Elbert Everett "Elbie" Nickel (December 28, 1922 – February 27, 2007) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

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). He played 11 seasons for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

(1947–1957). Nickel starred in three sports at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

– he was an

end End, END, Ending, or ENDS may refer to: End Mathematics *End (category theory) * End (topology) * End (graph theory) * End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) * End (endomorphism) Sports and games *End (gridiron football) *End, a division ...

on the

team, a top scorer on the

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

team and a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

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 ...

. His education was put on hold by

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

service in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Nickel returned to the University of Cincinnati at the conclusion of World War II and was part of the 1946 University of Cincinnati football team that played in the 1947 Sun Bowl where the University of Cincinnati defeated Virginia Tech. This was the first bowl game for the University of Cincinnati. Entering the 1947 NFL Draft, Nickel was listed at 6'1" and 196 lbs., minuscule for a tight end nowadays, but the game was different back then, and the Steelers would take Nickel in the 17 round with the 149th overall pick. Nickel's career with the Steelers almost didn't happen, since he received an offer from the local Cincinnati Reds to play baseball, but Nickel opted to sign with Pittsburgh and play football instead of baseball. Generally considered one of the best tight ends in Steelers' history, Nickel recorded 329 career receptions as a tight end and is now second in career receptions by a Steelers' tight end behind Heath Miller (490). Nickel was selected to the Pro Bowl three times, 1952, 1953 and 1956. In conjunction with the 2007 celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Steelers, Nickel was selected as one of 33 players on the

Pittsburgh Steelers All-Time Team The Pittsburgh Steelers All-Time Team was named as a part of the franchise's 75th season celebration in 2007. The club's top 33 players were selected in commemoration of the franchise's founding in 1933. The team was chosen on the basis of fan ...

. Nickel was selected to the Pittsburgh Steelers' Hall of Honor in 2019 along with tight end, tackle Larry Brown, coach

Bill Cowher William Laird Cowher (; born May 8, 1957) is an American sports analyst, former professional football player and coach. Following a six-year playing career as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL), he served as a head coach in the ...

and wide receiver

Hines Ward Hines Edward Ward Jr. (born March 8, 1976) is an American American football, football coach and former player who is the wide receivers coach for Arizona State Sun Devils football, Arizona State. He played as a wide receiver in the National Foo ...

. In 2022, Nickel was inducted into the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

References

External links

* 1922 births 2007 deaths People from Lewis County, Kentucky American football tight ends Cincinnati Bearcats football players Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball players United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army soldiers Pittsburgh Steelers players Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players American men's basketball players {{tightend-1920s-stub Sportspeople from Chillicothe, Ohio