Sam Huff

Huff from The Monticola, 1955

No. 70

Position:

Linebacker

Personal information

Date of birth:

October 4, 1934

Place of birth:

Edna Gas, West Virginia

Career information

College:

West Virginia

NFL draft:

1956 / Round: 3 / Pick: 30

Career history

New York Giants (1956–1963)
Washington Redskins (1964–1969)

Career highlights and awards

5× Pro Bowl (1958–1961, 1964)
4× First-team All-Pro (1957–1960)
2× Second-team All-Pro (1961, 1963)
NFL champion (1956)
NFL 1950s All-Decade Team
80 Greatest Redskins
Washington Redskins Ring of Fame

Career NFL statistics

Interceptions:	30
Touchdowns:	5
Fumbles recovered:	17
Player stats at NFL.com

Player stats at PFR

Pro Football Hall of Fame

College Football Hall of Fame

Robert Lee "Sam" Huff (born October 4, 1934) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982.

Early life

Huff was born and grew up in the No. 9 coal mining camp^[1] in Edna Gas, West Virginia,^[2] The fourth of Oral and Catherine Huff's six children, he lived with his family in a small rowhouse with no running water.^[3] Huff grew up during the Great Depression, while his father and two of his brothers worked in the coal mines loading buggies for Consolidated Mining.^[4]

Huff attended and played high school football at the now-closed Farmington High School, where he was both an offensive and defensive lineman.^[5] While he was there, Huff helped lead the team to an undefeated season in 1951.^[6] He earned all-state honors in 1952 and was named to the first-team all-Mason Dixon Conference.^[6]

College career

Huff attended and played college football at West Virginia University, where he majored in physical education.^[7] He started at guard as a sophomore and tackle the next two years, after winning a letter as a backup guard during his freshman season.^[8] He was a four-year letterman and helped lead West Virginia to a combined four-year mark of 31-7 and a berth in the 1954 Sugar Bowl.^[8]

In 1955, Huff was voted an All-American^[8] and served as co-captain in both the East-West Shrine Game and the Senior Bowl.^[9] Huff was also named first team Academic All-American for his outstanding efforts in the classroom.

Professional career

New York Giants (1956–1963)

Huff was drafted in the third round of the 1956 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. In training camp, head coach Jim Lee Howell was having a hard time coming up with a position for Huff.^[10] Discouraged, Huff left camp but was stopped at the airport by assistant coach Vince Lombardi, who coaxed him back to camp.^[10]

Then, defensive coordinator Tom Landry came up with the new 4–3 defensive scheme that he thought would fit Huff perfectly.^[4]^[11] The Giants switched him from the line to middle linebacker behind Ray Beck. Huff liked the position because he could keep his head up and use his superb peripheral vision to see the whole field.^[3] On October 7, 1956 in a game against the Chicago Cardinals, Beck was injured and Huff was put into his first professional game. He then helped the Giants win five consecutive games^[4] and they finished with an 8–3–1 record, which gave them the Eastern Conference title.^[3] New York went on to win the 1956 NFL Championship Game^[4] and Huff became the first rookie middle linebacker to start an NFL championship game.^[3]

"Landry built the 4-3 defense around me.
It revolutionized defense and opened the
door for all the variations of zones and
man-to-man coverage, which are used
in conjunction with it today."

Sam Huff, on Tom Landry's 4-3 defense.^[12]

In 1958, the Giants again won the East and Huff played in the 1958 NFL Championship Game.^[3] The championship, which became widely known as "The Greatest Game Ever Played", was the first ever National Football League (NFL) game to go into sudden death overtime.^[13] The final score was Baltimore Colts 23, New York Giants 17.^[3]

In 1959, Huff and the Giants again went to the NFL Championship Game, which ended in a 31–16 loss to the Colts. Also that year, Huff became the first NFL player to be featured on the cover of Time magazine^[8]^[10] on November 30, 1959. He almost passed up the magazine appearance, demanding money to be interviewed, but relented when Time agreed to give him the cover portrait.^[3] Huff was also the subject of an October 31, 1960 CBS television special, "The Violent World of Sam Huff",^[8]^[10] broadcast as an episode of the Walter Cronkite-hosted anthology series The Twentieth Century. The network wired Huff for sound in practice and in an exhibition game.^[3]

"As long as I live, I will never
forgive Allie Sherman for trading me."

