Louis Cody Sossamon (June 2, 1921 – February 11, 2019) 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 ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

and

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 three seasons with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

of the

All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a major professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many ...

(AAFC). 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 ...

at the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

, having previously attended high school in his hometown of

Gaffney, South Carolina Gaffney is a city in and the county seat, seat of Cherokee County, South Carolina, United States, in the upstate South Carolina, Upstate region of South Carolina. Gaffney is known as the "Peach Capital of South Carolina". The population was 12,53 ...

. He is a member of the University of South Carolina and South Carolina State Athletic Halls of Fame.

Early life

Lou Sossamon was born June 2, 1921 in

. He attended Gaffney High School, where he demonstrated prowess on the football field.

College career

Sossamon caught the attention of head coach Rex Enright of the

(USC), who offered him an athletic scholarship to play football at the school. Sossamon attended USC from 1939 to 1943,"Destined to Be Publisher: A Family History in Gaffney,"
South Carolina Press Association, www.scpress.org distinguishing himself as a

on the offensive side of the ball and

on defense. As a senior in

1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...

, Sossamon was selected to the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

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 ...

team, becoming the first South Carolina Gamecocks player so honored."Sossamon was USC's First AP All-America Selection,"
''The State'' olumbia, SC Feb. 12, 2019, p. B1. Sossamon graduated in January 1943, becoming part of USC's first mid-year commencement — an expedited schedule brought on by the exigencies of

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 ...

.Tom Price
"Where Are They Now? Lou Sossamon,"
gamecocksonline.com, Nov. 16, 2003.

Wartime and professional football

Sossamon was selected in the sixth round of the 1943 NFL draft by 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 ...

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), who made him the 47th overall selection. However, owing to

, Sossamon enlisted in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

, in which he served through the end of the war. During the war he played service football, first for

Bainbridge Naval Training Center United States Naval Training Center Bainbridge (USNTC Bainbridge) was the U.S. Navy Training Center at Port Deposit, Maryland, on the bluffs of the northeast bank of the Susquehanna River. It was active from 1942 to 1976 under the Commander of ...

in Maryland, where he was teammates with future NFL star Charlie Justice and later for the Pearl Harbor naval team. He was placed with an outgoing unit to be deployed to the combat zone in the Pacific at the time of the

atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki On 6 and 9 August 1945, the United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively, during World War II. The aerial bombings killed between 150,000 and 246,000 people, most of whom were civili ...

and subsequent end of the war. In 1946, Sossamon resumed his professional football career, "trying to make a little money to buy a house with," he later recalled. He landed a spot on the roster of the

, a team in the new

(AAFC), a new professional league established as a rival to the NFL. Sossamon played for the Yankees during the

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

, and

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

seasons, spending his rookie year as a reserve and starting at center and linebacker during the latter two campaigns."Lou Sossamon statistics,"
Pro Football Reference, www.pro-football-reference.com According to his recollection more than 50 years after the fact, his first contract paid him $10,000 for the 1946 season. Among Sossamon's teammates with the Yankees were future

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 ...

head coach

Tom Landry Thomas Wade Landry ( ; September 11, 1924 – February 12, 2000) was an American professional football coach, player, and World War II veteran. Regarded as one of the greatest head coaches of all time, he was the first head coach of the Dallas ...

and pioneering black running back

Buddy Young Claude Henry K. "Buddy" Young (January 5, 1926 – September 4, 1983) was an American professional football player and executive in the National Football League (NFL). A native of Chicago, he was Illinois state champ in track and field in the 1 ...

, remembered by Sossamon as one of the best of his era.

Life after football

After his football career was over, he went to work for his father, who had taken over from his own father as publisher of the ''Gaffney Register,'' a local newspaper. He would spend his career as a newspaperman, buying the ''Register'' from his father in 1968 and remaining in that position until his retirement in 1999. Sossamon also served four terms as a member of the University of South Carolina board of trustees.

Death and legacy

Sossamon died in Gaffney, South Carolina, on February 11, 2019, at the age of 97 of "natural causes," according to his surviving daughter, Kit Smith, who added, "basically of playing too much football." She noted that Sossamon had been "spry and charming" until the last six weeks of his life, during which time his health had rapidly declined. Sossamon was married and had three children in all, later selling the ''Gaffney Register'' to a son to make that publication a rare four-generation family newspaper in the state of

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. Sossamon was named to the University of South Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame in 1968."Gamecock Legends: Lou Sossamon,"
Spurs & Feathers, www.spursandfeathers.com, February 27, 2014. He is also a member of the State of Carolina Hall of Fame.

References

External links

"Lou Sossamon Interview,"
South Carolina Press Association, via Vimeo, 2013. (Oral history video.) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sossamon, Lou 1921 births 2019 deaths American football centers American football linebackers Bainbridge Commodores football players New York Yankees (AAFC) players South Carolina Gamecocks football players Sportspeople from Gaffney, South Carolina Players of American football from South Carolina