Red Weiner
Albert "Red" Weiner was an American sportsman. From New Jersey, he was one of four brothers involved in sports. Weiner attended Irvington High School where he competed in four sports: football, baseball, basketball and track and field. There, he was a team captain in multiple sports and was considered the school's greatest athlete. After high school, Weiner attended Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania where he also competed in four sports, excelling in football and baseball. As a senior in football, he was named honorable mention All-American and tied for the national lead in field goals, being named the school's athlete of the year by The Morning Call.
Weiner signed to play professional football with the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League in 1934. A back, he appeared in five games for the Eagles and threw for two touchdowns on only three pass attempts. After this, he left the Eagles to play for non-NFL Reading Keys. Across the next four seasons, he played for five different football teams, including for three in the American Association. At the same time as his professional football career, Weiner also played minor league baseball and basketball. He served as a coach at Hillside High School after his playing career, winning several local championships.
Early life
Albert Weiner was born on January 24, 1911, in Woodbine, New Jersey, and was Jewish. He was one of four brothers, each of whom were athletes, and three – Albert, Mickey, and Bernie – played professional football. His parents were initially opposed to any of the brothers playing sports, but later became "great fans" after Mickey, the oldest, began playing football.Weiner attended Irvington High School in New Jersey where he was a standout athlete. He entered the school in 1926 and made the varsity teams in four sports as a freshman: baseball, track and field, football, and basketball. He went on to be considered the school's greatest athlete, according to The Star-Ledger, winning 15 varsity letters out of 16 possible, only missing one track and field letter as a sophomore due to injury. He was named the team captain in both football and basketball and recalled being named all-state in both football and baseball.
Weiner was a catcher in baseball, a back in football, and a guard in basketball. He batted over.400 in baseball and was described as "an excellent running back in the single wing in football, and a kicker of no mean pretensions," as well as a "fine guard" in basketball, despite standing at only. He recalled that as a junior, he was named the best athlete in North Jersey by the World-Telegram. He said that he batted.475 as a senior but despite this did not repeat as the award-winner, as "Some kid from Clifton hit something like.625."
As baseball and track were held at the same time, whenever Irvington played both sports at home, Weiner "did double duty." The Star-Ledger described how, "In between innings, he would shuck his catching togs and jog over to the nearby track, pick up a javelin and throw for the track and field team."
College career
1930–1932
Weiner enrolled at Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania in 1930. He was ineligible to play varsity sports that year as a freshman. During this time, he played basketball for a local Jewish all-stars exhibition team. Then, as a sophomore, Weiner won four varsity letters, in each of the four sports he starred in while at Irvington. Track and field was discontinued following the 1931 season, and thus Weiner was only able to achieve three varsity letters per year in subsequent seasons. Mid-season with the football team in 1931, he was promoted to being the starting quarterback.Weiner became a top player for the Muhlenberg baseball team; by May 1932, in his second season, he was their leading batter with an average of.500, as well as the team's leader in both hits and home runs. He then opened the 1932 football season as a starting halfback for Muhlenberg, having several key performances in their season. He also saw significant action at quarterback, being described as their lead "signal-barker," and was additionally used as a punter and kicker. In the first game, he had a 60-yard interception return which helped them defeat Saint Joseph's. He was also cited as one of the top players in their 6–0 loss to Lebanon Valley, and although the Mules lost against Lehigh 25–6, Weiner was noted in The Morning Call as the Mules' "offensive spark," as "Time after time he got away for substantial gains, he passed perfectly and punted well." Later, in a November game against Gettysburg, Weiner returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown and was a major figure in Muhlenberg's 26–7 upset win, with The Morning Call noting of his kick return: "He went through the entire Gettysburg team in his wild dash... shaking off one would-be-tackler after another, and seldom if ever has there been a finer exhibition of broken field running on the local gridiron." After the season, he was selected to the all-conference team named by Muhlenberg coach George Holstrom, at quarterback.
