Wilbur Charles "Weeb" Ewbank (May 6, 1907 – November 17, 1998) 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 ...
coach. He led the
Baltimore Colts
The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...
to consecutive
NFL championships
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 ...
in
1958 and
1959
Events January
* January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance.
* January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...
and the
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
to victory in
Super Bowl III
Super Bowl III was an American football game played on January 12, 1969 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. It was the third AFL–NFL Championship Game in professional American football, and the first to officially bear the trademark name "Su ...
in January
1969. He is the only coach to win a championship in both 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
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. ...
(AFL).
Raised in
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
, Ewbank attended
Miami University
Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...
in
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, where he was a multi-sport star who led his baseball, basketball, and football teams to state championships. He immediately began a coaching career after graduating, working at Ohio high schools between 1928 and 1943, when he entered the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. While in the military, Ewbank was an assistant to
Paul Brown
Paul Eugene Brown (September 7, 1908 – August 5, 1991) was an American football coach and executive in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL). Brown was both the co-founder and first coach of the Clevela ...
on a service football team at
Naval Station Great Lakes
Naval Station Great Lakes (NAVSTA Great Lakes) is the home of the United States Navy's only recruit training, boot camp, located near North Chicago, Illinois, North Chicago, in Lake County, Illinois. Important tenant commands include the Recruit ...
outside of
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
. Ewbank was discharged in 1945 and coached college sports for three years before reuniting with Brown as an assistant with the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
, a professional team in the
All-America Football Conference
The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the ...
(AAFC). The Browns won all four AAFC championships. They joined the NFL with the league's merger in , winning the championship that year.
Ewbank left the Browns after the
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 ...
season to become head coach of the
Colts, a young NFL team that had struggled in its
first season. In
1956
Events
January
* January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan.
* January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...
, Ewbank brought in
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 ...
Johnny Unitas
John Constantine Unitas (; May 7, 1933 – September 11, 2002) was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Baltimore Colts. Following a career that spanned from 1956 ...
, who quickly became a star and helped lead a potent offense that included wide receiver
Raymond Berry
Raymond Emmett Berry Jr. (born February 27, 1933) is an American former professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played as a split end for the Baltimore Colts from 1955 to 1967, and after several assist ...
and
fullback Alan Ameche
Alan Ameche (; June 1, 1933 – August 8, 1988), nicknamed "The Iron Horse", or simply "The Horse", was an American football player who played six seasons with the Baltimore Colts in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football ...
to an
NFL championship
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 ...
in
1958. The Colts repeated as champions in
1959
Events January
* January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance.
* January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...
, but the team's performance slipped over the next three seasons and Ewbank was fired three weeks after their final game of the
1962 season.
He was soon picked up by the Jets, another struggling team in the AFL. While his first few years were unsuccessful, Ewbank helped build the Jets into a contender after signing
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
quarterback
Joe Namath
Joseph William Namath (; ; born May 31, 1943) is a former American football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the New York Jets. He played college foot ...
in
1965
Events January–February
* January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years.
* January 20
** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...
. The Jets won the
AFL championship
For its first nine seasons, 1960 through 1968, the American Football League determined its champion via a single playoff game between the winners of its two divisions (although ties in the standings in 1963 (Eastern) and 1968 (Western) necessi ...
in
1968 and went on to win Super Bowl III.
Ewbank, who was known as a mild-mannered coach who favored simple but well-executed strategies, retired after the
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. ...
season and settled in
Oxford, Ohio
Oxford is a city in Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion of the state approximately northwest ...
. He was inducted into the
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...
in , and died twenty years later in Oxford on November 17, 1998, the 30th anniversary of the "
''Heidi'' Game".
Early years
Born in
Richmond, Indiana
Richmond is a city in eastern Wayne County, Indiana. Bordering the state of Ohio, it is the county seat of Wayne County and is part of the Dayton, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 36,812. Situa ...
, Ewbank's father was a
grocer
A grocery store (American English, AE), grocery shop (British English, BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food Product (business), products, which may be Fresh food, fresh or Food preservation, packaged ...
who owned two stores in the small city.
