Edward Earl Husmann (August 6, 1931 - August 30, 2018) was an American football defensive tackle who played in the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

(AFL) for the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 a ...

. He also played 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 ma ...

(NFL) for the

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ...

and the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

. He played college football for the

Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference, and the Cornhuskers compete in NCAA Divisi ...

Early years

Husmann attended

Ogallala High School Ogallala High School is a secondary school located in Ogallala, Nebraska, United States. About OHS is part of the Ogallala Public School District. The school takes in students from Prairie View School. Athletics The Indians are members of th ...

, earning All-state and All-conference honors as a senior in football. He also played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, ran

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the short ...

and

wrestled Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat sports ...

. He walked-on to the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

. He became a starter as a senior, at right tackle on both sides of the ball. He was also a member of the wrestling team, and won the Big Seven Conference heavyweight wrestling championship as a senior. In 2004, he was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame. In 2006, he was inducted into the Nebraska High School Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Chicago Cardinals

Husmann was selected by the

in the ninth round (99th overall) of the

1953 NFL Draft The 1953 National Football League Draft was held on January 22, 1953, at Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the ...

and began his career on the

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

. He spent the next two years out of football, while serving his military service in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

. He returned to the team in

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...

Dallas Cowboys

He was selected by the

in the 1960 NFL Expansion Draft. He became the first starter at right defensive tackle in franchise history. He was waived on September 5,

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

Houston Oilers

, he was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

and was used at defensive tackle and

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is p ...

. That year, he played a key role in the team winning their second straight championship and was the runner-up to

Billy Cannon William Abb Cannon (August 2, 1937 – May 20, 2018) was an American football halfback, fullback and tight end who played professionally in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He attended Louisiana State Uni ...

in the MVP voting for the title game. He was released on August 8,

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo is ...

. He left with the franchise single-game sack record (4). During his professional career, he played every line position, offensive and defensive, except for center.

Edmonton Eskimos (CFL)

, he signed with the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Comm ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...

Personal life

Husmann died on August 30, 2018, in Austin,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

at the age of 87.

Notes and references

External links

Nebraska Corn Huskers bioNebraska High School Hall of Fame bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Husmann, Ed 1931 births 2018 deaths People from Schuyler, Nebraska Players of American football from Nebraska American football defensive tackles Nebraska Cornhuskers football players Nebraska Cornhuskers wrestlers Chicago Cardinals players Dallas Cowboys players Houston Oilers players Edmonton Elks players American Football League All-Star players American Football League players United States Army soldiers