Veryl A. Switzer (August 6, 1932 – June 4, 2022) was an American professional

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 ...

player who was a 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) and 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 ...

(CFL). He played in the NFL for 24 games with the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

before serving in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

for two years, playing professional football in Canada, and becoming an administrator at his alma mater Kansas State where he is a hall of famer.

Career

In 1954, the

used the 4th pick in the 1st round of the

1954 NFL Draft The 1954 National Football League Draft was held on January 28, 1954, at The Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia. This was the eighth year that the first overall pick was a bonus pick determined by lottery. With the previous seven winners i ...

to sign Switzer out of

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

where he played from 1951 to 1953. He held the career punt return record at KSU until 1995 and scored the second longest punt return touchdown in school history (93 yards on Sept 19 1953, one of two he posted that year). His best year was 1953 when he led Kansas State in rushing with 558 yards, receiving with eight catches for 211 yards, scoring with eight touchdowns and 49 points, punt returns with a 31.0-yard average and kick returns with a 22.3-yard average. Switzer was invited to the 1954 East–West Shrine Game. Switzer went on to play for two seasons with the Packers before serving two years in the United States Air Force as a first lieutenant. His attempt to resume his NFL career was unsuccessful when he was released by the Packers in September 1958. He headed north to professional football in the

with the

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-old ...

in 1958 and was subsequently traded to 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 ...

in March 1959. He played two seasons with that team.

Later years

Switzer later worked for the Chicago Board of Education for ten years before returning to Kansas State as an administrator in 1969. He received a Masters in Education from Kansas State in 1974. He was Co-Director, Earl Woods National Youth Golf Academy and Associate Athletic Director for Academics. Switzer developed Kansas State's first university-wide student minority program, including numerous programs which are still extant, including Ebony Theater, United Black Voices, a Black Student Union, and Hispanic advocacy groups. He was a charter member of the K-State Sports Hall of Fame. He is enshrined in the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame and the Kansas High School Activities Association Hall of Fame.

Death

Switzer died in Manhattan, Kansas, on June 4, 2022, at the age of 89.Veryl A. Switzer
obituary

References

Packers.comNFL.com
1932 births 2022 deaths 20th-century African-American sportspeople African-American players of American football African-American players of Canadian football People from Graham County, Kansas Players of American football from Kansas American football halfbacks Kansas State Wildcats football players Green Bay Packers players Calgary Stampeders players Montreal Alouettes players {{runningback-1930s-stub