Ed Kahn
| No. 43 | |
| Date of birth | November 9, 1911 |
|---|---|
| Place of birth | New York City, United States |
| Date of death | February 17, 1945 (aged 33) |
| Place of death | Leyte, Philippines † |
| Career information | |
| Position(s) | Guard |
| College | North Carolina |
| Career history | |
| As player | |
| 1935–1936 | Boston Redskins |
| 1937 | Washington Redskins |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Career stats | |
| |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |
 United States |
| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Rank |
 First Lieutenant |
| Battles/wars |
World War II |
Edwin Bernard Kahn (November 9, 1911 – February 17, 1945) was an American football guard in the National Football League (NFL) for the Boston and Washington Redskins. He played college football at the University of North Carolina.
Edwin (Eddie) Bernard Kahn was born in New York City, November 9, 1911. He grew up in Roxbury, Massachusetts, attended Boston English High School, and played on the football team in his sophomore year with limited success.
He went to the University of North Carolina to study law, but after he put on enough weight, he tried football again, making the freshman football team as a fullback. He lettered for three years as a guard on the varsity team, and acquired the nickname "King Kong". The 1934 Tar Heels, coached by Carl Snavely, went 7-1-1, with the "ladies from hell" Kahn and George Barclay as guards, and Jim Tatum (later the coach of the 1953 University of Maryland national champion team) at tackle. Kahn was All-Southern Conference in 1933, and All-Southern Conference, All South Atlantic, Players All-America, and Jewish All America in 1934.
In 1935, Kahn tried out for the Boston Redskins, making the team as a guard and becoming the third North Carolina player to join the NFL. The owner, George Preston Marshall, gave Eddie permission to sit out the first game in 1935 because it fell on Rosh Hashanah.
Kahn played for Boston in the 1935 and 1936 seasons. He won a starting position in the 6th game of the 1936 season against the Eagles, helping the Ray Flaherty-coached Redskins to their first winning season (7-5) and the Eastern Division title. The Redskins lost to the Packers in the championship game. Kahn was selected to the 1936 all-NFL 2nd team. After the 1936 season, Kahn was traded to the Bears, but was bought back by the Redskins before the 1937 season. In 1937 the Redskins – and Kahn – moved to Washington.
With the addition of Sammy Baugh, the team improved their regular season record to 8-3 and beat Bronco Nagurski and George Halas's Chicago Bears to win the NFL championship. Kahn played in 10 games notably scoring a touchdown against the Eagles, recovering a fumble pass interception.
In August 1938, the Redskins played and lost to a college all-star team at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. The program listed "Kahn, Edwin …Nationality, Hebrew." Later that month, they lost to another college all-star team (Whizzer White was on both all-star teams) at the Chicago College All Star Game at Soldier Field. October 1938 featured a full-page picture of Kahn, taken by Carl Mydans, in Life magazine.
The Redskins purchased the Hazleton, Pennsylvania minor league football team, in 1938, and appointed Kahn as player-coach. He led the Hazelton Redskins to the Eastern Pennsylvania League and Dixie Championships before retiring from football at the end of the season.
Edwin Bernard Kahn was remembered by Corinne Griffith, film star and wife of Redskins owner Marshall, in her book My Life with the Redskins. "... Eddie Kahn, one of the original eleven Redskins who made the famous goal-line stand against the Giants there on the 1-yard line in Griffith Stadium in the opening game of the 1937 season. That night when the Washington Redskins were born."
Death
Kahn served as a 1st Lieutenant in the Army infantry in World War II. He was wounded in the invasion of Kawajalien, and died of wounds incurred in the invasion of Leyte in the Philippines in February, 1945. His sister, Edna May (Kahn) Schneider, died in 2014.