Alexander "Red" Webster (April 19, 1931 – March 3, 2012) 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 with ...
fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to:
Sports
* A position in various kinds of football, including:
** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position
** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...
and
halfback 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
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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
. He was also the
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
of the Giants from
1969
This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon.
Events January
* January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco.
* January 5
**Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...
to
1973
Events January
* January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...
.
Early life
The son of recent Scottish immigrants James and Alexandrina Webster, Alex Webster grew up in
Kearny, New Jersey
Kearny ( ) is a town in the western part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States and a suburb of Newark. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 40,684,[football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...]
at
Kearny High School. Webster played a key role on Kearny High School's football team which won the 1948 New Jersey High Schoo
State Championship After losing his father to cancer at an early age in 1941, Webster and his younger brother James were raised with the help of uncles and aunts and excelled in football, earning college scholarships.
As a senior at Kearny High School in 1948, Alex Webster was offered a full-ride scholarship from NFL legend
Beattie Feathers
William Beattie "Big Chief" Feathers (August 20, 1909 – March 11, 1979) was an American football player and coach of football and baseball. He played college football and college basketball at the University of Tennessee.
Early life and colle ...
to play
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
at
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...
. While playing for the Wolfpack, Alex "Big Red" Webster led the Southern Conference in scoring in 1951 with 78 points and remained a standout in 1952 before being drafted into the NFL.
National Football League career
Webster was
drafted in the 11th round of the
1953 NFL Draft
The 1953 National Football League Draft was held on January 22, 1953, at Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia. Selections made by the folded Dallas Texans were assigned to the new Baltimore Colts.
This was the seventh year that the first ove ...
by the
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 ...
, but chose to play professional
Canadian football
Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...
for the
Montreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...
from
1953
Events
January
* January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma.
* January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo.
* January 14
** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...
to
1954
Events
January
* January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany.
* January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting.
* January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...
. While in Canada, he was named a Big Four all-star in 1954 and played in that year's
Grey Cup
The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...
.
In
1955
Events January
* January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama.
* January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut.
* January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...
, Webster returned to the United States and played 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
from 1955 to
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...
. In his first year with the Giants, Webster led the team in rushing with 634 yards. While with the Giants, he rushed for 4,638 yards, caught 240 passes for 2,679 yards, and scored 56
touchdown
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...
s (39 rushing and 17 receiving). He was named to 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 ...
twice, in 1958 and 1961. With 336 points, Webster is 10th on the Giants' career scoring list.
In 1956, Webster played in 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 c ...
against the
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
featuring Hall of Fame players and coaches. Webster scored two touchdowns in the second half and contributed with 103 all-purpose yards. The game came to be known as the second "Sneakers Game" because the Giants chose to play in high-top Chuck Taylors due to icy field conditions. The Giants won the game 47-7.
As a player with the New York Giants, Webster played in six NFL Championship games: 1956, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963.
Sportscaster Marty Glickman coined the phrase "a couple or three yards" when describing Webster's running style.
Webster was considered one of the "all-time great Giants" and in 2011, was inducted into the New York Giants' "Ring of Honor". Alex Webster, LB Brad Van Pelt and Carl Banks, TE Mark Bavaro and P Dave Jennings headlined as the second class of the Giants' Ring of Honor inductees. Webster stated that this honor was among the proudest moments of his life. Webster made his last public speech addressing 80,000 fans in attendance accompanied by his grandsons.
Webster is further honored in the New York Giants' Legacy Club where his vintage #29 game jersey, as well as many historic photographs are displayed.
NFL coaching career
Webster eventually became an assistant Giant
coach
Coach may refer to:
Guidance/instruction
* Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities
* Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process
** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers
Transportation
* Co ...
under
Allie Sherman
Alex "Allie" Sherman (February 10, 1923 – January 3, 2015) was an American football player and coach who played 51 games in six seasons in the National Football League (NFL) as a quarterback and defensive back, and afterward served as head co ...
, and was promoted to
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
in September
1969
This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon.
Events January
* January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco.
* January 5
**Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...
.
He was named
UPI NFL Coach of the Year
The National Football League Coach of the Year Award is presented annually by various news and sports organizations to the National Football League (NFL) head coach who has done the most outstanding job of working with the talent he has at his disp ...
in
1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...
, as the Giants finished second in the
NFC East
The National Football Conference – Eastern Division or NFC East is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It currently has four members: the Dallas Cowboys ...
at 9–5–0, but a 2–11–1 record in
1973
Events January
* January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...
forced him to resign after five seasons.
His overall Giant coaching record was 29 wins, 40 losses, and one tie. His successors,
Bill Arnsbarger
William Stephen Arnsparger (December 16, 1926 – July 17, 2015) was an American college and professional football coach. He was born and raised in Paris, Kentucky, served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II, and graduated from Mi ...
and
John McVay
John Edward McVay (January 5, 1931 – October 31, 2022) was an American football coach and executive. He rose through the coaching ranks from high school, through the college level, and to the National Football League (NFL). He played colleg ...
, had similar outcomes as the team struggled through the 1970s.
Head Coaching Record
NFL
Personal life
Webster married Louise Eggers in 1952, and had two children (Debra and James), four grandchildren (Kyle, Craig, Tammy, and Alexis), three nephews (Mark, David, and Todd), and a niece (Kristen). Webster also had four grandnieces: Elena, Alexandra, Alexandrina, and Maryn, and great-grandchildren Rachel and Colt.
After retiring from the NFL, Webster worked in sales and public relations for Nabisco until the early 1990s. Webster also worked in public relations for the Dinah Shore Golf Classic, appearing with former athletes and celebrities such as Joe DiMaggio, Willie Mays, Charley Conerley, Frank Gifford, Bob Hope, and President Gerald R. Ford. Webster served as a color commentator for the New York Giants radio broadcasts in the 1960s.
On January 27, 1977, at
Toots Shor
Bernard "Toots" Shor (May 6, 1903 – January 23, 1977) was best known as the proprietor of a legendary saloon and restaurant, Toots Shor's Restaurant, in Manhattan. He ran three establishments under that name, but his first – and most reno ...
's funeral, Webster served as an honorary pallbearer along with Pete Rozelle, Art Rooney, Bowie Kuhn, Frank Gifford, Walter Cronkite and Howard Cosell.
Webster owned two restaurants after retiring from the NFL. His first restaurant was called The Stadium, located in
Sea Girt, New Jersey
Sea Girt is a borough in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 1,828,[Tequesta, Florida
Tequesta is an incorporated village in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 6,158 at the 2020 Census. It is the northernmost municipality in the South Florida- Miami metropolitan area, which in 2010 had a total population ...]
.
On Nov. 18, 1962, Webster made a guest appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show (Episode #16.8).
Webster appeared on the gameshow Password which aired on March 16, 1964, with teammate Frank Gifford & actress Betsy Palmer (Season 4, Episode 48).
Death
Webster died March 3, 2012, in
Port St. Lucie, Florida
Port St. Lucie is a city in St. Lucie County, Florida, United States. It is the most populous municipality in the county with a population of 204,851 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is located southeast of Orlando, Florida, O ...
, aged 80.
New York Times Obituary, 5 March, 2012
/ref>
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Webster, Alex
1931 births
2012 deaths
American football fullbacks
American football halfbacks
American players of Canadian football
Canadian football running backs
Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players
Kearny High School (New Jersey) alumni
National Football League announcers
NC State Wolfpack football players
New York Giants announcers
New York Giants head coaches
New York Giants players
Montreal Alouettes players
People from Kearny, New Jersey
People from Sea Girt, New Jersey
Sportspeople from Hudson County, New Jersey