George Barna (American football)

Barna was born in 1908 in Clifton, New Jersey.[1] He attended Clifton High School where he was captain of the football team as a senior.[2]

He enrolled at Hobart College where he played college football from 1925 to 1928.[3] At the end of the 1927 season, he was selected as captain of Hobart's 1928 team.[4] He was also named to the Syracuse all-opponent team.[5] Hobart's trainer remembered him as "the best defensive player I ever saw" and one who played without a helmet or padding of any kind.[2] He was also an All-American lacrosse player.[2][6]

He played professional football in the National Football League (NFL) as an end for the Frankford Yellow Jackets during the 1929 season. He appeared in 17 NFL games, 13 as a starter, and scored one touchdown.[3][1] His wife later recalled that Barna received $35 a game "for just playing the game he loved."[2]

After retiring from football, Barna taught social studies for 36 years from 1930 until his retirement in 1965.[2][6] He taught for one-and-a-half years at East Rochester High School and approximately 34 years at Kenmore High School. He died in November 1972 at age 64. His body was discovered in the woods where he had been hunting deer. It was believed that Barna suffered a heart attack.[2]