1933–1934
Following the 1932 football season, Weiner returned to the Muhlenberg basketball team, for which he played center. After then winning another letter for the baseball team, he returned to the football team for a final season in 1933. He opened the season as starting right halfback and made several "dazzling" plays in their opening win over Saint Joseph's, according to The Morning Call, including a 32-yard touchdown run. He was known for playing every second of games, being sometimes the only Muhlenberg player to do so. He was also considered such a top player that at times, coach John Utz would have Weiner run the ball on up to seven plays straight, noting that he was less likely to fumble than others on the team; in one game he was noted to have run the ball "more than two-thirds of the time." That season, he kicked field goals that allowed Muhlenberg to defeat Penn State, 3–0, and Ursinus, 3–0, and played "sensational" in several others. In November, against Lehigh, he scored all 10 points in the Mules' 10–0 victory, which was the first time they had beaten the school since 1930, when Weiner's brother, Mickey, had captained the Mules. He played his final game against Dickinson later that month and scored every point in a 7–0 victory, which allowed Muhlenberg to win the conference title with a record of 6–3.Following the 1933 football season, Weiner was honored as an honorable mention All-Eastern selection by the Associated Press. He was also named all-conference by his coach, first-team All-Jewish All-American by Benny Friedman, and an honorable mention All-American by the AP. In nine games played, he finished with four touchdowns scored, four extra points, and three field goals, for a total of 37 points on the season. His three field goals made tied for first nationally. At the team banquet, Weiner was named Muhlenberg's honorary captain. The Morning Call named him Muhlenberg's most outstanding all-around athlete of the year and the Reading Times described him as "the greatest developed at the Allentown institution in many years, if not all time."
After the football season, Weiner joined the basketball team for his final season there, becoming a starter at guard. He contributed to what was described that season as "the best season Muhlenberg ever had" and was named honorary captain of the team. Following the basketball season, he returned to the baseball team and was their starting catcher for the 1934 season. In May 1934, The Morning Call described him as "One of the best receivers at Muhlenberg... not only has been a consistent worker behind the bat but his hitting for the Mules has been well above the average all season." He ended the season with a batting average of.283 and was the team's leading home run hitter, with four, while the team compiled a record of 10–2. Receiving a varsity letter for his time with the 1934 baseball team, he concluded his tenure at Muhlenberg having received 10 total, in four sports. He graduated from Muhlenberg in June 1934 with a Bachelor of Philosophy degree. He was a member of the Phi Epsilon Pi fraternity.
Weiner later said that in the entirety of his high school and college football career, he only missed one game due to injury, which was a broken shoulder. His coach, John Utz, described him as "a whale of a football player who could do anything... He was the steadying influence in our backfield."
During his time at Muhlenberg, Weiner also played for several other local baseball and basketball teams. He played for the Shore Railroad baseball team in the summer of 1932 and was noted for scoring a game-winning single in a game in July and a game-winning home run in a game in August. He also played for the local Jewish Community Center team that won the 1932 Pennsylvania championship and advanced to the national YMHA finals.
Professional career
Football
Philadelphia Eagles
After Weiner graduated from Muhlenberg, he signed a contract to play professional football with the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League. He made the team and debuted in the Eagles' opener against the non-NFL Shenandoah Presidents on September 9, being a substitute for Ed Matesic and playing for a few minutes in the 8–7 win. He recorded his first statistics in NFL play in the Eagles' second 1934 NFL game, against the Pittsburgh Pirates, in which he ran for 33 yards on six carries, which was second-best on the team, and had a game-sealing interception in the fourth quarter which helped the team win 17–0. He also made one field goal in the game, from 17 yards out, which ended up being the only field goal scored by the Eagles all season. Later, on September 30, he was a major part of the team's non-league 13–0 victory against the Reading Keys; the Reading Times praised him for having won against the Keys "almost single-handed," noting he "stole the show" from more well-known Eagles players such as Swede Hanson, running for a touchdown, throwing for a touchdown and kicking an extra point.Weiner saw his first action at quarterback for the Eagles in their 10–0 loss to the Detroit Lions on October 14, completing one of two pass attempts for zero yards, while also rushing once for two yards. Two weeks later, he was recorded as missing a field goal in the team's 17–0 loss to the New York Giants. On November 6, he played a part in the team's historic 64–0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, in what remains the NFL's biggest regular season shutout ever. He ran twice for two yards, successfully kicked three of four extra point attempts, and completed two of four pass attempts for 40 yards and two touchdowns. Both his touchdown passes came in the fourth quarter, with one going to Joe Carter and the other to Swede Hanson. The Reds folded a few days after the game. Weiner remained the last Eagles quarterback to throw two touchdown passes on four or less attempts until Tanner McKee did so against the Dallas Cowboys in 2024. He also appeared as a substitute in the team's 10–7 loss to the Brooklyn Dodgers on November 11, but later was released on November 22. The Reading Times noted afterwards that "He had been carried as an extra back all season but was handicapped in that competition by size." He concluded his tenure with the Eagles having appeared in five games, none as a starter, while he completed three of six pass attempts for 40 yards and two touchdowns, kicked three extra points and one field goal. His one field goal tied for 10th in the NFL while his two passing touchdowns ranked sixth.