John Sandusky
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John Thomas "Sandy" Sandusky, Jr. (December 28, 1925 – March 5, 2006) was an
American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
player and coach. He played seven seasons as an offensive and
defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...
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) during the 1950s for the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
and 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 ...
before starting a 36-year career as an assistant coach. He was head coach of the
Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...
for part of the 1972 season. Sandusky grew up in
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
and attended the nearby
Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Saint Thom ...
. He played tackle on Villanova's football team and was named a first-team
All-America 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 ...
n in 1949, his
senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...
year. The Browns selected him in the second round of the
1950 NFL draft The 1950 NFL draft was held January 20–21, 1950, at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia. With the league absorbing the Baltimore Colts, Cleveland Browns, and San Francisco 49ers from the All-America Football Conference, these three t ...
. Sandusky played six seasons for the Browns, who won NFL championships in 1950, 1954 and 1955 behind an offense that featured
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 ...
Otto Graham Otto Everett Graham Jr. (December 6, 1921 – December 17, 2003) was an American professional American football, football quarterback who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League ...
and
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 ...
Dante Lavelli Dante Bert Joseph Lavelli (February 23, 1923 – January 20, 2009), nicknamed "Gluefingers", was an American professional football end who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and the National Football ...
. He spent the 1956 season with the Packers before ending his playing career. Sandusky started coaching at Villanova for two years before being hired as an assistant with the Baltimore Colts in 1959. He spent 13 seasons in Baltimore overseeing the offensive and defensive lines under head coaches
Weeb Ewbank Wilbur Charles "Weeb" Ewbank ( ; May 6, 1907 – November 17, 1998) was an American professional football coach. He led the Baltimore Colts to consecutive NFL championships in 1958 and 1959 and the New York Jets to victory in Super Bowl III in J ...
,
Don Shula Donald Francis Shula ( ; January 4, 1930 – May 4, 2020) was an American professional American football, football player, coach and executive who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1963 to 1995. He played seven s ...
and Don McCafferty. Led by quarterback
Johnny Unitas John Constantine Unitas (; May 7, 1933 – September 11, 2002) was an American professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Baltimore Colts. Nicknamed "J ...
, the Colts won an
NFL championship Throughout its history, the National Football league (NFL) and other rival American football leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champions, including a period of inter-league matchups to determine a true national ...
in 1959 and beat 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 ...
to win
Super Bowl V Super Bowl V was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 1970 Baltimore Colts season, Baltimore Colts and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 1970 Dallas Cowboys season, Dallas Cowboys ...
in 1970. When McCafferty was fired midway through the 1972 season, Sandusky replaced him as head coach. Sandusky himself was fired after the season, however, and went on to spend three years as an assistant for the
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
, followed by 19 seasons with the
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...
under Shula. His son
Gerry Gerry is both a surname and a masculine or feminine given name. As a given name, it is often a short form (hypocorism) of Gerard, Gerald or Geraldine. Notable people with the name include: Surname *Elbridge Gerry (1744–1814), fifth US vice pres ...
is a radio broadcaster in Baltimore and calls
Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...
games.


Early life and college

Sandusky, who was of Polish and Irish heritage, grew up in
South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south, and the Schuylkill River to the west."." ''City of Philadelphia''. Retrieved November 8, ...
and attended
South Philadelphia High School South Philadelphia High School is a public secondary high school located in the Lower Moyamensing neighborhood of South Philadelphia, at the intersection of Broad Street and Snyder Avenue. The school serves grades 9 through 12 and is part of ...
. After graduating in 1945, and serving his country in World War II, he enrolled at
Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Saint Thom ...
outside of Philadelphia, where he was a starting tackle for four years. Villanova had winning records in each year Sandusky played there between 1946 and 1949 under head coaches
Jordan Olivar Jordan A. Olivar (January 30, 1915 – October 17, 1990) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Villanova College—now known as Villanova University—from 1943 to 1948, at Loyola University of Los An ...
and
Jim Leonard James Leonard may refer to: * Bobo Leonard (James Leonard), American Negro League baseball player * James Leonard, co-host of The Two Norries podcast * James Leonard, one of the co-proprietors of the Beverly Cotton Manufactory * James A. Leonard (1 ...
. The team won the Harbor Bowl after the 1948 season. Sandusky was named a first-team
All-America 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 ...
n by the ''
New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American conservative news website and former newspaper based in Manhattan, New York. From 2009 to 2021, it operated as an (occasional and erratic) online-only publisher of political and economic opinion pieces, as we ...
'' in 1949, his
senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...
year.


