One of the NFL's top 100 - The New York Giant's Mel Hein

Right now we are living in a worldwide quarantine and a suspension of all social gatherings. It includes sports. That is particularly cruel because sporting events can be such a soothing tonic in times of strife. I need some sports.

Inspiration

While perusing my bookshelf for some diversion, I came across this book we’d bought for one of the kids years ago. First I’m flipping through the pages and next thing you know I’m on youtube searching for the great Mel Hein. How is that I, as a die hard NY Football Giants fan and major history geek, have never painted a picture of Mel Hein. I even played center too!

Who?

Wait, you’ve never heard of Mel Hein? He was the greatest center to ever have played the game of football and is an NFL top 100 greatest players of all time. He came in at number 96 which I think is too low.

Hein’s career spanned the 1930’s and 15 years. It was golden age of American football if ever there was one. In the late nineteen century the game was all about brawn and brute force. It was considered unmanly to try and avoid an opponent. Better to try and run him over. The insertion of the forward pass into the game opened it up to strategy. By the 30’s, those old ideas were turned on their ear and deception was the name of the game. Misdirection and ball handling skills were essential. This was the era of the unbalanced line, the Statue of Liberty play, and crazy formation shifts. And the center was, well, at the center of it all.

Check out this instructional video featuring the 1930’s New York Football Giants

It looks like a lot of fun, doesn’t it? Did you notice center? Now-a-days we call it a direct snap but then they called it a “pass”. The center might “pass” the ball to anyone in the backfield and, if you look closely, would actually lead them in the direction they were going just like a modern quarterback does. I would have loved to have played in this era!

Mel Hein also pioneered the idea of pass blocking. On pass plays he would fall back and look to block a crashing defensive end or tackle. Like Eli Manning he was an iron man too. Hein played in over 200 consecutive games but, unlike Manning, was on the field for the entire 60 minutes. He was a ferocious linebacker who was often tasked with covering the other team’s best receiver. Different times, I know, but that’s still an achievement!

How

I used Adobe Illustrator to impose a grid pattern on the photo reference and drew a corresponding grid on my painting panel. With some much foreshortening in this pose that really helped me get the drawing correct. His right leg was particularly tough to nail down!

Here's the finished painting with a detail shot of of one of the shoes. I could have got caught up in the details but sometimes it's better to just suggest those details.