John Spenser Pingel was an American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 halfback

Halfback (American football)

A halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...

. He played for the Michigan State Spartans

Michigan State Spartans

The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic team that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 25 varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the school colors are green and white...

 and was selected as a first-team All-American in both 1937

1937 College Football All-America Team

The 1937 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams for the 1937 college football season...

 and 1938

1938 College Football All-America Team

The 1938 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers. The organizations choosing the teams included: the United Press, the Associated Press, Collier's Weekly, and the New York Sun...

. He holds the all-time NCAA record for most punting yards in a season with 4,138 yards in 1938. Pingel was selected by the Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...

 in the first round (7th overall pick) of the 1939 NFL Draft

1939 NFL Draft

The 1939 National Football League Draft was held on December 9, 1938.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round Two:-Round Three:-Round Four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:-Round eight:-Round nine:-Round ten:...

. He signed with the Lions in May 1939 and played in nine games, eight as a starter for the 1939 Detroit Lions. After retiring from football, he had a successful career in advertising, serving as the chief executive officer of the Ross Roy advertising agency. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame

College Football Hall of Fame

The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...

 in 1968. Pingel died at age 82 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

Palm Beach Gardens is a city in Palm Beach County in the U.S. state of Florida. The city is in the center of a rapidly-developing area north of West Palm Beach in the northern part of the county and the South Florida metropolitan area. , the population was 48,452...

.