Ward Lloyd Cuff (August 12, 1913 – December 24, 2002) 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 halfback and

placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...

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) for 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 ...

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ca ...

, and

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 ...

. 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 ...

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It was established as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, by John Henni, the first Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Ar ...

and was drafted in the fourth round of the 1937 NFL draft. As a fullback at Marquette, Cuff played in the first Cotton Bowl game, in

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...

, losing to

TCU TCU may stand for: Education * Tanzania Commission for Universities, regulatory body for Universities in Tanzania * Texas Christian University, a private university in Fort Worth, Texas ** TCU Horned Frogs, the athletic programs of the school * Tok ...

. He was also Marquette's heavyweight boxing champion and held the school record in the

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown as far as possible. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's de ...

. Cuff played for the Giants from 1937 to 1945, won 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 ...

in 1938, and became the team's career scoring leader with 319 points before being traded to the Cardinals. He played one season with the Cardinals and one with the Packers. He led the NFL in field goals made four times. After his NFL career, Cuff coached high school football in Green Bay, was an assistant coach for the

Oregon State Beavers football The Oregon State Beavers football team represents Oregon State University in NCAA Division I FBS college football. The team first fielded an organized football team in 1893 and is a member of the Pac-12 Conference. Their home games are played at ...

team, and later worked for

The Boeing Company The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...

. His number 14 was retired by the Giants, although owner

Wellington Mara Wellington Timothy Mara (August 14, 1916 – October 25, 2005) was an American professional football executive. He was the co-owner of the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL) from 1959 until his death. He was the younger son o ...

gave

Y. A. Tittle Yelberton Abraham Tittle Jr. (October 24, 1926 – October 8, 2017) was an American professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants; he also ...

permission to wear it during his time with the Giants from 1961 to 1964. It was retired again in honor of both players.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

JockBio.com
1913 births 2002 deaths American football running backs Chicago Cardinals players Green Bay Packers players Marquette Golden Avalanche football players New York Giants players People from Redwood Falls, Minnesota United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II NFL players with retired numbers 20th-century American sportsmen {{runningback-1910s-stub