Bombers were a National Basketball Association team based in St. Louis, Missouri, founded in 1946. The team ceased operations in 1950.- Franchise history :...

 in 1948-49. In college, Schnellbacher was a two-sport star at the University of Kansas

University of Kansas

The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...

, earning him the nickname "the double threat from Sublette". On the gridiron, Schnellbacher, along with teammate Ray Evans

Ray Evans (American football)

Raymond Richard Evans was an American football halfback. He was an All-American in football and a two time All-American in basketball at the University of Kansas and is considered possibly the greatest overall athlete to ever attend KU...

, was KU's first football All-American

College Football All-America Team

The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best American college football players at their respective positions. The original usage of the term All-America seems to have been to the 1889 College Football All-America Team selected by Casper Whitney and published in This...

 in 1947. That same season, Schnellbacher led the Jayhawks

Kansas Jayhawks

The sports teams at the University of Kansas are known as the Jayhawks. They are one of three schools in the state of Kansas that participate in NCAA Division I. The Jayhawks are also a member of the Big 12 Conference...

 to a Big 6 conference title and an Orange Bowl birth. Schnellbacher also excelled in basketball, where he was a four-time first-team all-conference selection (one of only three Jayhawks to do so). He was a member of the 1943 Big Six conference championship team (which also featured All-American teammates Charles B. Black and the aforementioned Ray Evans) that is regarded as one of the program's greatest teams.

Schnellbacher died aged 84, from cancer, according to University of Kansas

University of Kansas

The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...

 basketball coach Bill Self

Bill Self

Bill Self is an American college men's basketball coach at the University of Kansas, where he led the Jayhawks to the 2008 NCAA national championship....

.

External links

• BAA statistics @ basketball-reference.com
• Obituary at the Kansas City Star