Del Bjork  - Football

Del Bjork played his way from the Oregon coast to the Willamette Valley and into the NFL.

Born in 1914, Bjork grew up in Astoria and filled out into a 6-foot-1, 218-pound lineman during a sparkling athletic era for the high school, which won four state basketball titles in six years beginning in 1930.

Bjork played for Oregon from 1934-36, when the Ducks were a combined 14-13-1. Despite Oregon’s 2-6-1 record in 1936 (the team scored just 34 points), Bjork’s play earned him postseason action in the East-West Shrine Game. He also played in the 10th Collegiate-Pro Classic, and helped the college team beat the Green Bay Packers 6-0.

The Chicago Bears drafted Bjork in the sixth round of the 1937 NFL Draft, only the league’s second draft, and he played there for two seasons. He was the second UO player drafted, following guard Ross Carter in the 1936 Draft.

He served in the North Pacific during World War II.

Bjork died in 1968. He was inducted to the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1982.