Column: Hall of Famer Sam Huff had impactful place in New York Giants history
Sam Huff died last week at the age of 87.
Fans of a certain age who lived in New York when Huff was the middle linebacker for the New York Giants will understand and remember just what he meant to the City and the team. There was glamour on offense with Frank Gifford and the smooth Kyle Rote, but the defense was hard scrabble led by Huff, a West Virginian from the coal mines. There was Modzelewski and Katcavage and Robustelli. Blue collar all the way.
And it was the battles with the Cleveland Browns and the great Jimmy Brown that epitomized the ferociousness of those days in the NFL. Huff would smash Brown on play after play until about the third quarter or so when Brown would break loose causing agonizing distress for Giant fans. But Huff won enough of those battles to elevate him to hero status in the City along with Mickey Mantle of the summer-time team of the 1950s, the New York Yankees.
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Huff was not an immediate star. Drafted in the third round in 1956, he left camp discouraged when the team could not determine a position for him. Assistant coach Vince Lombardi intercepted Huff and convinced him to return to the team.
It reminds me of a story by my old friend Al Rosen, who had a similar intervention a year later in 1957. A promising young player left the Cleveland Indians camp believing he had no future in the game, but Rosen, a 10-year veteran by then, stopped him in the parking lot and encouraged him to return.
The player? Roger Maris.
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Fifty years ago, it took 2 minutes and 37 for a batted baseball to be in play in the majors. Last year it was 4 minutes and 26 seconds.
Think baseball has a problem?
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Hank Aaron, the beloved Atlanta Brave and all-time great, famously wore No. 44. The 2021 Braves won 44 games before the All-Star break this year and 44 games after the break. They won the World Series in the 44th week of the season.
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There was (and is) great sentiment for Buster Posey’s election to the baseball Hall of Fame. When the popular Giant catcher announced his retirement, my San Francisco fans were quick to lobby for him.
Make no mistake, Posey was a wonderful player and there is plenty to tout him as a Hall of Famer. But. If Posey should be in, what about other catchers like Elston Howard, Thurman Munson and Jorge Posada?
Posey won an MVP, made 7 All-Star teams, had 1,500 hits and won three World Series.
Howard won an MVP, made 9 All-Star teams, had 1,490 hits and won four World Series.
Munson won an MVP, made 7 All-Star teams, had 1,558 hits and won 2 World Series.
Posada made 5 All-Star teams, had 1,664 hits, and won 4 World Series.
You pick ‘em.
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Twelve Football Championship (Division 1) coaches have been fired so far this year. They are owed – and will collect – over $5 million.
One of the openings, of course, is at USC and the latest name to be broached is Deion Sanders, Mr. Prime Time himself.
Why not? Los Angeles is a City that collects stars and who better than the smooth-talking, charismatic Sanders, who is 9-1 as the head coach of Jackson State this fall and would be a world-class recruiting magnet.
Pete Donovan is a Palm Desert resident and former Los Angeles Times sports reporter. He can be reached at pwdonovan22@yahoo.com
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Hall of Famer Sam Huff impacted Giants football history
