Dick Poillon Explained

Position:Halfback
Defensive back
Kicker
Punter
Number:25
Birth Date:August 13, 1920
Birth Place:Queens, New York, U.S.
Death Place:West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.
Undraftedyear:1942
College:Canisius
Teams:
Statlabel1:Rushing yards
Statvalue1:535
Statlabel2:Punting yards
Statvalue2:5,804
Statlabel3:Touchdowns
Statvalue3:10
Pfr:PoilDi20
Highlights:

Richard Charles Poillon (August 13, 1920 – November 14, 1994) was an American football halfback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins. He scored a career 247 points and was the Redskins' leading scorer for three years.

Raised in Valley Stream, New York, he attended Valley Stream Central High School, where he played baseball, basketball and football, as a quarterback, kicker, punter and kick / punt returner. He was inducted into the Nassau County High School Athletics Hall of Fame in 2022.[1] He attended Canisius College.

Poillon was voted one of the Redskins' "Top 100 players" of all time by a poll by The Washington Post. He had held the Redskins' record with an interception returned for 93 yards and a touchdown set against the Philadelphia Eagles on November 21, 1948,[2] and broken on December 26, 1987, with a 100-yard return by Barry Wilburn.[3]

Notes and References

  1. https://www.roslynschools.org/cms/lib/NY02205423/Centricity/Domain/31/2023%20Nassau%20County%20Hall%20of%20Fame%20Virtual%20Press%20Conference.pdf#page=29 2022 Nassau County High School Hall of Fame Inductees
  2. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/194811210phi.htm Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles - November 21, 1948
  3. via United Press International. "'Skins halt Vikings in OT", The Daily Spectrum, December 27, 1987. Accessed February 4, 2024, via Newspapers.com. "In the second period, Wilburn picked off a Wilson pass on the Washington goal line and raced 100 yards for a TD. The interception return broke a Redskins' record of 93 yards, set by Dick Poillon against the Philadelphia Eagles in 1948."