Keith Birlem

Keith Birlem

No. 23
Date of birth	(1915-05-04)May 4, 1915
Place of birth	San Jose, California, United States
Date of death	May 7, 1943(1943-05-07) (aged 28)
Place of death	Polebrook, East Northamptonshire, England, United Kingdom
Career information
Position(s)	End
US college	San José State
Career history
As player
1939	Chicago Cardinals
1939	Washington Redskins
Career highlights and awards
Honors	San José State Hall of Fame[1]
Career stats
Playing stats at NFL.com Playing stats at DatabaseFootball.com
Military career
Allegiance	United States
Service / branch	U.S. Army Air Forces
Years of service	1942
Rank	Major
Battles / wars	World War II European air campaign  †

Keith G. Birlem (May 4, 1915 – May 7, 1943) was an American football end in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins and Chicago Cardinals.

Early life

Birlem was born San Jose, California and attended San Mateo High School.^[2]

Football career

Birlem attended and played college football at San José State University, where he played quarterback. He was inducted into their Sports Hall of Fame.^[1] He then played in the National Football League for the Chicago Cardinals and Washington Redskins in 1939; he was moved to end as a Cardinal and appeared in six games (starting three) before being released and signing with Washington.^[3]

Military career

Birlem, who reached the rank of major during World War II, was killed trying to land a combat-damaged B-17 bomber at RAF Polebrook^[4] in England in 1943.^[5] His bomber hit another plane and cut the tail off of it. Both crashed near the perimeter of RAF Polebrook and all 20 inside both planes died.

References

1. "Hall of Fame Members" (PDF). SJSUSpartans.com. Retrieved April 23, 2009.
2. "Keith Birlem profile". DatabaseFootball. Archived from the original on February 17, 2010. Retrieved April 23, 2009.
3. Anton, Todd; Nowlin, Bill (November 15, 2013). When Football Went to War. Triumph Books. pp. 45–46. ISBN 978-1600788451.
4. "CIF/Central Coast Section Athletic Alumni" (PDF). Central Coast Section. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 25, 2008. Retrieved April 23, 2009.
5. "The National Football League's World War II Casualties". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved April 23, 2009.^{[permanent dead link‍]}

External links

• Career statistics from Pro Football Reference
• Football and America: WW II Honor Roll
• 303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 33-4 May 1943
• Los Angeles Times Obituary^{[permanent dead link‍]}
• World War II Memorial, San Rafael