Paul Pardonner

Paul Franklin Pardonner (April 29, 1910 – February 14, 1989) was an American professional football player who was a blocking back for the Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Purdue Boilermakers, and was noted for his drop kicking ability.

Early life Paul Franklin Pardonner was born on April 29, 1910, in Ingomar, Ohio. He was a three-sport star (football, basketball, and track) at Middletown High School in Middletown, Ohio. He also attended Cheshire Academy in Cheshire, Connecticut. He was noted for his drop kicking ability; an October 1933 Associated Press (AP) article said that Pardonner "hasn't carried the ball more than a half dozen times in three seasons of stardom for the Boilermakers" because he was too valuable as a drop kicker. Through the second game of the 1933 season, he had made 23 of 25 extra point drop kicks during his varsity career.

Professional career Pardonner signed with the Chicago Cardinals on July 19, 1934. He played in six games, starting three, during the 1934 season, scoring one field goal and catching one pass for one yard. Pardonner suffered a shoulder injury late in the 1935 season. A February 1936 article in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser said that Pardonner and Dutch Clark were the only drop kickers in the NFL. Pardonner retired from the NFL in 1936 for a job at a Middletown industrial plant.

Personal life Pardonner died on February 14, 1989, in Columbus, Ohio.