View source for Sam Huff

{{Short description|American football player (1934–2021)}}
{{for|the baseball player|Sam Huff (baseball)}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name         = Sam Huff
| image        = Sam Huff.jpg
| caption      = Huff in college with West Virginia in 1955
| number       = 70
| position     = [[Linebacker]]
| birth_date   = {{Birth date|1934|10|4}}
| birth_place  = [[Farmington, West Virginia|Edna, West Virginia]], U.S.
| death_date   = {{death date and age|2021|11|13|1934|10|4}}
| death_place  = [[Winchester, Virginia]], U.S.
| height_ft    = 6
| height_in    = 1
| weight_lb    = 230
| high_school  = Farmington<br>([[Farmington, West Virginia]])
| college      = [[West Virginia Mountaineers football|West Virginia]] (1952–1955)
| draftyear    = 1956
| draftround   = 3
| draftpick    = 30
| pastteams    =
* [[New York Giants]] ({{NFL Year|1956|1963}})
* [[History of the Washington Commanders|Washington Redskins]] ({{NFL Year|1964|1967}}, {{NFL Year|1969}})
| pastcoaching =
* Washington Redskins (1969) <br> Linebackers
* Washington Redskins ({{NFL Year|1970}}) <br> Defense
| highlights   =
* [[List of NFL champions (1920-1969)|NFL champion]] ([[1956 NFL Championship Game|1956]])
* 2× First-team [[All-Pro]] ([[1958 All-Pro Team|1958]], [[1959 All-Pro Team|1959]])
* 4× Second-team All-Pro ([[1957 All-Pro Team|1957]], [[1960 All-Pro Team|1960]], [[1961 All-Pro Team|1961]], [[1963 All-Pro Team|1963]])
* 5× [[Pro Bowl]] ([[1959 Pro Bowl|1958]]–[[1962 Pro Bowl|1961]], [[1965 Pro Bowl|1964]])
* [[Washington Commanders#Ring of Fame|Washington Commanders Ring of Fame]]
* [[New York Giants Ring of Honor]]
* First-team [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] ([[1955 College Football All-America Team|1955]])
* [[West Virginia Mountaineers football#Retired numbers|West Virginia Mountaineers No. 75]] retired
| statlabel1   = [[Interception]]s
| statvalue1   = 30
| statlabel2   = [[Touchdown]]s
| statvalue2   = 5
| statlabel3   = [[Fumble]] recoveries
| statvalue3   = 17
| pfr          = HuffSa00
| HOF          = sam-huff
| CollegeHOF   = 1809
}}

'''Robert Lee''' "'''Sam'''" '''Huff''' (October 4, 1934 – November 13, 2021) was an American professional [[American football|football]] player whose frequent battles against [[Cleveland Browns]] star fullback [[Jim Brown]] made him the first member of the defense to gain widespread prominence in the [[National Football League]]. He starred for the [[New York Giants]] and the [[History of the Washington Commanders|Washington Redskins]] in the pro ranks and the [[West Virginia Mountaineers football|West Virginia Mountaineers]] in college. The one-time NFL champion, two-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowl selection is a member of the [[College Football Hall of Fame]] and the [[Pro Football Hall of Fame]] (inducted 1982).

==Early life==
Huff was born and grew up in the No. 9 coal mining camp<ref>{{cite web | work=Appalachian Blacksmiths Association | url=http://www.appaltree.net/aba/coalminers.htm | title=Coal Miners—an essay | access-date=June 29, 2008 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517124757/http://www.appaltree.net/aba/coalminers.htm | archive-date=May 17, 2008 }}</ref> in [[Farmington, West Virginia|Edna, West Virginia]].<ref>{{cite web | work=WTRF-TV | url=http://www.wtrf.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=32016 | title=Mountaineer Flashback – Sam Huff | access-date=June 29, 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110603232034/http://www.wtrf.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=32016 | archive-date=June 3, 2011 | url-status=dead }}</ref> The fourth of six children of Oral and Catherine Huff, he lived with his family in a small rowhouse with no running water.<ref name=violentworld>{{cite web | work=ESPN | url=http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/classic/bio/news/story?page=Huff_Sam | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110316081110/http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/classic/bio/news/story?page=Huff_Sam | url-status=dead | archive-date=March 16, 2011 | title=The Violent World | access-date=June 29, 2008}}</ref>  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.<ref name=varsityclub>{{cite web | work=WVU Varsity Club | url=http://wvuvarsityclub.com/profiles/huff_sam.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021209174513/http://www.wvuvarsityclub.com/profiles/huff_sam.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=December 9, 2002 | title=Profile: Sam Huff | access-date=June 29, 2008 }}</ref>

