JOE ARENAS
Joe Arenas didn’t just break records. He broke color barriers, too. A 1951 UNO graduate, Arenas was one of the first 20 Hispanics to play in the National Football League, doing so for seven years with the San Francisco 49ers. It was a career for which he can thank one-time Omaha University athletic director Virgil Yelkin. Arenas had taken a circuitous route to OU after serving two tours with the Marines – including action on Iwo Jima. Post-Marines he attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he made the basketball team as a freshman. But a back injury he suffered on Iwo Jima and low grades sidelined him. He transferred to Omaha University, where he wanted to play basketball, but Yelkin steered him toward football. Arenas became a tailback in Coach Lloyd Cardwell’s single-wing offense and blossomed. In 1949 he tallied 1,612 total yards in just eight games and became the university’s second All-American, then its first player ever drafted by the NFL. His best season with the 49ers came in 1953 when he led the league in kickoff returns, averaging 34.4 yards per attempt. He followed his pro playing career with 33 years as a college and high school coach.