Sam Huff, on Allie Sherman's decision
to trade him to the Washington Redskins.^[3]

The Giants then visited the championship under new coach Allie Sherman in 1961, 1962, 1963, but lost every one of them.^[3] To improve what he thought was a defensive problem, Sherman then traded many defensive players, including Cliff Livingston, Rosey Grier, and Dick Modzelewski. After these trades, Huff went to owner Wellington Mara and was assured he would not be traded.^[3] But in 1964, Giants head coach Allie Sherman traded Huff to the Washington Redskins for defensive tackle Andy Stynchula and running back Dick James.^[3]^[4] The trade made front-page news in New York and was greeted with jeers from Giants fans, who crowded Yankee Stadium yelling "Huff-Huff-Huff-Huff."^[4]

Huff played in four consecutive Pro Bowls with the Giants from 1959 through 1963. He was named most valuable player of the 1961 Pro Bowl.^[4]

Washington Redskins (1964–1969)

Huff joined the Redskins in 1964 and they agreed to pay him $30,000 in salary and $5,000 for scouting, compared to the $19,000 he would have made another year with New York.^[3] The impact Huff had was almost immediate and the Redskins' defense was ranked second in the NFL in 1965.^[14]

On November 27, 1966, Huff and the Redskins beat his former Giant teammates 72–41, in the highest-scoring game in league history.^[14] After an ankle injury in 1967 ended his streak of 150 straight games played^[14] Huff retired in 1968.^[4]

Vince Lombardi talked Huff out of retirement in 1969 when he was named Washington’s head coach.^[4] The Redskins went 7-5-2 and had their best season since 1955 (which kept Lombardi's record of never having coached a losing NFL team intact).^[15] Huff then retired for good after 14 seasons and 30 career interceptions.^[3] He spent one season coaching the Redskins' linebackers in 1970.^[14]

After football

Business

After leaving the NFL, Huff took a position with J.P. Stevens in New York as a textiles sales representative. He later joined the Marriott Corporation as a salesman in 1971, rising to vice president of sports marketing before retiring in 1998.^[3] While with Marriott, Huff was responsible for selling over 600,000 room nights via a partnership between the NFL and Marriott that booked teams into Marriott branded hotels for away games.

Commentator

After retiring from football, Huff spent three seasons as a color commentator for the Giants radio team and then moved on in the same capacity for the Redskins Radio Network, where he remained until his retirement at the end of the 2012 season, calling games alongside former Redskins teammate Sonny Jurgensen and play-by-play announcers Frank Herzog (1979 to 2004) and Larry Michael (2005 to 2012).^[8] He was also a broadcaster for a regionally syndicated TV package of Mountaineer football games in the mid-1980s.^[8] Huff co-hosts the weekly radio program Trackside with West Virginia Breeders' Classic president, Carol Holden.

Honors

In 1982, Huff became just the second WVU player to be inducted into both the College and Pro football Halls of Fame.^[8] In 1988, he was inducted into the WVU School of Physical Education Hall of Fame and, in 1991 he was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame.^[8]

In 1999, Huff was inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame^[6] and was ranked number 76 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.^[16]

In 2001, Huff was ranked number six on Sports Illustrated's list of West Virginia's 50 Greatest Athletes.^[17] On November 24, 2005, Huff's uniform number 75 was retired by West Virginia University.

Horse breeding and racing

In 1986 Huff began breeding Thoroughbred racehorses at Sporting Life Farm in Middleburg, Virginia. His filly, Bursting Forth, won the 1998 Matchmaker Handicap. He is on the Board of Golden Dreams Therapeutic Riding Center in Middleburg, Virginia. Huff is also the CEO and Chairman of the Board of the West Virginia Breeders' Classic. Founded by Huff and partner Carol Holden in 1986, the WVBC began as a 5-race event to 9-card race and has generated approximately $25 million in purses for West Virginia's thoroughbred horsemen. In addition to the racing purses, the WVBC has raised thousands of dollars for charities in West Virginia.

