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Eldon Fortie (May 21, 1941 – January 6, 2021) was an American professional football player for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the BYU Cougars. Dubbed "the Phantom" while at BYU, he was the first BYU football player to be named to a first-team All-American team.

Early years and college career

Fortie was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. During his senior season at Brigham Young University, Fortie led the nation in total offense for eight weeks, and at the end of the season finished second behind Terry Baker with 1,963 total yards and 14 touchdowns. On September 29, 1962, Fortie ran for 272 yards in a single game in Provo against the George Washington University Colonials. That was the single best running game of any BYU player in school history, until 2016, when Jamaal Williams rushed for 286 yards against Toledo. Fortie's No. 40 was retired after that season, the first BYU student to have that honor. In 1962, he ran for 1,149 yards and 14 TDs but more impressively also threw for 814 yards with 7 TDs. He finished 10th in the Heisman voting.

Although Fortie was a quarterback, BYU ran the single wing offense at the time; consequently, Fortie played primarily a halfback. He was selected to play in several all-star games after the 1962 season, including the North–South Bowl, the Hula Bowl, the All-American Game, and the Coaches All-American Bowl.

Professional career

After graduation, Fortie played one year in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the Edmonton Eskimos.

Death

He died in Mesa, Arizona, on January 6, 2021, at the age of 79.

References

1. Zawronty, B. Robert (December 1, 2004). "Gridiron Greats Honored". Retrieved January 12, 2021. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
2. Dickson, Darnell (January 6, 2021). "Former BYU All-American Eldon Fortie passes away at 79". The Daily Herald. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
3. "Eldon Fortie". profootballarchives.com. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
4. "Football History: Top Individual Marks". BYU Official Athletics Site. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
5. "BYU to Honor Fortie and Probert During Halftime Ceremony". September 25, 2003. Archived from the original on April 2, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
6. "Eldon Fortie College Stats". Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
7. Walker, Sean (January 6, 2021). "Eldon Fortie, BYU's original 1st-team All-American, dies at 79". KSL.com. Retrieved January 7, 2021.

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