Which NFL/American football great are you most closely connected to?

Question

This week's Example Profile of the Week is Jim Thorpe, one of the greatest American Football players in the history of the sport, in recognition of the upcoming Super Bowl.

Featured alongside him are other notable football greats:

• Earl Lambeau
• Joe Guyon
• Bronko Nagurski
• Fritz Pollard
• Bobby Marshall
• Joe Magidsohn
• Wally Yonamine
• Louis Partlow

Who are you most closely connected to? If you're one of the 21,620,000 of us who are connected to each other on our big tree you can check with the Connection Finder.

You can also check for shared ancestors with the Relationship Finder. Are you a cousin to any of them? Your Relationship Finder Quick Links page (see your profile pull-down menu under "Relationships") has quick links for several notable groups.

Let us know below!

P.S. Help us choose and improve profiles for next week's feature: Black Change Makers!

Comments

John Clement, Johnny Zero for the Pittsburgh Steelers, is my first cousin, 2x removed. The only player to ever wear number zero on the team, he played 1946-1948. He played in the 1948 championship game against Philadelphia, but received a major injury that needed his career.

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Never heard of most of them.

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Y. A. Tittle  (Yelberton Abraham Tittle) 1926-2017 is my closest Football cousin. He is an 8 cousin 2 removed (8C2R) to me.  He played for Baltimore Colts 1948-1950; San Francisco 49ers 1951-1960; and New York Giants 1961-1964.

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Fritz Pollard - 6th c 1x

Lou Partlow - 7th c 1x

Answer 1

Buffalo Bills

Answer 2

I am most closely connected to Frederick Pollard at 19 degrees.

• 19 degrees from Frederick Pollard
• 21 degrees from Jim Thorpe
• 22 degrees from Robert Marshall
• 22 degrees from Lou Partlow
• 25 degrees from Bronko Nagurski
• 27 degrees from Joseph Guyon
• 29 degrees from Wallace Yonamine
• 30 degrees from Earl Lambeau
• 31 degrees from Joseph Magidsohn

Comments

I am most closely connected to Robert Wells Marshall at 19 degrees.

Answer 3

Not exactly NFL/AFL, and only the brother of my aunt’s husband, but he’s all I’ve got: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Layden-55

Mike Layden University of Notre Dame in 1936 where he played right half back in the "Game of the Century", the 40 point underdog against Ohio State winning the game with a score 18 to 13. He was a Big Ten football official from 1937 to 1965 and a 12-year liaison official for Associated Colleges of Indiana for 12 years. 

Answer 4

I am most closely connected to Frederick Pollard at 25 degrees.

Answer 5

Love the diversity on that one! (no, I'm not joking... Just look at their trees :-))

Closest for me is Jim Thorpe at 22 degrees.

Answer 6

Jim Thorpe- 7th cousin twice removed, 17 degrees

Answer 7

For me, I'm closest to Louis Partlow, 17th cousins. Then, 19 degrees from Jim Thorpe.

The diversity in this list is to be lauded. WikiTree rocks.

Answer 8

18 degrees from Jim Thorpe (7th cousins, 3x removed)
18 degrees from Frederick Pollard (21st cousins)
21 degrees from Lou Partlow (17th cousins, 1x removed)
21 degrees from Robert Marshall
22 degrees from Bronko Nagurski
24 degrees from Earl Lambeau
25 degrees from Joseph Guyon
29 degrees from Joseph Magidsohn
30 degrees from Wallace Yonamine

Answer 9

William Marvin Bradshaw was Terry Bradshaw's father ,Which Terry is still living so I cannot share his profile ,  William was a brother to my first husband's mother , so that is my closest connection,  

Iva Margaret Miller , Jim Thorpe's first wife is my 6th cousin 3 times removed 

Answer 10

Looks like I'm 16 degrees from Fritz Pollard. Looks like the connection is primarily through my Hunter line.

 19 degrees from Jim Thorpe, 26 degrees from Joseph Guyon, 27 degrees from Earl Lambeau, 28 degrees from Joseph Magidsohn, 21 degrees from Robert Marshall, 22 degrees from Bronko Nagurski, 19 degrees from Lou Partlow, 16 degrees from Frederick Pollard, 25 degrees from Wallace Yonamine

Comments

Yep - we're 6th cousins, 3 times removed.

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I wouldn't get too excited ---- the link between Fritz's mother and John Calvin Hughes is highly questionable and extremely uncertain. (Doesn't matter that someone marked it  as certain - it isn't.)