Politics

In 1970, Huff ran for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives,^[5] but lost in the West Virginia Democratic primary^[3] for the 1st district against Bob Mollohan by more than 19,000 votes.^[4]

Personal

Huff is divorced from Mary Helen Fletcher. They have three children, Robert Lee ("Sam") Huff Jr., Catherine Ann, Joseph D., three grandchildren Nicholas, Mary Carmen and Robert Lee ("Bobby") Huff III, and one great-grandchild Robert Lee Huff IV.^[7]

References

↑ "Coal Miners--an essay". Appalachian Blacksmiths Association. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
↑ "Mountaineer Flashback - Sam Huff". WTRF-TV. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 "The Violent World". ESPN. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Profile: Sam Huff". WVU Varsity Club. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
1 2 "Farmington’s Sam Huff went from zero to hero". Times West Virginian. Retrieved 2008-06-28.
1 2 3 "National High School Hall of Fame". National Federation of State High School Associations. Archived from the original on 2008-06-17. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
1 2 "A Man's Game". Time Magazine. 1959-11-30. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Robert "Sam" Huff: Academy of Distinguished Alumni". West Virginia University. Archived from the original on May 22, 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-28.
↑ "Sam Huff's College HOF profile". College Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
1 2 3 4 "Sam Huff's Pro Football HOF profile". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
↑ "Building America's Team". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
↑ "Describing 'The Innovator'". The Sporting News. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
↑ "Greatest game ever played". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
1 2 3 4 "Flashback: Huff Changed the NFL Game". Washington Redskins. Archived from the original on 2008-07-10. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
↑ "Redskins History: 1960". Washington Redskins. Archived from the original on 2008-06-13. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
↑ "Football's 100 Greatest Players". Sporting News. Retrieved 2008-06-28.
↑ "W.Va.'s 50 Greatest Athletes". WVSPN. Retrieved 2008-06-29.

External links

Sam Huff at the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Sam Huff at Pro-Football-Reference.com

New York Giants 1956 NFL Champions

New York Giants Ring of Honor

National Football League | NFL's 1950s All-Decade Team

Washington Redskins

Formerly the Boston Braves and the Boston Redskins Founded in 1932 Based in Landover, Maryland Headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia

Franchise	Franchise History Seasons Players Coaches First-round draft picks Draft Starting quarterbacks

Stadiums	Braves Field Fenway Park Griffith Stadium RFK Stadium FedExField

Culture	Redskins Band Hail to the Redskins Hogettes Cheerleaders Chief Zee Joe Gibbs Team name controversy Name change advocates Trademark dispute Original Americans Foundation "Go Fund Yourself" (South Park episode)

Lore	Redskins 0, Bears 73 The Hogs The Fun Bunch The Over-the-Hill Gang The Body Bag Game Redskins Rule

Rivalries	Dallas Cowboys New York Giants Philadelphia Eagles

Division championships (14)	1936 1937 1940 1942 1943 1945 1972 1983 1984 1987 1991 1999 2012 2015

Super Bowl appearances (5)	VII XVII XVIII XXII XXVI

League championships (5)	1937 1942 1982 1987 1991

Hall of Fame players	Battles Baugh Dudley Edwards Green Grimm Hanburger Houston Huff D. Jones S. Jones Jurgensen Krause Millner Mitchell Monk Riggins Smith Taylor