He attended
Morton High School and played
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 ...
on the football team, was an
outfielder
An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...
in baseball, and was a member of the basketball team.
He captained the football and basketball teams when he was a
senior
Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to:
* Senior (name), a surname ...
.
As a teenager, Ewbank and his father drove to
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...
, see early football star
Jim Thorpe
James Francis Thorpe ( Sac and Fox (Sauk): ''Wa-Tho-Huk'', translated as "Bright Path"; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was the first Native ...
and the
Canton Bulldogs play.
One of his younger brothers could not pronounce "Wilbur" correctly and called him "Weeb", the nickname he was known by for the rest of his life.
After graduating from high school in 1924, Ewbank attended
Miami University
Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...
in
Oxford, Ohio
Oxford is a city in Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion of the state approximately northwest ...
.
He played on the school's football team as a quarterback under head coach
Chester Pittser
Chester Matthias Pittser (July 29, 1893 – October 17, 1978) was an American football, basketball, and baseball coach at the college level. He served as the head football coach at the Montana State School of Mines— then known as Montana Tech o ...
.
He was also the
center fielder
A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the c ...
on the baseball team and a
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
* Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Sm ...
on the basketball team.
While Ewbank was small in stature – he was only and weighed – he was one of Miami's best athletes.
He shared quarterback duties with Eddie Wohlwender on a squad that finished with an 8–1
win–loss record
In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...
and won the
Ohio Athletic Conference
The Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) was formed in 1902 and is the third oldest athletic conference in the United States. Its current commissioner is Sarah Otey. Former commissioners include Mike Cleary, who was the first General Manager of a profe ...
championship in 1927, his senior year.
Miami's baseball team also won the Ohio Conference when he was a
sophomore
In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...
and took the
Buckeye Athletic Association
The Buckeye Athletic Association, also known as the Buckeye Conference, was an athletic league formed out of members of the Ohio Athletic Conference. Its original membership in 1926 included Ohio Wesleyan University (Battling Bishops), Ohio Univer ...
title when he was a senior.
The basketball team won a state title when he was a
junior
Junior or Juniors may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959
* ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009
* ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010
* ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019
Films
* ''Junior'' (1994 ...
.
Ewbank was a member of
Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, along with Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad ...
fraternity while at Miami.
Coaching career
Shortly after graduating from Miami in 1928, Ewbank took his first coaching job at
Van Wert High School in
Van Wert, Ohio
Van Wert is a city in and the county seat of Van Wert County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northwestern Ohio approximately 77 mi (123 km) SW of Toledo and 34 mi (54 km) SE of Fort Wayne, Indiana. The po ...
, overseeing the football, basketball, and baseball teams.
He remained there until 1930, when he moved back to Oxford and took a position coaching football and basketball at
McGuffey High School
McGuffey High School is one of four schools that make up the McGuffey School District in rural Claysville, Pennsylvania, located approximately 30 miles southwest of Pittsburgh. The school's official colors are navy blue and gold and "Highlanders" ...
, a private institution run by Miami University.
He also taught physical education at Miami.
Ewbank took a break from coaching in 1932 to pursue a
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and filled in as Miami's basketball coach in 1939 after the previous coach left for another job, but otherwise held his coaching positions at McGuffey until 1943.
Under his tutelage, the school's Green Devils football team had a
win–loss record
In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...
of in thirteen seasons. This included a streak of three undefeated seasons between 1936 and 1939 and one season – 1936 – where the team did not allow any scoring by opponents.
Ewbank joined the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
in 1943 as American involvement in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
intensified.
He was assigned for training to
Naval Station Great Lakes
Naval Station Great Lakes (NAVSTA Great Lakes) is the home of the United States Navy's only recruit training, boot camp, located near North Chicago, Illinois, North Chicago, in Lake County, Illinois. Important tenant commands include the Recruit ...
north of
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
, where
Paul Brown
Paul Eugene Brown (September 7, 1908 – August 5, 1991) was an American football coach and executive in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL). Brown was both the co-founder and first coach of the Clevela ...
