Albert Alexander "Ox" Wistert (December 28, 1920 – March 5, 2016) was an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
offensive tackle,
guard
Guard or guards may refer to:
Professional occupations
* Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault
* Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street
* Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning
* Prison ...
and
defensive tackle in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL) 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
. He played his entire nine-year NFL career for the Eagles and became their team
captain. He was named to play in the NFL's first
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
as an Eagle. During most of Wistert's career there were no football All-star games, although he was named to the league
All-Pro
All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...
team eight times.
Wistert played
college football at the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
. He is one of the three brothers—along with
Whitey and
Alvin
Alvin may refer to:
Places Canada
*Alvin, British Columbia United States
*Alvin, Colorado
*Alvin, Georgia
*Alvin, Illinois
* Alvin, Michigan
*Alvin, Texas
* Alvin, Wisconsin, a town
*Alvin (community), Wisconsin, an unincorporated community
Other ...
— who were named
All-American tackles
Tackle may refer to:
* In football:
** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football
** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football
** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...
at Michigan and later inducted into the
College Football Hall of Fame. He was the first Michigan alumnus to be selected to the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
. The Wistert brothers all wore jersey No. 11 at Michigan and are among the seven players who have had their numbers retired by the
Michigan Wolverines football program. Their number will be put back into circulation starting on November 10, 2012, before a Michigan home game against
Northwestern as part of the
Michigan Football Legend program.
Early life
Wistert, who was born in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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,
was from a Lithuanian family.
His father, Kazimer Wistert, was a
Spanish–American War
, partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence
, image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg
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veteran who was later killed in the line of duty while working for the
Chicago Police Department.
The story of the Wistert brothers at Michigan began when Whitey's
Carl Schurz High School
Carl Schurz High School is a public 4–year high school located in the Irving Park neighborhood on the northwest side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. The school is named after German–American Carl Schurz, a statesman, soldier, and advoca ...
classmate John Kowalik was invited to visit the University of Michigan. At the time, Whitey Wistert had a factory job where he was involved with building Majestic radios. Kowalik took Whitey with him on his visit to
Ann Arbor, and according to Alvin, "that's how it started: the Wisterts of Michigan."
College football
After graduating from
Foreman High School,
Wistert became the second of the Wistert brothers to play for Michigan where he wore number 11 like his brothers and played from 1940 to 1942. He was a consensus All-American and team
MVP
In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
in 1942.
He played in the 1943
East–West Shrine Game.
He is well remembered, among other things, for his exploits in a 1942 game against the
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team,
and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1968, one year after his brother Francis.
In 1981, he was named to the University of Michigan Hall of Honor in the fourth class of inductees alongside his brothers. Only five Michigan football players earned this honor before him.
Michigan posted a 20–5–1 record during Wistert's three years on the team. In 1940, the team's only loss in its eight-game season was to the eventual national champion
Minnesota Golden Gophers football
The Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represents the University of Minnesota in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Founded in 1882, Minnesota has been a member of the Big Ten Conference since its incept ...
. The Wolverines followed that season with 6–1–1 and 7–3 marks in the next two years. Wistert served as captain of the College All-star team that beat the
Sammy Baugh
Samuel Adrian Baugh (March 17, 1914 – December 17, 2008) was an American professional football player and coach. During his college and professional careers, he most notably played quarterback, but also played as a safety and punter. He ...
-led
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
champion
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
, 27–7, in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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.
He was the only one of the three brothers not to play on a national championship squad at Michigan.
Professional football
After being
drafted in the fifth round by 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
and signing for $3800 ($ today), he encountered animosity from veteran players for having signed such a large contract (though they thought he signed for $4500). He earned All-Pro honors in eight (four by consensus)
of his nine seasons.
As a two-way player,
he played his entire nine-year career for the Philadelphia Eagles (who operated as a merged team with the
Pittsburgh Steelers for one season during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
.
) The National Football League had no All-Star games between
1943
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured.
* January 4 ...
and
1950
Events January
* January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed.
* January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...
. Thus, although Wistert was a perennial
All-Pro
All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...
selection, it is difficult to compare him to more modern players who are often measured by
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
invitations. He served as Eagles
captain for five consecutive seasons, from
1946 to 1950,
and was named All-Pro in each season.
In Wistert's next to last season he was selected to the first Pro Bowl. In his final season, he recovered three
fumbles.
The Eagles won the
1948 and
1949 National Football League Championships with Wistert. These were the only consecutive
National Football League champions to win by shutout.
His number 70 was retired by the Eagles in 1952.
According to his
College Football Hall of Fame biography, during his career he started every game the Eagles played except for the 1950 season opener against the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...
.
However, according to other statistical databases he started 84 of his career 95 games.
His jersey number is one of nine retired by the Eagles.
In 2005, Wistert lamented not having been enshrined in the
Professional Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...
and on Philadelphia Eagles Honor Roll:
Wistert was inducted into the Philadelphia Eagles Honor Roll on September 29, 2009, along with
Randall Cunningham
Randall Wade Cunningham Sr. (born March 27, 1963) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He spent the majority of his career with the Philadelphia Eagles and is also known for ...
. In 2003, he was named to the
Pro Football Researchers Association
The Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA) is an organization of researchers whose mission is to preserve and, in some cases, reconstruct professional football history. It was founded on June 22, 1979 in Canton, Ohio by writer/hist ...
Hall of Very Good in the association's inaugural HOVG class; he is one of two players that the Association officially supports for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Later life and family
After football, Wistert became a successful
life insurance salesman. He sold insurance for 40 years.
Among the places he has lived since retirement are
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
and
Grants Pass, Oregon.
He was married to his late wife Ellie for 61 years and has three daughters (Pam, Dianna and Kathy) and three grandchildren.
At one point he was both coaching football at
Riverside High School in
Riverside Township, New Jersey
Riverside Township is a township in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 8,079, reflecting an increase of 168 (+2.1%) from the 7,911 counted in the 2000 Census, which ...
and playing professionally.
According to brother Alvin, their father "was born Casmir Vistertus and he Anglicized it when he came to America to Wistert."
Wistert died on March 5, 2016, in
Grants Pass, Oregon at the age of 95.
See also
*
List of Michigan Wolverines football All-Americans
Michigan Wolverines football All-Americans are American football players who have been named as All-Americans while playing for the University of Michigan football team.
Overview
Since 1898, 134 Michigan Wolverines football players have earned fi ...
*
University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor The University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor, founded in 1978, recognizes University of Michigan athletes, coaches, and administrators who have made significant contributions to the university's athletic programs.
References
Sources
*
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wistert, Al
1920 births
2016 deaths
All-American college football players
American football tackles
American people of Lithuanian descent
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players
High school football coaches in New Jersey
Michigan Wolverines football players
Philadelphia Eagles players
Players of American football from Chicago
Steagles players and personnel
National Football League players with retired numbers