All-time leaders	Passing Receiving Rushing Kick & Punt Returning

Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: East Division

Seasons (84)	1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

80 Greatest Redskins

21 Terry Allen RB 1995–98
56 LaVar Arrington LB 2000–05
41 Mike Bass CB 1969–75
20 Cliff Battles B 1932–37
33 Sammy Baugh QB 1937–52
31 Don Bosseler FB 1957–64
53 Jeff Bostic C 1980–93
4 Mike Bragg P 1968–79
80 Gene Brito DE 1951–53, 1955–58
43 Larry Brown RB 1969–76
77 Bill Brundige DE 1970–77
65 Dave Butz DT 1975–88
21 Earnest Byner RB 1989–93
84 Gary Clark WR 1985–92
51 Monte Coleman LB 1979–94
53 Al DeMao C 1945–53
36 Chuck Drazenovich LB 1950–59
35 Bill Dudley RB 1950–51, 1953
17 Turk Edwards T 1932–40
44 Andy Farkas FB 1938–44
37 Pat Fischer CB 1968–77
28 Darrell Green CB 1983–2002
68 Russ Grimm G 1981–91
55 Chris Hanburger LB 1965–78
57 Ken Harvey LB 1994–98
56 Len Hauss C 1964–77
75 Terry Hermeling OT 1970–80
27 Ken Houston S 1973–80
70 Sam Huff LB 1964–67, 1969
66 Joe Jacoby T/G 1981–93
47 Dick James RB 1955–63
76 Jon Jansen OT 1999–08
80 Roy Jefferson WR 1971–76
9 Sonny Jurgensen QB 1964–74
22 Charlie Justice RB 1950, 1952–54
17 Billy Kilmer QB 1971–78
26 Paul Krause DB 1964–67
79 Jim Lachey T 1988–95
14 Eddie LeBaron QB 1952–53, 1955–59
72 Dexter Manley DE 1981–89
71 Charles Mann DE 1983–93
58 Wilber Marshall LB 1988–92
73 Mark May T 1981–89
79 Ron McDole DE 1971–78
63 Raleigh McKenzie G 1985–94
53 Harold McLinton LB 1969–78
40 Wayne Millner E 1936–41, 1945
49 Bobby Mitchell FL 1962–68
30 Brian Mitchell RB 1990–99
81 Art Monk WR 1980–93
3 Mark Moseley K 1974–86
29 Mark Murphy S 1977–84
21 Mike Nelms KR 1980–84
52 Neal Olkewicz LB 1979–89
23 Brig Owens LB 1966–77
26 Clinton Portis RB 2004–10
65 Vince Promuto G 1960–70
44 John Riggins RB 1976–79, 1981–85
11 Mark Rypien QB 1987–93
60 Chris Samuels OT 2000–09
83 Ricky Sanders WR 1986–93
76 Ed Simmons T 1987–93
87 Jerry Smith TE 1965–77
60 Dick Stanfel G 1956–58
74 George Starke T 1973–84
72 Diron Talbert DT 1971–80
42 Charley Taylor WR 1964–77
84 Hugh Taylor WR 1947–54
21 Sean Taylor S 2004–07
7 Joe Theismann QB 1974–85
67 Rusty Tillman LB 1970–77
85 Don Warren TE 1979–92
25 Joe Washington RB 1981–84
17 Doug Williams QB 1986–89

Administration

George Allen Head Coach 1971–77
Bobby Beathard General Manager 1978–89
Joe Bugel Offensive Line Coach 1981–89, 04–09
Ray Flaherty Head Coach 1936–42
Joe Gibbs Head Coach 1981–92
Richie Petitbon Defensive Coordinator 1978–92