, a former classmate who succeeded him as Miami's starting quarterback, was coaching the base football team.
Brown had become a successful high school coach in Ohio before being named head football coach at
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
in 1941. At Great Lakes, Ewbank was an assistant to Brown on the football team and coached the basketball team.
Following his discharge from the Navy at the end of the war in 1945, Ewbank became the backfield coach under
Charles "Rip" Engle at
Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
.
He also was head coach of the basketball team in the 1946–47 season, his only one at Brown.
Ewbank's next stop was as head football coach at
Washington University
Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...
in
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
for the 1947 and 1948 seasons.
Ewbank guided the
Bears
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the North ...
to a 14–4 record in two seasons, (5–3 in 1947, 9–1 in 1948).
Cleveland Browns
Despite his success in St. Louis, Ewbank quit his job when he was given the chance to serve as an assistant under Paul Brown, who by
1949
Events
January
* January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022.
* January 2 – Luis ...
was coaching the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
, a professional team in the
All-America Football Conference
The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the ...
(AAFC).
Ewbank was brought in to oversee the Browns' linemen after backfield coach
John Brickels
John Lewis "Stub" Brickels ( – ) was a high school, college and professional football coach who served as a backfield coach for the Cleveland Browns between 1946 and 1948. Brickels began his coaching career in 1930, after graduating from Wittenb ...
quit to take a job at Miami University and
tackles coach
Bill Edwards left to become the head coach at
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...
.
Ewbank expected to coach quarterbacks, having played the position in college, but Brown insisted that he oversee the tackles. "He knew I'd have to work very hard at this job and bring a fresh approach", Ewbank said many years later.
Led by quarterback
Otto Graham
Otto Everett Graham Jr. (December 6, 1921 – December 17, 2003) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL). Graha ...
,
fullback Marion Motley
Marion Motley (June 5, 1920 – June 27, 1999) was an American professional football player who was a halfback and linebacker for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL). He was a le ...
, and
end
End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to:
End
*In mathematics:
** End (category theory)
** End (topology)
**End (graph theory)
** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous)
**End (endomorphism)
*In sports and games
**End (gridiron footbal ...
s
Dante Lavelli
Dante Bert Joseph "Gluefingers" Lavelli (February 23, 1923 – January 20, 2009) was an American professional football player who was an end for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NF ...
and
Mac Speedie
Mac Curtis Speedie (January 12, 1920 – March 5, 1993) was an American football end who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL) for seven years before joining the Saskatc ...
, the Browns won the AAFC championship in 1949, their fourth straight title. The AAFC folded after the season, and the Browns were absorbed by the more established
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). The team finished the 1950 season with a 10–2 record and won the
NFL championship
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 ...
by beating the
Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...
.
The Browns reached the NFL championship each year between 1951 and 1953, but lost once to the Rams and twice to the
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
.
Baltimore Colts
Ewbank got his first professional head coaching job in early 1954 for the NFL's
Baltimore Colts
The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...
, a franchise that had started play the previous year.
While it was a step up for Ewbank, Brown encouraged him not to take the job and told him he would not be successful. After Ewbank took the job, Brown accused him of passing information about the Browns' draft targets to the Colts. Brown had insisted that he stay with the Browns through the
1954 draft, and
NFL commissioner
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 ma ...
Bert Bell
De Benneville "Bert" Bell (February 25, 1895 – October 11, 1959) was the National Football League (NFL) commissioner from 1946 until his death in 1959. As commissioner, he introduced competitive parity into the NFL to improve the league's comme ...
agreed. During the draft, Ewbank allegedly sent the names of players Brown liked to the Colts through Baltimore sportswriter
John Steadman
John Steadman (February 14, 1927 – January 1, 2001) was an American sportswriter for ''The Baltimore Sun''. His career spanned seven decades and he attended and reported on every Super Bowl from its inception until his death.
Background
Stead ...
