Ben Needham (born c. 1959) is a former

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 ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

. He played

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 ...

for 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 ...

from 1978 to 1979 and in 1981 and professional football in the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL) for the Boston/New Orleans/Portland Breakers from 1983 to 1985. He was selected by the ''

Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'' as a first-team USFL All-League player in 1983.

Early years

Needham was born in

Groveport, Ohio Groveport is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, United States. It is a suburb of Columbus. The population was 6,009 at the 2020 census. Groveport was the hometown of John Solomon Rarey, a 19th-century horse whisperer, and developer of the Rarey t ...

, in approximately 1959. He attended

Groveport Madison High School Groveport-Madison High School is a high school in Groveport, Ohio, United States. The school's mascot is the Cruiser, a horse tamed by John Solomon Rarey. Cruiser Football The current coach for the 2021-2022 season is Mitch Westcamp. Eastla ...

, graduating in 1977.

University of Michigan

Needham enrolled at the

in 1977 and played college football as a linebacker for head coach

Bo Schembechler Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler Jr. ( ; April 1, 1929 – November 17, 2006) was an American football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1963 to 1968 and at the University of ...

Michigan Wolverines football The Michigan Wolverines football team represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins in college football history. The team is known for its ...

teams from 1978 to 1979 and in 1981. In 1978, he started two games at outside linebacker and one at inside linebacker and registered 23 tackles. In 1979, he started 11 games at

outside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

for Michigan, registering 46 tackles with one

pass breakup In American football, a pass deflected, also known as a pass deflection, a pass defended, a pass , a pass knockdown, or a pass breakup, is an incomplete pass that is caused by a defensive player. This is done by slapping or blocking the ball with ...

and one

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...

recovery. He was suspended from the team in March 1980. In 1981, he returned to the team and started 10 games at outside linebacker, totaling 71 tackles, two pass breakups, one interception and one fumble recovery.(to retrieve Needham's college statistics, enter "needham" in the box for the player's last name)

Professional football

Needham was selected by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

in the seventh round of the

1982 NFL Draft The 1982 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 27–28, 1982, at the New York She ...

. He was released by the Bengals in the final round of cuts prior to the start of the

1983 NFL season The 1983 NFL season was the 64th regular season of the National Football League. The Colts played their final season in Baltimore before the team's relocation to Indianapolis the following season. The season ended with Super Bowl XVIII when ...

. He played professional football in the

(USFL) for the Boston Breakers in 1983, the New Orleans Breakers in 1984 and the

Portland Breakers The Portland Breakers were an American football team that played in the United States Football League (USFL) in the mid-1980s. Before moving to Portland, Oregon, the franchise was previously in Boston, Massachusetts as the Boston Breakers and ...

in 1985. In March 1983, he returned a blocked field goal 68 yards for a touchdown against the

Denver Gold The Denver Gold was a franchise in the United States Football League, an attempt to establish a second major professional American football, football league in the United States, playing a springtime season, from 1983 to 1985. The Gold played the ...

. He was selected by the ''

'' as a first-team All-League player in 1983. In 1984, he registered 131 tackles and five

quarterback sack In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in th ...

Later years

Needham later served as the head football coach at his alma mater, Groveport Madison High School, from 1993 to 1998. He compiled a record of 12–36 as head coach.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Needham, Ben Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American football linebackers Boston/New Orleans/Portland Breakers players Michigan Wolverines football players High school football coaches in Ohio People from Groveport, Ohio Players of American football from Ohio