Joe Gillis
Joseph Augustus Gillis (April 24, 1896 – December 19, 1967) was an American football player and judge. Gillis was born in 1896 in Medford, Massachusetts. He began his college education at Tufts University,[1] where he studied medicine.[2] During World War I, he served for 17 months in France with medical units for the Navy, Marines, and Army.[2] Gillis moved to Detroit after the war to attend law school at the University of Detroit.[3] While attending law school, he played college football and was a member of the 1921 Detroit Titans football team that compiled an 8–1 with its only loss coming against Rose Bowl champion Washington & Jefferson.[4] Gillis also played professional football as a guard and tackle for the Toledo Maroons in the National Football League (NFL). He appeared in seven NFL games, two as a starter, during the 1923 season.[1] Gillis served as an assistant attorney general of Michigan from 1928 to 1931. He was appointed as a judge of the Detroit Common Pleas Court in August 1931.[3] He was elevated to the Common Pleas court in 1939.[2] He retired from the bench at the end of 1966 and died of cancer in 1967 at age 71 in Detroit.[5][6] References
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