, including end
Raymond Berry
Raymond Emmett Berry Jr. (born February 27, 1933) is an American former professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played as a split end for the Baltimore Colts from 1955 to 1967, and after several assist ...
, who went on to have a long and successful career.
The Colts struggled in Ewbank's first years as head coach, posting records of 3–9 in 1954 and 5–6–1 in 1955.
In 1956, however, the team signed quarterback
Johnny Unitas
John Constantine Unitas (; May 7, 1933 – September 11, 2002) was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Baltimore Colts. Following a career that spanned from 1956 ...
after he was cut by the
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
.
Ewbank brought in Otto Graham to tutor Unitas, who complemented an improving team that included Berry, fullback
Alan Ameche
Alan Ameche (; June 1, 1933 – August 8, 1988), nicknamed "The Iron Horse", or simply "The Horse", was an American football player who played six seasons with the Baltimore Colts in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football ...
,
halfback Lenny Moore
Leonard Edward Moore (born November 25, 1933) is an American former professional football player who played both halfback and flanker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Baltimore Colts from 1956 to 1967. He played college football f ...
and
defensive back
In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...
Don Shula
Donald Francis Shula (January 4, 1930 – May 4, 2020) was an American football defensive back and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1963 to 1995. The head coach of the Miami Dolphins for most of his ca ...
.
The Colts began the
1956
Events
January
* January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan.
* January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...
season with a 3–3 record, and calls for Ewbank's firing intensified – just as they had the previous year.
Team owner
Carroll Rosenbloom
Dale Carroll Rosenbloom (March 5, 1907 – April 2, 1979) was an American businessman. He was the owner of two National Football League franchises; he was the first owner of the Baltimore Colts, and later switched teams, taking ownership of the ...
supported him, however, saying that while he had considered a coaching change in the past, Ewbank could stay with the Colts "forever – or until he fouls up".
When he came to Baltimore, Ewbank had promised to create a system like Paul Brown's in Cleveland, but said he would need time to turn the team into a winner.
The Colts finished 1956 with a 5–7 record.
The team made a turnaround the following year, posting a 7–5 record, but still finished third in the NFL's Western Division behind the
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
and
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
.
The team improved further in
1958, winning the Western Division with a 9–3 record and earning a spot 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
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. ...
.
Led by Unitas, Berry and Ameche, the team won the game 23–17 in sudden-death overtime. Often referred to as "The Greatest Game Ever Played", the championship was watched by a large national audience on television and helped make professional football one of the most viewed sports in the U.S. Ewbank was named coach of the year by the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
and ''
United Press International
United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...
'' after the season.
Baltimore finished with a 9–3 record for the second year in a row in 1959 and repeated as
NFL champions
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 maj ...
.
The team's performance fell off in subsequent years, however, and after posting a 7–7 record in
1962, Rosenbloom fired Ewbank three weeks later.
He was succeeded by former player Don Shula
Donald Francis Shula (January 4, 1930 – May 4, 2020) was an American football defensive back and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1963 to 1995. The head coach of the Miami Dolphins for most of his ca ...
, a 33-year-old assistant coach with the Lions
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...
.
His legacy as a coach is mixed. Some remember Ewbank as a humble coach who had a good sense of humor and tried to stay out of the spotlight. He could also be harsh with his players, however. Before the 1958 championship game, he gave a speech telling his stars they needed to improve and had barely made the team. Unitas, he said, was obtained "with a seventy-five-cent phone call" and Ameche wasn't liked or wanted. Ewbank was not universally liked by his players. Second-string running back Jack Call later said the team won "in spite of, not because of" Ewbank. Other players saw him as overly easygoing, saying that while he was able to build teams up, he became too relaxed once he reached the top. Hall of Famer Raymond Berry stated in his book ''All the Moves I Had,'' "What it amounts to is that Ewbank knew exactly what he wanted his team to do and how to get them to do it well... Being under Weeb's system was the number one reason why Unitas and I had the careers we had."