Answer 11

Well, I was really hoping to be related by blood to Earl 'Curly' Lambeau because I am from Wisconsin and, win or lose, a devoted Packer fan. Boohoo, no blood relation.

• 20 degrees from Jim Thorpe
• 26 degrees from Joseph Guyon
• 27 degrees from Earl Lambeau
• 27 degrees from Joseph Magidsohn
• 21 degrees from Robert Marshall
• 19 degrees from Bronko Nagurski
• 21 degrees from Lou Partlow
• 22 degrees from Frederick Pollard
• 26 degrees from Wallace Yonamine
• 33 degrees from Dieter Lewerenz

I am most connect to Jim Thorpe (what an honor)!

I am related to: 

1) Lou Partlow - 20th cousins 2x removed through MRCA Robert Holand, and

2) Frederick Pollard - 21st cousins 1x removed through MRCA Robert Holand

Answer 12

15 degrees from Jim Thorpe.

In Jim Thorpe's mother's family tree:

We share common ancestors:

Jean Viau b.1677 France et Francoise Provost b.1689

His 5th great-grandparents and my 7th great-grandparents:

His 4th great-uncle Jean Baptiste Viau b.1714 is my 6th great-grandfather.

Answer 13

This was a bit of a surprising set.

17 degrees from Frederick Pollard 

19 degrees from Jim Thorpe 
19 degrees from Lou Partlow

21 degrees from Bronko Nagurski
22 degrees from Robert Marshall
25 degrees from Earl Lambeau

26 degrees from Wallace Yonamine
27 degrees from Joseph Guyon
29 degrees from Joseph Magidsohn

Comments

How do you find the degrees to individuals?

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If you navigate to the Connection Finder page, you can click on the names and it will show the degree of connection and how. Either that, or if you are on a person's profile you can go to the Family Trees and Tools tab and scroll down and select Connection to Me.

Answer 14

This was a bit of a surprising set.

17 degrees from Frederick Pollard 

19 degrees from Jim Thorpe 
19 degrees from Lou Partlow

21 degrees from Bronko Nagurski
22 degrees from Robert Marshall
25 degrees from Earl Lambeau

26 degrees from Wallace Yonamine
27 degrees from Joseph Guyon
29 degrees from Joseph Magidsohn

Answer 15

19 degrees from Jim Thorpe
26 degrees from Joseph Guyon
18 degrees from Earl Lambeau
28 degrees from Joseph Magidsohn
19 degrees from Robert Marshall
20 degrees from Bronko Nagurski
17 degrees from Lou Partlow 15th cousins once removed
10 degrees from Frederick Pollard  third cousins 3x removed
26 degrees from Wallace Yonamine 

Answer 16

Until you asked this question, I did not know that Jim Thorpe had French Canadian ancestors. On the Wikitree connection finder, Jim Thorpe is 26 degrees from me. On the Familysearch relationship finder, he is my mother's 7th cousin.

Answer 17

I am 18 degrees away from Lou Partlow, which is neat for me because the path is through my Shute ancestors, which normally don't factor in on these. We are also distant (though firmly) cousins.

Next up is Robert Marshall at 19 degrees through my Moore lines.

Answer 18

Closest to Jim Thorpe

16 degrees from Jim Thorpe

26 degrees from Joseph Guyon

23 degrees from Earl Lambeau

30 degrees from Joseph Magidsohn

23 degrees from Robert Marshall

24 degrees from Bronko Nagurski

21 degrees from Lou Partlow

17 degrees from Frederick Pollard

29 degrees from Wallace Yonamine

31 degrees from Dieter Lewerenz

Answer 19

19 degrees from Jim Thorpe

19  degrees from Earl Lambeau;  his wife Grace Nicholls, Nicholls-3200,  18 degrees, 11th cousins, MRCA James Hosmer, Hosmer-54 and Henry Wheeler, Wheeler-1039

20 degrees from Robert Marshall

20 degrees from Bronko Nagurski

21 degrees from Lou Partlow, 17th cousins once removed, MRCA  Thomas (Mowbray) de Mowbray KG, Mowbray-12

21 degrees from Frederick Pollard, 19th cousins once removed, MRCA Richard (FitzAlan) de Arundel, FitzAlan-29

25 degrees from Wallace Yonamine

26 degrees from Joseph Guyon

29 degrees from Joseph  Magidsohn

Answer 20

Closest is Lou Partlow with 24 degrees - furthest away is Wallace Yonamine.

Answer 21

17 degrees from Bronko Nagurski through his wife's Dutch / Norwegian / New Amsterdam roots.