Herman Sidney "Eagle" Day (October 2, 1932 – February 22, 2008) was an American punter in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

and

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) with the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...

and the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

at the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

College career

Day was a two-time All-

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

quarterback for the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss)

Rebels A rebel is a participant in a rebellion. Rebel or rebels may also refer to: People * Rebel (given name) * Rebel (surname) * Patriot (American Revolution), during the American Revolution * American Southerners, as a form of self-identification; ...

, leading Ole Miss to SEC titles in

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

and 1955 with a combination of running and passing skills. Day led Ole Miss to a 26–5–1 record in three seasons while playing for coach Johnny Vaught. He was the MVP of the 1956

Cotton Bowl Classic The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its Cotton Bowl (stadium), namesake ...

after leading Ole Miss to a 14–13 upset victory over Texas Christian in the Rebels first major bowl game. After a late-game 25-yard scramble during the 1956 Cotton Bowl Classic game against Texas Christian University, he was given the nickname "The Mississippi Gambler". Day completed 111 of 233 passes for 2,022 yards and 14 touchdowns during his Ole Miss career. Not counting bowl statistics, he had 2,428 yards of total offense and was responsible for 21 touchdowns. His first pass in college (vs. Chattanooga) in 1953 was a 63-yard touchdown. As a pitcher, Day was with the Rebels baseball team in 1956 when it went to the

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is a baseball tournament held each June in Omaha, Nebraska. It is the culmination of the NCAA Division I baseball tournament—featuring 64 teams in the ...

Professional career

Day played ten years in the

with the

and

and two years in the NFL with the

. His time spent in the CFL was as a quarterback. His two years spent in the NFL with the Redskins was as a punter. Although Day was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the 17th round of the 1956 NFL draft, he did not join the Redskins until the 1959 and 1960 seasons, instead joining the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for three years first. In 1961, Day left the NFL for the CFL, joining the Calgary Stampeders, with which team he remained through the 1965 season. In 1962, he was an all-star and won the

Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy The Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy is a trophy awarded to the Canadian Football League West Division's most outstanding player, chosen from the nominees from each team in the division. Either this trophy winner or the winner of the Terry Evanshen Tr ...

. When he left the Stampeders, he joined the Toronto Argonauts (the first of two Ole Miss stars to play quarterback for Toronto, the other being Kent Austin in 1995). At the time of his death, Day's 226 playoff completions placed him fifth all-time, while his 3,132 playoff passing yards had him sixth for all-time.

References

Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Day, Eagle 1932 births 2008 deaths American football quarterbacks American football punters Players of Canadian football from Mississippi Washington Redskins players Calgary Stampeders players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Toronto Argonauts players Ole Miss Rebels baseball players Ole Miss Rebels football players Sportspeople from Columbia, Mississippi Players of American football from Mississippi Baseball players from Mississippi Canadian football quarterbacks 20th-century American sportsmen