Elvis Presley’s childhood hobby was ruined by his movie studio bosses | Music | Entertainment

Elvis Presley had a few passions in life. On top of making music, performing and becoming a Hollywood star, he was also an avid sportsman.

Growing up in Tennessee, when Elvis wasn’t singing in his local church, he was playing (American) football.

Angie Marchese, the Vice President of Archives and Exhibits at Elvis Presley’s Graceland, said: “Football was his way to escape pressure. When he was a 19, 20, 21-year-old guy, he could just have fun and not have to worry about his career. It was his way of relaxing, besides playing gospel music.”

Elvis continued to play football throughout his life, even after he found superstardom and became a household name he was gathering his pals in the Memphis Mafia to throw the pig skin around in the grounds of Graceland.

He even took his hobby to Germany when he was drafted into the US Army and left the USA for a few years – but then things got complicated for him.

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Between shifts and jobs in Germany, Elvis arranged a regular touch football game with members of his division.

Angie recalled: “They said they were playing touch football, but it had contact, for sure. Elvis was normally the quarterback, but he wasn’t afraid to throw a tackle.”

He was really good at it, as well; to the point where Elvis won a trophy for his prowess in playing the sport.

Angie said: “He won the MVP of his Sunday afternoon touch football games in Germany.”

Before long, however, Elvis’ real life caught up with him.

At the time in the early 1960s, Elvis was working on becoming a Hollywood actor. He had starred in a handful of movies already and he was looking to make it a full-time job for himself.

So when the movie studios caught wind of Elvis’ frequent football games, they began to panic. As a result, they forced him to wear a helmet every time he played to protect his million-dollar smile.

Angie said: “Elvis hated it, but he wore it.”

But Elvis had the last laugh. “Then,” Angie continued. “When he started wearing a helmet, he said: ‘Let’s get some pads on.’ And so a game that was already rugged became even more rugged.”

She added: “He loved the sport. It was just guys being guys.”

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