Huff attended and played [[high school football]] at the now-closed Farmington High School, where he was both an [[Lineman (gridiron football)|offensive]] and [[Lineman (gridiron football)|defensive lineman]].<ref name=timeswv>{{cite web | work=Times West Virginian | url=http://www.timeswv.com/sportscentral/local_story_103012805.html | title=Farmington's Sam Huff went from zero to hero | access-date=June 28, 2008 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://archive.today/20130204175325/http://www.timeswv.com/sportscentral/local_story_103012805.html | archive-date=February 4, 2013 }}</ref>  While he was there, Huff helped lead the team to an undefeated season in 1951.<ref name=nfhs>{{cite web | work=National Federation of State High School Associations | url=http://www.nfhs.org/web/2004/01/athletes_hm.aspx | title=National High School Hall of Fame | access-date=June 29, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080617184521/http://www.nfhs.org/web/2004/01/athletes_hm.aspx <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = June 17, 2008}}</ref>  He earned All-State honors in 1952 and was named to the first-team All-Mason Dixon Conference.<ref name=nfhs />

==College career==
Huff attended and played [[college football]] for [[West Virginia University]], where he majored in [[physical education]].<ref name=time>{{cite news | work=Time Magazine | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,825995,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080308010154/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,825995,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=March 8, 2008 | title=A Man's Game | access-date=June 30, 2008 | date=November 30, 1959}}</ref>  He started at guard as a sophomore, then as a tackle his next two years, after winning a letter as a backup guard during his freshman season.<ref name=wvu>{{cite web|work=West Virginia University |url=http://alumni.wvu.edu/awards/academy/1990/robert_huff/ |title=Robert "Sam" Huff: Academy of Distinguished Alumni |access-date=June 28, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080522131242/http://alumni.wvu.edu/awards/academy/1990/robert_huff |archive-date=May 22, 2008 }}</ref>  He was a four-year [[Letterman (sports)|letterman]] and helped lead West Virginia to a combined four-year mark of 31–7 and a berth in the [[1954 Sugar Bowl|Sugar Bowl]].<ref name=wvu />

In 1955, Huff was voted an [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]]<ref name=wvu /> and served as co-captain in both the [[East–West Shrine Game]] and the [[Senior Bowl]].<ref>{{College Football HoF|id=1809|name=Sam Huff|access-date=June 29, 2008 }}</ref> Huff was also named first team [[Academic All-American]] for his outstanding efforts in the classroom.

==Professional career==

===New York Giants===
Huff was [[NFL draft|drafted]] in the third round of the [[1956 NFL draft]] by the [[New York Giants]]. In [[National Football League Training Camp|training camp]], head coach [[Jim Lee Howell]] was having a hard time coming up with a position for Huff.<ref name=profootballhof>{{cite web | work=Pro Football Hall of Fame | url=http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?player_id=102 | title=Sam Huff's Pro Football HOF profile | access-date=June 30, 2008}}</ref>  Discouraged, Huff left camp, but was stopped at the airport by assistant (offensive) coach [[Vince Lombardi]], who coaxed him back to camp.<ref name=profootballhof />

