Ed Storm

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Edward Charles Storm (October 2, 1907 – June 4, 1950) was an American football player and coach from Salinas, California. A big, versatile back, he played college football for Santa Clara University and later spent parts of his pro career with several teams, including the Philadelphia Eagles. He was known for his toughness and athletic ability, and he also worked as a coach and team founder.

Storm grew up in Salinas, where he and his brothers Leo and Connie were noted football talents. He attended Salinas High School and played amateur boxing and baseball. He spent the 1929–1930 school year with the Santa Clara Broncos, serving as a multi‑purpose back and earning a starting role in 1930. After a brief stint with college ineligibility, he played for teams in San Luis Obispo and Memphis before turning to the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1934. In 1935 he was the Eagles’ leading passer and contributed as a runner and receiver over two seasons.

After the NFL, Storm returned to California and founded the Salinas Iceberg Packers (1936–1938), the city’s first professional football team. He served as player‑coach, owner and general manager, racing between player duties and management while building a local football presence. He also coached several all‑star teams and led the Oakland Oaks (the first pro team in Oakland) in 1939. In 1941 he became player‑coach of the San Diego Bombers in the Pacific Coast Professional Football League, guiding the team to league titles while occasionally playing fullback. He later coached the San Diego Gunners and San Diego Tigers in the mid‑1940s.

Storm served in World War II as a private, stationed at Fort Lewis in Washington. After his football career, he worked for a lettuce company in Salinas. He died in a car crash on June 4, 1950, near Moss Landing, California, at age 42. He left behind a wife, Vincie, and two children. Storm is remembered as a pioneering, larger‑than‑life figure in California’s early professional football era.