Howard Albert "Hopalong" Cassady (March 2, 1934 – September 20, 2019) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

player who was a halfback and split end. He won the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and har ...

in 1955, and was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vo ...

in 1979. He played professionally in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

(NFL) for eight seasons, seven of them for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...

, with whom he won the 1957 NFL Championship Game.

Early life

Cassady was born in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, an ...

and attended the now closed Central High School.

College career

Cassady played football for the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree, ...

from 1952 to 1955. During his college career, he scored 37 touchdowns in 36 games. He also played

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

; a pass was never completed on him in his four years at the university. He was twice selected as a consensus

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n, in 1954 and 1955. The 1954 Buckeyes finished the season 10–0 and won a consensus national championship. That year Cassady finished third in the vote for the

, behind Alan Ameche of

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. In 1955, he won the

(by the largest margin at the time) and the

Maxwell Award The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the college football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best al ...

, and was named the

Associated Press Athlete of the Year The first Athlete of the Year award in the United States was initiated by the Associated Press (AP) in 1931. At a time when women in sports were not given the same recognition as men, the AP offered a male and a female athlete of the year award t ...

. During his playing days, he was 5'10" and 170 pounds. Cassady earned the nickname "Hopalong" during his first game as a freshman for Ohio State.

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

sportswriters who saw him play said he "hopped all over the field like the performing cowboy", a reference to the fictional character

Hopalong Cassidy Hopalong Cassidy is a fictional cowboy hero created in 1904 by the author Clarence E. Mulford, who wrote a series of short stories and novels based on the character. Mulford portrayed the character as rude, dangerous, and rough-talking. He wa ...

. In that game, Cassady came off the bench to score three touchdowns in a win over

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

. During an Ohio State practice in 1953, Cassady was having trouble executing an off-tackle run. At this point Coach

Woody Hayes Wayne Woodrow Hayes (February 14, 1913 – March 12, 1987) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Denison University (1946–1948), Miami University in Oxford, Ohio (1949–1950), and Ohio State University (1951 ...

told Cassady to take a seat and brought in backup running back Robert Croce, who executed the play flawlessly and carried the ball for 20+ yards. Hayes then told Cassady, "Cassady, did you see that Croce was just slow enough to hit the hole. You're hitting the line too fast!" Cassady held some Ohio State career records for many years following his graduation. He held the career rushing record (2,466 yards) until it was surpassed by

Jim Otis James Lloyd Otis (born April 29, 1948) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons during the 1970s. Otis played college football for Ohio State University ...

in 1969, the career all-purpose yards record (4,403 yards) until surpassed by

Archie Griffin Archie Mason Griffin (born August 21, 1954) is a former American football running back. He played seven seasons in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals. As college football's only two-time Heisman Trophy winner, he is considered one of the greate ...

in 1974, and the scoring record (222 points) until surpassed by Pete Johnson in 1975. Cassady also played

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

for Ohio State. He led the team in

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s in 1955, and

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe o ...

s in 1956. He also became a member of the

Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American fraternal literary societies. The fraternity has 244 active (undergraduate) chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has initiated more t ...

fraternity there. He was a member of The Pigskin Club Of Washington, D.C. National Intercollegiate All-American Football Players Honor Roll.

Professional career

Cassady played eight seasons in the

: seven (1956-1961, and 1963) for the

, and one season (1962) split between the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conferenc ...

and the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

. In the NFL he was an all-purpose back, playing both receiver and running back and scoring 27 career touchdowns.

After football

After retiring from football, Cassady became an entrepreneur forming a company manufacturing concrete pipe. He then served as a scout for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...

team, and as the first base coach for their former AAA affiliate, the

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy merchant sailing vessels known as cli ...

. His son Craig Cassady played defensive back at Ohio State, and briefly in the NFL for the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

in the 1970s. Cassady died on September 20, 2019 at his home in Tampa, Florida. Howard Cassady, former American football player dies at 85
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References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cassady, Howard 1934 births 2019 deaths American football halfbacks Cleveland Browns players Detroit Lions players New York Yankees scouts Philadelphia Eagles players Ohio State Buckeyes baseball players Ohio State Buckeyes football players All-American college football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees Heisman Trophy winners Maxwell Award winners Baseball players from Columbus, Ohio Players of American football from Columbus, Ohio