Then, [[defensive coordinator]] [[Tom Landry]] came up with the new [[4–3 defense|4–3 defensive scheme]] that he thought would fit Huff perfectly.<ref name=varsityclub /><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.cowboysplus.com/classic/webspecials/landry/landrybuild.htm | title=Building America's Team | publisher=Dallas Morning News | access-date=June 30, 2008 | archive-date=August 23, 2004 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040823190402/http://www.cowboysplus.com/classic/webspecials/landry/landrybuild.htm | url-status=usurped }}</ref>  The Giants switched him from the line to [[Linebacker|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.<ref name=violentworld />  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<ref name=varsityclub /> and they finished with an 8–3–1 record, which gave them the Eastern Conference title.<ref name=violentworld />  New York went on to win the [[1956 NFL Championship Game]]<ref name=varsityclub /> and Huff became the first rookie middle linebacker to start an NFL championship game.<ref name=violentworld />
{{Quote box
 | quote  =''"Landry built the 4–3 defense around me.<br/>It revolutionized defense and opened the<br/>door for all the variations of zones and<br/>man-to-man coverage, which are used<br/>in conjunction with it today."''
 | source =Sam Huff, on [[Tom Landry]]'s 4–3 defense.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.sportingnews.com/archives/landry/quotes.html | title = Describing 'The Innovator' | publisher = The Sporting News | access-date = 2008-06-30 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051201115219/http://www.sportingnews.com/archives/landry/quotes.html | archive-date = 2005-12-01 }}</ref>
 | width  =200
 | align  =right
}}
In [[1958 NFL season|1958]], the Giants again won the East and Huff played in the [[1958 NFL Championship Game]].<ref name=violentworld /> The championship, which became widely known as "The Greatest Game Ever Played", was the first National Football League (NFL) game to go into [[sudden death (sport)|sudden death]] [[Overtime (sports)|overtime]].<ref>{{cite web | work=Pro Football Hall of Fame | url=http://www.profootballhof.com/history/release.jsp?release_id=1805 | title=Greatest game ever played | access-date=July 11, 2008 | archive-date=January 10, 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080110235203/http://www.profootballhof.com/history/release.jsp?release_id=1805 | url-status=dead }}</ref>  The final score was [[Baltimore Colts]] 23, [[New York Giants]] 17.<ref name=violentworld />

In [[1959 NFL season|1959]], Huff and the Giants again went to the [[1959 NFL Championship Game|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)|Time]]'' magazine<ref name=wvu /><ref name=profootballhof /> 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.<ref name=violentworld />  Huff was also the subject of an October 31, 1960 [[CBS]] television special, "The Violent World of Sam Huff",<ref name=wvu /><ref name=profootballhof /> broadcast as an episode of the [[Walter Cronkite]]-hosted anthology series ''[[Twentieth Century (TV series)|The Twentieth Century]]''.  The network wired Huff for sound in practice and in an exhibition game.<ref name=violentworld />
{{Quote box
 | quote  =''"As long as I live, I will never<br/>forgive Allie Sherman for trading me."''
 | source =Sam Huff, on [[Allie Sherman]]'s decision<br/>to trade him to the [[Washington Redskins]].<ref name=violentworld />
 | width  =150
 | align  =left
}}
The Giants then visited the championship under new coach [[Allie Sherman]] in [[1961 NFL Championship Game|1961]], [[1962 NFL Championship Game|1962]], and [[1963 NFL Championship Game|1963]], but lost every one of them.<ref name=violentworld />  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.<ref name=violentworld />  But in [[1964 NFL season|1964]], Giants head coach [[Allie Sherman]] traded Huff to the [[Washington Commanders|Washington Redskins]] for [[defensive tackle]] [[Andy Stynchula]] and [[running back]] [[Dick James (American football)|Dick James]].<ref name=violentworld /><ref name=varsityclub />  The trade made front-page news in [[New York City]] and was greeted with jeers from Giants fans, who crowded [[Yankee Stadium]] yelling "Huff-Huff-Huff-Huff."<ref name=varsityclub />

Huff played in four consecutive [[Pro Bowl]]s with the Giants from [[1959 NFL season|1959]] through [[1963 NFL season|1963]].  He was named most valuable player of the 1961 Pro Bowl.<ref name=varsityclub />

