College South Carolina Died January 18, 2001 Role American football player | Name Zip Hanna 1945 Washington Redskins Positions Guard | |
Date of birth (1916-12-01)December 1, 1916 Place of birth Chester, South Carolina Date of death January 18, 2001(2001-01-18) (aged 84) Education University of South Carolina | ||
Elzaphan McConnell (Zip) Hanna (December 1, 1916 – January 18, 2001) was an American football guard in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins. Hanna attended Chester High School in Chester, South Carolina. The Middlebrooks family in Gaffney adopted him and he played for Gaffney against Chester where he was burned in effigy. Hanna was invited to play in the first S.C.-N.C. Shrine Bowl, but rejected the invitation as Gaffney was playing for the Southeastern Football Championship. He played college football at the University of South Carolina. In 1946, suffering from knee injuries, he became a player-coach of the Charlotte Clippers semi-pro team. In the latter part of 1946, he became chief of police in Rock Hill, S.C. In 1955, he accepted the position of chief of police in Aiken, S.C., from which he retired. Not one to be content in retirement, he moved to the Piedmont area of the Palmetto State and formed a home builders group. Hanna suffered from dementia, blackouts and a heart condition. Later tests confirmed brain injuries as a result of concussions. He died in 2001 as a baptized Christian at the VA Hospital in Asheville, NC.