Professional career

The
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
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) selected Sandusky in the second round of the 1950 draft. He played mostly as a defensive tackle early in his career, but also worked on offense following the retirement of
Lou Rymkus Louis Joseph "the Battler" Rymkus (November 6, 1919 – October 31, 1998) was an American football player and coach in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL). Playing as ...
in 1952. Led by a strong defense and an offense that featured
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 ...
Otto Graham Otto Everett Graham Jr. (December 6, 1921 – December 17, 2003) was an American professional American football, football quarterback who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League ...
and
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 ...
Dante Lavelli Dante Bert Joseph Lavelli (February 23, 1923 – January 20, 2009), nicknamed "Gluefingers", was an American professional football end who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and the National Football ...
, the Browns advanced to the NFL championship in each of Sandusky's six seasons with the team. The team beat the
Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...
to win the championship in 1950, but lost the ensuing three championship games to the Rams and twice to the
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...
. Cleveland beat the Lions to win the title in 1954, however, and won it again in 1955 over the Rams. Cleveland coach
Paul Brown Paul Eugene Brown (September 7, 1908 – August 5, 1991) was an American American football, football coach and executive in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), the National Football League (NFL), and the American Football League (AFL). ...
traded Sandusky along with halfback Chet Lyssy to 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 August 1956 for a late-round draft pick in 1957. While Brown called Sandusky a "fine football player", the coach wanted to replenish the roster with younger players. Sandusky played one year for the Packers before leaving football.


Coaching career

After retiring as a player, Sandusky began a long coaching career. His first job was as an assistant at his alma mater Villanova in 1957. He stayed there until 1959, when he was hired by
Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...
head coach
Weeb Ewbank Wilbur Charles "Weeb" Ewbank ( ; May 6, 1907 – November 17, 1998) was an American professional football coach. He led the Baltimore Colts to consecutive NFL championships in 1958 and 1959 and the New York Jets to victory in Super Bowl III in J ...
, who had been an assistant with the Browns when Sandusky played in Cleveland. He was initially the defensive line coach for the Colts, who finished Sandusky's first season with a 9–3
win–loss record Win–loss may refer to: * Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action * Win–loss record, also winning percentage * Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...
and won the NFL West behind an offense led by quarterback
Johnny Unitas John Constantine Unitas (; May 7, 1933 – September 11, 2002) was an American professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Baltimore Colts. Nicknamed "J ...
and halfback
Lenny Moore Leonard Edward Moore (born November 25, 1933) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a Halfback (American football), halfback and wide receiver, flanker for the Baltimore Colts of the National Football Leag ...
. The Colts went on to win the
NFL championship Throughout its history, the National Football league (NFL) and other rival American football leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champions, including a period of inter-league matchups to determine a true national ...
over the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...
. The Colts fired Ewbank in early 1963 and replaced him with
Don Shula Donald Francis Shula ( ; January 4, 1930 – May 4, 2020) was an American professional American football, football player, coach and executive who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1963 to 1995. He played seven s ...
, who had been an assistant with the
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...
and played with Sandusky in Cleveland in 1951 and 1952. Shula retained Sandusky on his staff when he took over, and the Colts went on to win the NFL West with a 12–2 record in 1964. The team was heavily favored to win the
NFL championship game Throughout its history, the National Football league (NFL) and other rival American football leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champions, including a period of inter-league matchups to determine a true national ...
, but lost to the Browns by a 27–0 score. By 1965, Sandusky was the Colts'
offensive line coach In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, associate and assistant coach, and the Offensive coordinator, offensive a ...
as the team continued to succeed with Unitas at quarterback. The Colts won the NFL Championship in 1968, but lost to the AFL Champion
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...
in
Super Bowl III Super Bowl III was an American football championship game played on January 12, 1969, at the Miami Orange Bowl, Orange Bowl in Miami, Miami, Florida. It was the third AFL–NFL Championship Game in professional American football, and the fi ...
. Sandusky stayed on as an assistant when Shula left after the 1969 season and was replaced by Don McCafferty. The Colts finished with an 11–2–1 win–loss–tie record in 1970 and beat 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 ...
to win
Super Bowl V Super Bowl V was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 1970 Baltimore Colts season, Baltimore Colts and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 1970 Dallas Cowboys season, Dallas Cowboys ...
. The team reached the conference championship game the following year, but faltered at the beginning of the 1972 season. After starting with a 1–4 record, Baltimore general manager Joe Thomas fired McCafferty in October, saying the team was going to replenish its roster with younger players. The move was one of Thomas's first after new Colts owner
Robert Irsay Robert Irsay (March 5, 1923 – January 14, 1997) was an American professional football team owner. He owned the National Football League (NFL)'s Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts franchise from 1972 until his death in 1997. He was the father of for ...
hired him at the beginning of the season. Thomas named Sandusky the team's new coach and charged him with replenishing the roster. At Thomas's urging, Sandusky immediately benched Unitas and replaced him with Marty Domres, a quarterback acquired from the
San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...
in a preseason trade. While Unitas was in his 17th season and reaching the end of his career, taking him out was a controversial decision because of the success he had. Sandusky's run as head coach of the Colts was unsuccessful. Baltimore suffered a last-minute loss to the
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...
in Sandusky's first game, followed by another loss to the
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...
. The Colts won four of their next five games, however, and finished the season with a 5–9 record. Although Sandusky managed a 4–5 win–loss record as coach, Thomas fired him and his coaching staff immediately after the season, saying he made the move only "because I thought it should be done." When Mike McCormack was hired as head coach of the
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
in early 1973, he brought Sandusky in as an offensive assistant. Sandusky spent three years under McCormack, who had played with Sandusky as an offensive tackle for the Browns in 1954 and 1955. Sandusky rejoined Shula in 1976, becoming the offensive line coach for the Dolphins. He replaced Monte Clark, who had left the team to become head coach of 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 ...
. He stayed with the Dolphins for 19 seasons through 1994, all of them under Shula. The Dolphins advanced to the
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...
twice during Sandusky's tenure with the team, in 1982 and 1984, but lost both times. He was offered a job as director of pro personnel for the Colts before the team moved to Indianapolis in 1984, but he declined it, saying he wanted to stay near his family in Florida. Sandusky coached a number of linemen later inducted into the
Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...
during his 36-season coaching career, including
Art Donovan Arthur James "Fatso" Donovan Jr. (June 5, 1924 – August 4, 2013), was an American professional American football, football player who was a defensive tackle for three National Football League (NFL) teams, primarily the Baltimore Colts. He pla ...
, Gino Marchetti and Jim Parker with the Colts and
Jim Langer James John Langer (May 16, 1948 – August 29, 2019) was an American professional football player who was a center and guard in the National Football League (NFL) for the Miami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings. ''BBC Sport'' reported him as one ...
and Dwight Stephenson with the Dolphins.


