One of the game’s greatest and earliest Middle Linebackers has left us.
It was announced today that Sam Huff died at the age of 87, eight years after he was diagnosed with dementia.
An All-American at the University of West Virginia, Huff was a Third Round Pick in 1956, selected by the New York Giants, but he quickly grew frustrated by how he was used, or rather wasn’t. Giants Assistant Coach, and defensive whiz, Vince Lombardi, recognized how to use Huff, and he became one of the game’s early Middle Linebackers as the cornerstone of the 4-3 Defense, a new scheme at the time.
The Giants went on to win the NFL Championship that year, and with Huff in tow, they appeared in four more Title Games. Huff went to four Pro Bowls with two First Team All-Pros as a Giant, and in 1964, the year he joined the Washington Redskins, he was a Pro Bowler for the fifth time. He continued to play until 1969, with a year off in 1968.
Huff was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1980 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982. He is also a member of the 1950s All-Decade Team, the Washington Football Team Ring of Fame, the New York Giants Ring of Honor, and his number 75 was retired by the Mountaineers.
We here a Notinhalloffame.com would like to give our condolences to the family, friends and fans of Sam Huff.
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