In his autobiography, which he partially dedicated to Weeb Ewbank, Hall of Famer Art Donovan had this to say about his former coach: "When Weeb and Joe Thomas came in and introduced the keying defense—one that depended upon quickness and a players's ability to read offenses—man, I was in hog heaven. Weeb Ewbank made Arthur J. Donovan, Jr., a Hall of Fame football player. I loved him for that; I always will love him for that. I can honestly say that Weeb Ewbank became and remains one of the most important, cherished people in my life. With that out of the way, I can also honestly say that Weeb was a screwball who held insane grudges, concentrated too much on what I considered the unimportant aspects of the game, thought he was smarter than God, and deep down inside was one mean sonofabitch."
Ewbank remains the longest tenured head coach in the history of the Baltimore Colts.
New York Jets
A five-man syndicate led by Sonny Werblin
David Abraham "Sonny" Werblin (March 17, 1910 – November 21, 1991) was a prominent entertainment industry executive and sports impresario who was an owner of the New York Jets and chairman of Madison Square Garden, and who built and managed the ...
bought the New York Titans franchise of 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. ...
(AFL), an NFL competitor, as part of bankruptcy proceedings in 1963
Events January
* January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...
. Shortly thereafter, the team changed its name to the New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
and hired Ewbank in April as its head coach and general manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
. Ewbank took over a team that had not had a winning record in its first three years of existence and hired a coaching staff that included Chuck Knox, Walt Michaels
Walter Edward Michaels (originally Majka) (October 16, 1929 – July 10, 2019) was a professional American football player and coach who was best remembered for his six-year tenure as head coach of the NFL's New York Jets from 1977 to 1982. In 1 ...
, and Clive Rush
Clive Harold Rush (February 14, 1931 – August 22, 1980) was an American football player and coach at both the professional and collegiate levels. He served as the head football coach at Toledo University from 1960 to 1962. Rush was the hea ...
, all future head coaches. When he was hired, Ewbank said he had a five-year plan to succeed in Baltimore, and "I don't see why we can't build a winner here in five years."
While the Jets won their first three games with Ewbank as coach, his first several years were unsuccessful. The team, meanwhile, had to deal with numerous logistical issues stemming from its second-tier status among New York's sports teams. The Jets switched stadiums from the Polo Grounds
The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 through 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built fo ...
in Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
after the 1963 season to the new Shea Stadium
Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.[Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...](_blank)
, but shared it with baseball's New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
. Concerned about possible damage to the stadium's natural turf, the Mets would not allow the Jets to practice at Shea, forcing the team to hold practices at the Rikers Island
Rikers Island is a island in the East River between Queens and the Bronx that contains New York City's main jail complex. Named after Abraham Rycken, who took possession of the island in 1664, the island was originally under in size, but has ...
jail complex. The Jets posted 5–8–1 records for three consecutive seasons (1963–1965).
Despite limited on-field success in Ewbank's first years, the Jets began to put the pieces of a winning team in place. In 1964, they outbid cross-town NFL rival 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. ...
for Matt Snell
Matthews Snell (born August 18, 1941) is a retired professional football player who played for the New York Jets. He was Jets' owner Sonny Werblin's first coup, prior to his 1965 acquisition of Joe Namath. A powerful fullback out of Ohio State ...
, a top running back prospect out of Ohio State
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...
. 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 ...
Larry Grantham
James Larry Grantham (September 16, 1938 – June 17, 2017) was an American collegiate and professional football player.
Biography
A member of the Ole Miss Athletic Hall of Fame, he was a linebacker at the University of Mississippi who came to ...
became a consistent All-Pro
All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list th ...
selection and safety
Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk.
Meanings
There are ...
Dainard Paulson had 12 interception
In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...
s in 1964, which remains a team record. An even bigger coup came in 1965, when the Jets signed Joe Namath
Joseph William Namath (; ; born May 31, 1943) is a former American football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the New York Jets. He played college foot ...
, a star quarterback at Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
under coach Bear Bryant
Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of ...
. The St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
selected Namath as the twelfth overall pick of the NFL draft
The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...