===Washington Redskins===
[[File:Sam huff redskins.jpg|thumb|150px|Huff with the Redskins]]
Huff joined the Redskins in [[1964 Washington Redskins season|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.<ref name=violentworld />  The impact Huff had was almost immediate and the Redskins' defense was ranked second in the [[National Football League|NFL]] in [[1965 NFL season|1965]].<ref name=flashback>{{cite web | work=Washington Redskins | url=http://www.redskins.com/news/newsDetail.jsp?id=36423 | title=Flashback: Huff Changed the NFL Game | access-date=July 1, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080710113706/http://www.redskins.com/news/newsDetail.jsp?id=36423 <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = July 10, 2008}}</ref>

On November 27, 1966, Huff and the Redskins beat his former [[New York Giants|Giant]] teammates 72–41, in the highest-scoring game in league history.<ref name=flashback />  After an ankle injury in [[1967 NFL season|1967]] ended his streak of 150 straight games played<ref name=flashback /> Huff retired in [[1968 NFL season|1968]].<ref name=varsityclub />

[[Vince Lombardi]] talked Huff out of retirement in [[1969 NFL season|1969]] when he was named Washington's head coach.<ref name=varsityclub />  The Redskins went 7–5–2 and had their best season since [[1955 Washington Redskins season|1955]] (which kept Lombardi's record of never having coached a losing NFL team intact).<ref>{{cite web | work=Washington Redskins | url=http://www.redskins.com/team/history-history.jsp#1960 | title=Redskins History: 1960 | access-date=July 1, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080613202828/http://www.redskins.com/team/history-history.jsp#1960 <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = June 13, 2008}}</ref>  Huff then retired for good after 14 seasons and 30 career interceptions.<ref name=violentworld />  He spent one season coaching the Redskins' linebackers in [[1970 NFL season|1970]] following Lombardi's death from [[Colorectal cancer|colon cancer]].<ref name=flashback />

==After football==

===Business===
After leaving the NFL, Huff took a position with [[J. P. Stevens Textile Corporation|J. P. Stevens]] in New York City as a textiles sales representative.  He later joined the [[Marriott Corp.|Marriott]] Corporation as a salesman in 1971, rising to vice president of sports marketing before retiring in 1998.<ref name=violentworld /><ref>{{cite news |last1=Hose |first1=Dan |title=Sam Huff, who played for West Virginia University's 1953... |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/01/29/Sam-Huff-who-played-for-West-Virginia-Universitys-1953/2173381128400/ |access-date=November 19, 2021 |work=UPI |date=January 29, 1982 |language=en |quote=Huff is a vice president of marketing for Marriott Hotels for whom he has worked 11 years.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Stump |first1=Jake |title=No One More Enthusiastic about Marriott International Coming to the Rescue of The Greenbrier than West Virginia Football Legend Sam Huff, a Longtime Employee of Marriott |url=https://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2009_1st/Mar09_GreenbrierHuff.html |access-date=November 19, 2021 |work=[[Charleston Daily Mail]] |date=March 2009 |quote=Huff was an All-American tackle for WVU in 1955 and then played for the New York Giants and Washington Redskins. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982. He now lives in Virginia and is a radio color commentator for the Redskins.  He joined Marriott as a salesman in 1971 after his football career ended and eventually became the chain's vice president of sports marketing.  Huff owns 5 percent of the Town Center Marriott. |archive-date=November 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119105327/https://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2009_1st/Mar09_GreenbrierHuff.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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. In the late 1950s and early 1960s he was a spokesman for Marlboro cigarettes.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Blum |first1=Alan |title=Museum malignancy: What the Sacklers and Philip Morris have in common |url=https://cancerletter.com/guest-editorial/20191018_2/ |website=The Cancer Letter |access-date=November 19, 2021 |date=October 18, 2019 |quote=...decades of aggressive marketing by Philip Morris aimed at associating its cigarette brands with athletic prowess, notably through Marlboro ads featuring National Football League stars Frank Gifford, Sam Huff, and others. ...}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Life |date=December 5, 1960 |page=151 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=900EAAAAMBAJ&dq=Sam+%22Huff%22+%22Marlboro%22+cigarettes&pg=PA151 |access-date=November 19, 2021  |language=en}}</ref>

