Len "Skates" Eshmont, born and raised in Atlas, PA,
was an outstanding football player at Mount Carmel
Township High School from 1934 to 1936.
Sportwriters of the time called him the "Green Ghost" or the "Galloping Ghost".
He attended Fordham University from
1936/1939 and attained All-American honors. After college, Len played pro football for the
New York Giants, enlisted in the Navy during WWII, then played for the
San Francisco Forty-Niners from 1946 to 1949. He scored this new All American Conference
team's first touchdown.
Later, he coached football at
the Naval Academy and the University of Virginia.
Mr. Eshmont's name is memorialized by the San Francisco Forty Niners with The
Eshmont Award, the 49ers most prestigious annual honor, which is given to the
Niner who best exemplifies the "inspirational and courageous play" of Len
Eshmont, a player from the original 1946 Forty Niners team.
Mr. Eshmont died in 1957. He was truly one of the great athletes of his
generation. Click here for
more information.