, but Namath later said he chose the Jets in part because he got along with Ewbank and was impressed by how he had developed Unitas while with the Colts.
Namath quickly became a star for the Jets. The team improved to 6–6–2 in 1966
Events January
* January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko.
* January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
and 8–5–1 in 1967
Events
January
* January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair.
* January 5
** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...
, when Namath became the first to throw for more than 4,000 yards in a single season. By 1968, Ewbank's team was becoming one of the top teams in the AFL. All of its main starters returned from the year before, and the Jets brought in All-Pro guard
Guard or guards may refer to:
Professional occupations
* Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault
* Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street
* Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning
* Prison ...
Bob Talamini
Robert Guy Talamini (January 8, 1939 – May 30, 2022) was an American football player. Talamini, a 6'1", 250 lb lineman, earned third-team All-SEC honors at the University of Kentucky and was drafted by the Houston Oilers of the American ...
from the Houston Oilers
The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...
. The Jets started with a 3–2 record, but won eight of nine to finish the regular season 11–3 and win the AFL East Division by four games. One of the Jets' losses in 1968 was on the road in mid-November against the Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...
that later came to be known as the ''Heidi'' Game. After Jim Turner kicked a field goal for the Jets that gave them a 32–29 lead with just over a minute left to play, NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
cut away from the game to a scheduled broadcast of the children's movie ''Heidi
''Heidi'' (; ) is a work of children's fiction published in 1881 by Swiss author Johanna Spyri, originally published in two parts as ''Heidi: Her Years of Wandering and Learning'' (german: Heidis Lehr- und Wanderjahre) and ''Heidi: How She Used ...
''. The Raiders went on to win the game by scoring two touchdowns in the final 42 seconds. Ewbank's wife Lucy called the locker room to congratulate him on the win, only to learn the team had lost.
The Jets' first-place finish in their division in 1968 set up a rematch with the Raiders – the defending AFL champions and winners of the AFL West – for the league championship. Namath threw three touchdowns as the Jets won 27–23, putting them through to the third World Championship
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
game, a matchup between the winner of the AFL and NFL now known as Super Bowl III
Super Bowl III was an American football game played on January 12, 1969 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. It was the third AFL–NFL Championship Game in professional American football, and the first to officially bear the trademark name "Su ...
. The Jets were 17-point underdog
An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the case where an underdog wins, the ...
s to the Colts, who had continued to succeed after Ewbank's departure with Unitas at quarterback and Shula as head coach. Nevertheless, Namath publicly guaranteed a Jets win before the game, which rankled Ewbank. Ewbank liked that the Colts were favored, thinking it would make them complacent, and did not want to agitate them by boasting about the Jets' chances.
Ewbank and the Jets played an unconventional game against the Colts, opting for an uncharacteristically conservative strategy in part because star wideout Don Maynard
Donald Rogers Maynard (January 25, 1935 – January 10, 2022) was an American professional American football, football wide receiver known for playing for the New York Jets in the National Football League (NFL). He also played with the New York ...
was nursing a hamstring
In human anatomy, a hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in between the hip and the knee (from medial to lateral: semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris). The hamstrings are susceptible to injury.
In quadrupeds, ...
injury. Also on film, the Jets noticed the Colts while talented on defense, were very predictable. They did not shift out of a defense once it was called from the sideline. So Namath called most of the plays at the line of scrimmage after viewing the Colts' defense instead of calling the offensive plays in the huddle. The tactic worked against the Colts, and the Jets built a 16–0 lead going into the game's fourth quarter by relying on Snell's running and Namath's ability to complete short passes against a steady Colts' blitz. Snell had 121 yards on 30 carries. The Jets' defense, meanwhile, held back a Colts offense that scored 460 points throughout the team's 15–1 regular- and post-season record up to that point. New York intercepted four Baltimore passes, three thrown by Earl Morrall
Earl Edwin Morrall (May 17, 1934 – April 25, 2014) was an American football player who was a quarterback (and occasional punter) in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons, both a starter and reserve. In the latter capacity, he beca ...
