March 8, 1945, 80 years ago: Lieutenant Andrew Jackson Lummus Jr., U.S. Marine Corps, is killed in action on Iwo Jima at the age of 29. His last words were, "Well, Doc, the New York Giants lost a mighty good end today."
Born on October 22, 1915 on a farm outside Ennis, Texas, Jack Lummus (pronounced "LOO-mis") played baseball and football at Baylor University, then was a 2-way end with the Giants. He played just 1 regular-season game in the NFL, on September 19, 1941, at Municipal Stadium (later John F. Kennedy Stadium) in Philadelphia. The Giants beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 24-0. He caught 1 pass for 5 yards. He didn't play again until the NFL Championship Game, on December 21. The Giants lost to the Chicago Bears, 37-9. He played, but did not catch a pass.
He never played again, because America got into World War II. He joined the Marines, rose to the rank of 1st Lieutenant, and was killed at the Battle of Iwo Jima. He was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Al Blozis, a tackle, also played for the Giants, from 1942 to 1944, and was killed in the war in 1945. Lummus and Blozis both got plaques on the clubhouse wall in center field at the Polo Grounds. Blozis got his Number 32 retired by the Giants, while Lummus' Number 29 remains available, most notably since having been worn by 1950s and '60 running back Alex Webster.
After the baseball New York Giants moved following the 1957, the Polo Grounds plaques – for Lummus, Blozis, John McGraw, Christy Mathewson, Ross Youngs, Mayor Jimmy Walker, and the monument to World War I casualty Eddie Grant – were lost. No one knows for sure where they are today. The San Francisco Giants claim not to have them.
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