Brad Ecklund (May 9, 1922 – February 6, 2010) was a bigger than life character from Milwaukie who played football for the Oregon Ducks and in the NFL. He was chosen as captain for every team he ever played for.
Ecklund was a four-sport athlete for the MHS Mustangs and was drafted by baseball's Philadelphia Phillies before coming to Eugene in 1941. Ducks coach Tex Oliver moved the 6-3 freshman from fullback to center where Brad began to immediately anchor the UO offensive line. He also played linebacker on defense.
At 6-foot-3, Oregon coach Tex Oliver moved Ecklund from fullback to center and he started as a freshman. Then came a five-year hiatus after he flunked out. Ecklund joined the Marines and took part in the rugged battles of the South Pacific during World War II. There was no football to be played, but there was boxing and he became the Marine Corps Golden Gloves champion.
Brad Ecklund was 24 years old when he returned to campus and played three more seasons. Oregon did not have a losing season between 1946 and '48. Ecklund snapped the ball to quarterback Norm Van Brocklin on the top 10 ranked team that played in the Cotton Bowl and New Year's Day 1949. That was Brad's senior year, and he played on both offensive and defense. In five of those games, he played every minute. He was selected All-Pacific Coast Conference all three years and graduated with a degree in health and physical education.
Ecklund signed with the New York Yankees of the All-America Football Conference in 1949 and played one season in the AAFC before it merged with the National Football League. He played four more seasons in the NFL in New York, Dallas and Baltimore. In five pro seasons, Ecklund started at center in all 60 games, played in the Pro Bowl twice and earned the nickname “Whitie” due to his white hair.
After five seasons, Ecklund returned to Oregon to coach high school football in Gresham and Roseburg. He then moved to the University of Oregon sidelines under coach Len Casanova in 1957. Ecklund helped the Ducks reach the Rose Bowl in 1958, then moved to the NFL under Dallas coach Tom Landry in 1960. He was an assistant to Van Brocklin in Atlanta in 1968.
Ecklund coached in the NFL with five teams for 20 seasons and had an uncredited role in the 1979 feature film North Dallas Forty and made several other commercial and screen appearances, including as a look-alike for John Wayne. Upon retiring from coaching, he became a substitute teacher in New Jersey.
Brad Ecklund was inducted to the University of Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1999. He was named UO "Lineman of the Century".