Sam Huff, hard-hitting Hall of Fame linebacker, dead at 87

WINCHESTER, Va. — Sam Huff, a fearsome, hard-hitting Hall of Fame linebacker who led the New York Giants to six NFL title games during the 1950s and 1960s, died Saturday. He was 87.

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Huff died in a Winchester, Virginia, hospital, his daughter, Catherine Huff Myers, told The New York Times. Huff learned he had dementia in 2013, the newspaper reported.

The 6-foot-1, 230-pounder was the middle linebacker in a 4-3 scheme developed by fellow Hall of Famer Tom Landry, who was the Giants’ defensive coordinator and later coached the Dallas Cowboys for nearly three decades.

“Before, I always had my head down, looking right into the center’s helmet,” Huff wrote in his 1968 memoir, “Tough Stuff.” “Now I was standing up and I could see everything, and I mean everything. I always had outstanding peripheral vision. It’s one of the reasons I was so perfectly suited for the position.”

Born Oct. 4, 1934, in Edna Gas, West Virginia, Huff was raised in coal-mining country. He was an All-America at West Virginia University and was taken by the Giants in the third round of the 1956 NFL draft.

Huff was a two-time All-Pro and played in five Pro Bowls during his 13-year NFL career, which spanned from 1956 to 1969. He helped the Giants to an NFL championship during his rookie season, when New York defeated the Chicago Bears 47-7. The Giants would reach the title game six times in Huff’s eight seasons in New York, winning five division titles between 1958 and 1963, but the team lost in the championship game each time.

Huff was traded to Washington after the 1963 season.

The linebacker had 30 interceptions during his career and scored two defensive touchdowns. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982.

“Sam was one of the greatest Giants of all time. He was the heart and soul of our defense in his era,” Giants team president John Mara said in a statement. “He almost single-handedly influenced the first chants of ‘Defense, defense’ in Yankee Stadium.”

“We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Pro Football Hall of Famer and Washington Ring of Fame inductee Sam Huff,” Washington owners Daniel and Tanya Snyder said in a statement. “Anyone who knew Sam knew what an amazing person he was. He was an iconic player and broadcaster for the franchise for over 40 years and was a great friend to our family. He represented the franchise with honor and respect on the field and in the booth and was beloved by our fans. Tanya and I would like to extend our deepest condolences to all of Sam’s family and friends during this time.”

On Nov. 30, 1959, Huff became the first pro football player to be featured on the cover of Time magazine, ESPN reported. His reputation for toughness was sealed when Walter Cronkite narrated “The Violent World of Sam Huff” for CBS on Oct. 30, 1960, the Times reported. The documentary was part of the series, “The Twentieth Century.”

“Today you will play pro football, riding on Sam Huff’s broad back,” Cronkite said in his introduction.

A microphone and a transmitter was placed on Huff’s shoulder pads for an exhibition game against the Chicago Bears in Toronto the previous August.

Viewers saw and heard Huff calling signals in the huddle, then threatening a Bears receiver.

“What did you do that for, 88?” Huff shouted at a player for the Chicago Bears, calling him by his uniform number. “If you do that one more time, 88, I’m going to sock you one! Now, don’t do that. You run it again, you’re going to get a broken nose. Don’t do that, hit me on the chin with your elbow.”

Huff was known for his rugged one-on-one battles with the top running backs of the era, Jim Brown of the Cleveland Browns and Jim Taylor of the Green Bay Packers, The Washington Post reported.

In describing how to stop Brown, Huff quipped, “All you can do is grab hold, hang on and wait for help.”

Huff spent three seasons working on radio as a color commentator for the Giants before taking a similar job with Washington in 1975, ESPN reported. He was a broadcaster for 38 years.

Huff was later a marketing executive for the Marriott hotel and resort chain, the Times reported. He also bred thoroughbred horses.

“The entire Pro Football Hall of Fame family mourns the passing of Sam Huff. He was an outstanding player on the gridiron and an even greater man off the field,” Hall of Fame president Jim Porter said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Sam’s family during this difficult time. The Hall of Fame will forever guard his legacy. The Hall of Fame flag will be flown at half-staff in Sam’s memory.”

“Huff was an outsized character, with enough ambition on and off the field to frighten the faint of heart,” author Mark Bowden wrote in “The Best Game Ever,” his 2008 book about the 1958 NFL championship between the Giants and the Baltimore Colts. “He was outspoken, brash, and unapologetic ... He played football with unmatched ferocity, reveling in the game’s violence.”

“I never let up on anybody,” Huff said in a 2002 interview for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. “I don’t think I ever quit on a play. If you had the football, I was going to hit you, and when I hit you, I tried to hit you hard enough to hurt you. That’s the way the game should be played.”

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Sam Huff NEW YORK - CIRCA 1965: Linebacker Sam Huff #70 of the New York Giants standing at the top of the dougout during player inroductions circa 1962 before an NFL football game at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. Huff played for the Giants from 1956-63. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) (Focus On Sport/Getty Images)

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