Washington Redskins Ring of Fame

George Allen Head Coach 1971–77
Cliff Battles RB 1932–37
Sammy Baugh QB 1937–52
Gene Brito DE, 1951–53, 1955–58
Larry Brown RB 1969–76
Dave Butz DT 1975–88
Gary Clark WR 1985–92
Jack Kent Cooke Owner 1961–97
Bill Dudley RB, 1950–51, 1953
Wayne Curry Prince George's County Executive 1994–2002
Pat Fischer CB 1968–77
Joe Gibbs Head Coach, 1981–92, 2004–07
Darrell Green CB 1983–2002
Russ Grimm G 1981–91
Chris Hanburger LB 1965–78
Ken Harvey LB 1994–98
Len Hauss C 1964–77
Phil Hochberg PA Announcer 1963–2000
Ken Houston S 1973–80
Sam Huff LB, 1964–67, 1969
Joe Jacoby T/G 1981–93
Dick James RB 1956–63
Sonny Jurgensen QB 1964–74
Charlie Justice RB, 1950, 1952–54
Billy Kilmer QB 1971–78
Eddie LeBaron QB, 1952–53, 1955–59
Vince Lombardi Head Coach 1969
Dexter Manley DE 1981–89
Charles Mann DE 1983–93
George Preston Marshall Team Founder & Owner 1932–69
Wayne Millner End, 1936–41, 1945
Bobby Mitchell Flanker 1962–68
Brian Mitchell RB/KR 1990–99
Art Monk WR 1980–93
Mark Moseley PK 1974–86
Brig Owens DB 1966–77
Richie Petitbon S 1971-72, defensive coordinator 1981-92
Vince Promuto G 1960–70
John Riggins RB, 1976–79, 1981–85
Jerry Smith TE 1965–77
Charley Taylor WR 1964–77
Sean Taylor S 2004–07
Joe Theismann QB 1974–85
Lamar "Bubba" Tyer Head Athletic Trainer, 1971–2002, 2004–08
Doug Williams QB 1986–89

Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 1982

Doug Atkins Sam Huff George Musso Merlin Olsen

Members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Players

Pre-modern era	Badgro Battles Baugh Canadeo Chamberlin Clark Conzelman Driscoll Dudley Edwards Flaherty Fortmann Friedman Grange Guyon Halas Healey Hein Henry Herber Hewitt Hinkle Hubbard Hutson Kiesling Lambeau Leemans Luckman Lyman McAfee McNally Michalske Millner Musso Nagurski Nevers Owen A. Parker Pollard Strong Stydahar Thorpe Trafton Turner Van Buren Wojciechowicz

Modern era	Adderley Aikman L. Allen M. Allen Alworth Atkins Barney Bednarik Bo. Bell Berry Bethea Bettis Biletnikoff Blanda Blount Bradshaw Brooks B. Brown J. Brown R. Brown T. Brown W. Brown Buchanan Buoniconti Butkus Butler Campbell Carson Carter Casper Christiansen Connor Creekmur Csonka Culp W. Davis D. Dawson L. Dawson Dean DeLamielleure Dent Dickerson Dierdorf Ditka Doleman Donovan Dorsett Eller Elway Favre Faulk Fears Ford Fouts Gatski George Gifford Graham Green J. Greene K. Greene Gregg Griese Grimm Groza Guy Haley Ham Hampton Hanburger Hannah Harris Harrison Hayes Haynes Hendricks Hickerson Hirsch Hornung Houston Huff Humphrey Irvin Jackson J. Johnson J. H. Johnson Joiner W. Jones D. Jones S. Jones Jordan Jurgensen J. Kelly L. Kelly Kennedy Kinard Krause Lambert Lane Langer Lanier Largent Lary Lavelli Layne LeBeau Lilly F. Little L. Little Lofton Long Lott Mack Mackey Marchetti Marino Martin Matson Matthews Maynard McCormack McDaniel McDonald McElhenny Mitchell Mix Monk Montana Moon Moore Motley Munchak Muñoz Namath Newsome Nitschke Nomellini Ogden Olsen Otto Pace Page J. Parker Payton Perry Pihos Randle Reed Renfro Rice Richter Riggins Ringo Roaf Robinson Robustelli B. Sanders C. Sanders D. Sanders Sapp Sayers Schmidt Seau Selmon Sharpe Shaw Shell Shields Simpson Singletary Slater B. Smith E. Smith J. Smith St. Clair Stabler Stallworth Stanfel Starr Staubach Stautner Stenerud Stephenson Strahan Swann Tarkenton C. Taylor J. Taylor L. Taylor D. Thomas E. Thomas T. Thomas Tingelhoff Tippett Tittle Trippi Tunnell Unitas Upshaw Van Brocklin Walker Warfield Waterfield Webster Wehrli Weinmeister Ra. White Re. White Wilcox Williams Willis L. Wilson Winslow Wood Woodson Wright Yary Young Youngblood Zimmerman

Coaches

Contributors

Authority control	WorldCat Identities VIAF: 72933477 LCCN: n88036689

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