Manchester Haynes Wheeler (March 2, 1939 – August 11, 2018) was an American

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 ...

quarterback. 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 ...

at the University of Maine, serving as a versatile

utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water polo. The ...

who kicked and played defense in addition to quarterbacking in a brief revival of the one-platoon system era. He played four games in the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

with the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

, serving as backup to

Jack Kemp Jack French Kemp (July 13, 1935 – May 2, 2009) was an American politician and a professional football player. A member of the Republican Party from New York, he served as Housing Secretary in the administration of President George H. W. Bu ...

, before the team signed Daryle Lamonica the following season. He spent much of the next several years as a quarterback in the minor leagues. His most successful season was in 1968, when, mostly acting as a game manager in a run-heavy offense that included Marv Hubbard and Mel Meeks, he led the

Hartford Knights The Hartford Knights were a professional American football team based in Hartford, Connecticut. They began play in 1968 as a member of the Atlantic Coast Football League, replacing the Hartford Charter Oaks. For the 1969 season, they became the af ...

to a 15-1 season before being unceremoniously benched in the Atlantic Coast Football League championship in favor of rookie Dick Faucette. Following that season, he left to join his final team, the

Continental Football League The Continental Football League (COFL) was a professional American football minor league that operated in North America from 1965 through 1969. It was established following the collapse of the original United Football League, and hoped to beco ...

Portland Loggers The Portland Loggers were a professional American football team based in Portland, Oregon. They were members of the Continental Football League and only lasted one year. Featuring much of the roster of the defunct Orange County Ramblers, the team ...

References

1939 births 2018 deaths Sportspeople from Augusta, Maine American football quarterbacks Maine Black Bears football players Buffalo Bills players Players of American football from Maine American Football League players {{quarterback-1930s-stub

See also

References