Herman Sidney "Eagle" Day (October 2, 1932 – February 22, 2008) was an American
punter 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 ...
for 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 ...
and
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
in the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
with the
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fie ...
,
Calgary Stampeders
The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-o ...
and the
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...
. He played
college football and
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
at the
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi ( byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment ...
.
College career
Day was a two-time All-
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...
quarterback for the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss)
Rebels, leading Ole Miss to SEC titles in
1954 and
1955 with a combination of running and passing skills.
Day led Ole Miss to a 26–5–1 record in three seasons while playing for coach
Johnny Vaught
John Howard Vaught (May 6, 1909 – February 3, 2006) was an American college football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) from 1947 to 1970 and aga ...
. He was the MVP of the 1956
Cotton Bowl Classic
The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game that has been held annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its namesake stadium i ...
after leading Ole Miss to a 14–13 upset victory over
Texas Christian in the Rebels first major bowl game. After a late-game 25-yard scramble during the 1956 Cotton Bowl Classic game against Texas Christian University, he was given the nickname "The Mississippi Gambler". Day completed 111 of 233 passes for 2,022 yards and 14 touchdowns during his Ole Miss career. Not counting bowl statistics, he had 2,428 yards of total offense and was responsible for 21 touchdowns. His first pass in college (vs. Chattanooga) in 1953 was a 63-yard touchdown.
As a pitcher, Day was with the Rebels baseball team in 1956 when it went to the
College World Series
The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...
.
Professional career
Day played ten years in the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
with the
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fie ...
,
Calgary Stampeders
The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-o ...
and
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...
and two years in the NFL with 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 ...
. His time spent in the CFL was as a quarterback. His two years spent in the NFL with the Redskins was as a punter.
Although Day was
drafted by the Washington Redskins in the 17th round of the
1956 NFL Draft, he did not join the Redskins until the 1959 and 1960 seasons, instead joining the Winnipeg Blue Bombers first for three years first.
In 1961, Day left the NFL for the CFL, joining the Calgary Stampeders, with which team he remained through the 1965 season. In 1962, he was an all-star and won the
Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy. When he left the Stampeders, he joined the Toronto Argonauts (the first of two Ole Miss stars to play quarterback for Toronto, the other being
Kent Austin
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
in 1995).
At the time of his death, Day's 226 playoff completions placed him fifth all-time, while his 3,132 playoff passing yards had him sixth for all-time.
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References
Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Day, Eagle
1932 births
2008 deaths
American football quarterbacks
American football punters
American players of Canadian football
Washington Redskins players
Calgary Stampeders players
Winnipeg Blue Bombers players
Toronto Argonauts players
Ole Miss Rebels baseball players
Ole Miss Rebels football players
People from Columbia, Mississippi
Players of American football from Mississippi
Baseball players from Mississippi
Canadian football quarterbacks