===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 to 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]] (1979–2004) and Larry Michael (2005–2012).<ref name=wvu /> He was also a broadcaster for a regionally syndicated TV package of Mountaineer football games in the mid-1980s.<ref name=wvu />

===Honors===
In 1982, Huff became the second WVU player to be inducted into both the [[College Football Hall of Fame|College]] and [[Pro Football Hall of Fame|Pro football Halls of Fame]].<ref name=wvu />  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.<ref name=wvu />

In 1999, Huff was inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame<ref name=nfhs /> and was ranked number 76 on the ''[[Sporting News]]''{{'}} list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.<ref>{{cite web | work=Sporting News | url=http://archive.sportingnews.com/nfl/100/76.html | title=Football's 100 Greatest Players | access-date=June 28, 2008 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516100315/http://archive.sportingnews.com/nfl/100/76.html | archive-date=May 16, 2008 }}</ref>

In 2001, Huff was ranked number six on ''[[Sports Illustrated]]''{{'}}s list of [[West Virginia]]'s 50 Greatest Athletes.<ref>{{cite web | work=WVSPN | url=http://www.sportsmediainc.net/wvspn/index.cfm?func=showarticle&newsid=78 | title=W.Va.'s 50 Greatest Athletes | access-date=June 29, 2008}}</ref>  In 2005, Huff's uniform number 75 was retired by [[West Virginia University]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Furfari |first1=Mickey |title=Sam Huff's number to be retired today |url=https://www.register-herald.com/sports/sam-huff-s-number-to-be-retired-today/article_301ca881-f825-5dbb-b474-203337cd48c7.html |access-date=November 19, 2021 |work=Beckley Register-Herald |date=November 23, 2005 |language=en}}</ref>

===Horse breeding and racing===
In 1986 Huff began breeding [[thoroughbred]] [[horse racing|racehorses]] at Sporting Life Farm in [[Middleburg, Virginia]]. His [[filly]], Bursting Forth, won the 1998 [[Matchmaker Stakes|Matchmaker Handicap]]. He also helped establish the [[West Virginia Breeders' Classic]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=McNamara |first1=Ed |title=Remembering Giants LB Sam Huff; Lights Out in Oregon |url=https://www.usracing.com/news/remembering-giants-lb-sam-huff-lights-out-in-oregon |access-date=November 19, 2021 |work=Horse Racing News |date=November 17, 2021|quote=Huff began breeding thoroughbreds in 1986 at Sporting Life Farm in Middleburg, Virginia, and Bursting Forth was a multiple graded-stakes winner for him and trainer Graham Motion. She won 10 of 28 starts and earned $524,474. Among her biggest victories were Monmouth Park’s Grade 3 Matchmaker (1998) and Keeneland’s Grade 3 Bewitched (1999). In 1987 Huff helped launch the West Virginia Breeders Classic at Charles Town Races. The 35th running of the $300,000 Classic on Oct. 9 topped a nine-stakes, $1 million card for state-breds.}}</ref>

===Politics===
In 1970, Huff ran for a seat in the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]],<ref name=timeswv /> but lost in the West Virginia Democratic primary<ref name=violentworld /> for [[West Virginia's 1st congressional district|the 1st district]] against [[Bob Mollohan]] by more than 19,000 votes.<ref name=varsityclub />

===Illness and death===
Huff was diagnosed with [[dementia]] in 2013.<ref name="WaPo obit"/> He died at the age of 87 at a hospital in [[Winchester, Virginia]], on November 13, 2021.<ref name="WaPo obit">{{cite news|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/sam-huff-dead/2021/11/13/493c542c-2e8e-11e6-b5db-e9bc84a2c8e4_story.html|date=November 13, 2021|access-date=November 13, 2021|first=Matt|last=Schudel|title=Sam Huff, NFL Hall of Fame linebacker of 'unmatched ferocity,' dies at 87}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* {{profootballhof|id=102|name=Sam Huff}}
* {{Footballstats |pfr=HuffSa00}}

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