Howard D. Stidham (born December 17, 1954) is an American former 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 ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

who played one season with the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

of 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 was selected by the 49ers in the fifteenth round of the

1976 NFL draft The 1976 NFL draft was an annual player selection meeting held April 8–9, 1976, at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, New York. The draft lasted 17 rounds, with the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks making the first two ...

after playing

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 ...

Tennessee Technological University Tennessee Technological University (commonly referred to as Tennessee Tech) is a Public university, public research university in Cookeville, Tennessee. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and before that as University of D ...

Early life and college

Howard D. Stidham was born on December 17, 1954, in

Radcliff, Kentucky Radcliff is a home rule-class city in Hardin County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was around 23,042 as of the 2020 Census, up from 21,692 from the 2010 census. Its economy is largely dominated by the adjacent U.S. Army base ...

. He attended

North Hardin High School North Hardin High School, located in Radcliff, Kentucky, United States, has a student population of approximately 1,600. The school, a part of Hardin County Public Schools, was founded in 1962. The athletics teams are known as the Trojans. The ...

in Radcliff. Stidham was a four-year

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for the

Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles The Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Tennessee Technological University (TTU), located in Cookeville, Tennessee, United States. The TTU athletic program is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) and ...

from 1972 to 1975. He earned All-

Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in partnership with ...

honors in 1975.

Professional career

Stidham was selected by the

in the 15th round, with the 416th overall pick, of the

. He was released on August 25, 1976. Stidham signed with the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

in June 1977. He was released on August 30, 1977. Stidham was signed by the

on November 16, 1977. He played in four games on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

for the 49ers during the 1977 season. He left camp in July 1978.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stidham, Howard Living people 1954 births Players of American football from Kentucky American football linebackers Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles football players San Francisco 49ers players Green Bay Packers players People from Radcliff, Kentucky Sportspeople from Hardin County, Kentucky