Later life and death

Sandusky was inducted into the South Philadelphia High School Hall of Fame in 1973. Sandusky's son Joe died in 1978 of pneumonia, and his wife Ruth died in 1985. Sandusky was married to his second wife, Shirley, until he died of complications from
Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...
, which was diagnosed in 2001, and
internal bleeding Internal bleeding (also called internal haemorrhage) is a loss of blood from a blood vessel that collects inside the body, and is not usually visible from the outside. It can be a serious medical emergency but the extent of severity depends on b ...
while hospitalized in 2006. He had four living children at the time of his death and four Step-children. One of his sons, Gerry Sandusky, is the sports director at
WBAL-TV WBAL-TV (channel 11) is a television station in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is the flagship property of Hearst Television, which has owned the station since its inception, and is sister to the company's sole ra ...
in Baltimore and calls
Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...
games. Sandusky was considered a talented assistant. Long-time
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...
general manager
Ernie Accorsi Ernest William Accorsi Jr. (born October 29, 1941) is an American former professional football executive. He served as the general manager of three teams in the National Football League (NFL): the Baltimore Colts, Cleveland Browns, and New York ...
once called him "the greatest coach in the history of the league that never got a chance".


References


Bibliography

* * *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sandusky, John 1925 births 2006 deaths Players of American football from Philadelphia American football offensive tackles American football defensive tackles Villanova Wildcats football players Cleveland Browns players Green Bay Packers players Baltimore Colts coaches Philadelphia Eagles coaches Miami Dolphins coaches American people of Irish descent American people of Polish descent American military personnel of World War II Deaths from bleeding Deaths from dementia in Florida Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in Florida Baltimore Colts head coaches South Philadelphia High School alumni