, who was substituting for an injured Unitas and one by Unitas who entered the game in the second half. The Jets won the game 16–7, aided by Ewbank's familiarity with many of the Colts' players and strategies.
The Jets had a 10–4 record in 1969, but lost a divisional playoff to the Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The tea ...
. Ewbank was named the AFL's coach of the year after the season, but the team did not post a winning record in any of the following four years. In December 1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
, Ewbank announced that he would retire as head coach after the 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. ...
season, saying he wanted to spend more time with his wife. He continued as general manager, however, and was named the team vice president. Charley Winner
Charley Winner (born July 2, 1924) is a former American football player and coach.
Winner was born in Somerville, New Jersey and, during World War II, flew seventeen missions in a B-17 Flying Fortress plane, spending six weeks in a German pri ...
, the former coach of the St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
and the husband of Ewbank's daughter Nancy, was appointed as his replacement in early 1973. The 1973 Jets season is the subject of the book ''The Last Season of Weeb Ewbank'' by Paul Zimmerman. After the team lost seven of its first eight games in 1974, Ewbank resigned as vice president and general manager. He agreed to coach quarterbacks at Columbia University in 1975.
Later life and honors
Ewbank moved back to Oxford in retirement and wrote a book in 1977 called ''Football Greats''. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...
in 1978, but said later that year that he was glad to be out of coaching. With the expansion of the NFL, he said, talent had become diluted and fielding a good team was difficult. Coaches, meanwhile, customarily took the blame for a team's failures, and the sport had become too violent.
Ewbank's coaching style was laid-back but efficient, combining his mild personality with an orderliness inherited from Paul Brown. "Weeb combined a low-key style with a flair for the most dramatic of accomplishments", former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue
Paul John Tagliabue (; born November 24, 1940) is an American lawyer who was the History of the NFL Commissioner, commissioner of the National Football League (NFL). He took the position in 1989 NFL season, 1989 and served until September 1, 2006 ...
said in 1998. "He led two of the legendary teams during the era of pro football's greatest growth. But he preferred to stay in the background and let the players take the credit." He favored well-practiced execution of a limited number of plays over complicated offensive and defensive systems. Paul Brown "had the exact same approach: Don't do too much, but what you do, execute it flawlessly", Raymond Berry said in 2013, adding that the Colts' 1958 championship team had only six passing plays.
Ewbank is the only man to coach two professional football teams to championships, and the only man to win the NFL championship, the AFL championship and a Super Bowl. His regular-season career record in the NFL and AFL was 130–129–7, and his playoff record was 4–1. Ewbank was selected as the head coach on the AFL All-Time Team in 1970. In addition to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he was inducted into the Miami University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1969, the Indiana Football Hall of Fame
The Indiana Football Hall of Fame is a sports museum and hall of fame in Richmond, Indiana. It honors persons associated with high school, college and professional American football in Indiana. It also works to establish scholarships and endowments ...
in 1974 and the Talawanda School District Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999. He also won the Walter Camp Distinguished American Award
The Walter Camp Distinguished American Award is presented by the Walter Camp Football Foundation to an individual who has used his or her talents to attain great success in business, private life or public service and who may have accomplished tha ...
in 1987 and was inducted into the Jets' Ring of Honor in 2010.
Ewbank suffered a dislocated hip in the aftermath of the Jets' 1968 AFL championship game win, and had other health issues in his later years. He broke his leg and had two hip replacements in the 1990s. He also had myasthenia in his right eye. Ewbank died at 91 on November 17, 1998, the 30th anniversary of the "Heidi Game", after suffering from heart problems. He and his wife Lucy had three daughters, Luanne, Nancy and Jan. His daughter Nancy married Charley Winner
Charley Winner (born July 2, 1924) is a former American football player and coach.
Winner was born in Somerville, New Jersey and, during World War II, flew seventeen missions in a B-17 Flying Fortress plane, spending six weeks in a German pri ...
.
