Hubbard Lindsay "Axe" Alexander (February 14, 1939 – August 28, 2016) was an American college and 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 ...

coach. As an assistant coach, he won three

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s with 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

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) and two national championships at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

. 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 ...

Tennessee State University Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tennes ...

Early life

Alexander played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

, basketball and baseball at Atkins High School in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the List of municipalities in North Carolina, fifth-most populous ...

. He earned four

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in football, three in basketball and four in baseball. He was captain of the 1958 football and basketball teams his senior year while earning All-City/County and All-State honors in football. Alexander led the basketball team to the N.C.H.S.A.A. State Championship during the 1956–57 season.

College career

Alexander played

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for the

Tennessee State Tigers The Tennessee State Tigers and Lady Tigers are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Tennessee State University (TSU), located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The Tigers athletic program is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) an ...

. He lettered his freshman year, and started the next three years. He garnered All-Midwestern Conference accolades his junior and senior years. Alexander earned

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors his senior year. He was also a team captain three years in a row. He graduated with a degree in Health and Physical Education in 1962.

Coaching career

Alexander was a graduate assistant for the Tennessee State Tigers from 1962 to 1963. He coached at George Washington High School in

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from 1963 to 1965. He coached at Lester High School in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

from 1966 to 1970. Alexander was the head coach and athletic director at East High School in Memphis from 1971 to 1974. He served as defensive line and tight ends coach for the

Vanderbilt Commodores The Vanderbilt Commodores are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Vanderbilt University, located in Nashville, Tennessee. Vanderbilt fields 16 varsity teams (6 men's teams and 10 women's teams), 14 of which compete at the National ...

from 1975 to 1978. He was the tight ends coach of the

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes, known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes, are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

from 1979 to 1984 and the wide receivers coach from 1985 to 1988. The Hurricanes won the national championship in 1983 and 1987. Alexander served as wide receivers coach of the

of the NFL from 1989 to 1997, winning

Super Bowl XXVII Super Bowl XXVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Buffalo Bills and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the ...

, XXVIII and

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. He was the wide receivers coach of the NFL's

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

from 1998 to 1999. He served as wide receivers coach of 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 National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

of the NFL from 2000 to 2003. Alexander was an assistant coach for the

Cincinnati Marshals The Marshals were a professional indoor football team based out of Dayton, Ohio. They played their 2007 home games out of Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio, but are more famous for playing as the Cincinnati Marshals at U.S. Bank Arena for two seaso ...

of the

National Indoor Football League The National Indoor Football League (NIFL) was a professional indoor football league in the United States. For their first six years, the league had teams in markets not covered by either the Arena Football League or its developmental league, ...

in 2005. He has spent time as head coach at Melrose High School in Memphis.

Personal life

Alexander married his college sweetheart, Gloria Demire, in 1962. The couple went on to have three sons, Todd, Chad and Bard. Chad played college football for the

Wake Forest Demon Deacons The Wake Forest Demon Deacons are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Wake Forest University, located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Assoc ...

, and is currently the Assistant General Manager for the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

of the NFL. There are eight grandchildren: Morgan, Nicholas, Sofia, Chloe, Charlotte, Harper, Hadley and Hunter. Axe and Gloria remained married until his death. Hubbard died in Reisterstown Maryland on August 28, 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Hubbard 1939 births 2016 deaths American football centers Dallas Cowboys coaches Miami Hurricanes football coaches Minnesota Vikings coaches New Orleans Saints coaches Tennessee State Tigers football coaches Tennessee State Tigers football players Vanderbilt Commodores football coaches High school football coaches in Illinois High school football coaches in Tennessee Players of American football from Winston-Salem, North Carolina African-American coaches of American football National Indoor Football League coaches