Head coaching record
College football
AFL/NFL
Coaching tree
Assistants under Weeb Ewbank who became NCAA or NFL head coaches:
* Irwin Uteritz: Washington University Bears
The Washington University Bears are the athletic teams of Washington University in St. Louis, located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Washington University is currently a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the NCAA ...
(1949–1952)
* John Bridgers
John Dixon Bridgers II (January 13, 1922 – November 24, 2006) was an American football coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Johns Hopkins University from 1953 to 1956 and at Baylor University from 19 ...
: Baylor Bears
The Baylor Bears are the athletic teams that represent Baylor University. The teams participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as one of only two private school members of the Big 12 Conference. Prior to j ...
(1959–1968)
* Don Shula
Donald Francis Shula (January 4, 1930 – May 4, 2020) was an American football defensive back and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1963 to 1995. The head coach of the Miami Dolphins for most of his ca ...
: Baltimore Colts
The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...
(1963–1969), Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...
(1970–1995)
* Frank Lauterbur
Francis Xavier Lauterbur (August 8, 1925 – November 20, 2013) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Toledo from 1963 to 1970 and at the University of Iowa from 1971 to 1973, compiling a car ...
: Toledo Rockets
The Toledo Rockets are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Toledo. The Rockets compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The ...
(1963–1970), Iowa Hawkeyes
The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 22 sports, 8 for men and 14 for women; a 15th women's sport will be added in 2023. The teams partici ...
(1971–1973)
* Bob Shaw
Robert Shaw (31 December 1931 – 11 February 1996) was a science fiction writer and fan from Northern Ireland, noted for his originality and wit. He won the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer in 1979 and 1980. His short story "Light of Other Days" ...
: Saskatchewan Roughriders
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division.
The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...
(1963–1964), 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 ...
(1965–1966), Otterbein College
Otterbein University is a private university in Westerville, Ohio. It offers 74 majors and 44 minors as well as eight graduate programs. The university was founded in 1847 by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ and named for United Bre ...
(1985–1987)
* Clive Rush
Clive Harold Rush (February 14, 1931 – August 22, 1980) was an American football player and coach at both the professional and collegiate levels. He served as the head football coach at Toledo University from 1960 to 1962. Rush was the hea ...
: New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
(1969–1970), Merchant Marine Academy (1976)
* Don McCafferty: Baltimore Colts
The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...
(1970–1972), Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
(1973)
* John Sandusky
John Thomas "Sandy" Sandusky, Jr. (December 28, 1925 – March 5, 2006) was an American football player and coach. He played seven seasons as an offensive and defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) during the 1950s for the Cle ...
: Baltimore Colts
The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...
(1972)
* Chuck Knox: Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...
(1973–1977), (1992–1994), 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. ...
(1978–1982), Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...
(1983–1991)
* Charley Winner
Charley Winner (born July 2, 1924) is a former American football player and coach.
Winner was born in Somerville, New Jersey and, during World War II, flew seventeen missions in a B-17 Flying Fortress plane, spending six weeks in a German pri ...
: St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
(1966–1970) New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
(1974–1975)
* Joe Thomas Baltimore Colts
The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...
(1974)
* Walt Michaels
Walter Edward Michaels (originally Majka) (October 16, 1929 – July 10, 2019) was a professional American football player and coach who was best remembered for his six-year tenure as head coach of the NFL's New York Jets from 1977 to 1982. In 1 ...
: New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
(1977–1982), New Jersey Generals
The New Jersey Generals were a franchise of the United States Football League (USFL) established in 1982 to begin play in the spring and summer of 1983. The team played three seasons from 1983 to 1985, winning 31 regular season games and losing ...
(1983–1985)
* Buddy Ryan
James David "Buddy" Ryan (February 17, 1931 – June 28, 2016) was an American football coach in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL). During his 35-season coaching career, Ryan served as the head coach of the ...
: Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...
(1986–1990), Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...
(1994–1995)
See also
* American Football League players, coaches, and contributors
* List of National Football League head coaches with 50 wins
The following is a list of the top National Football League (NFL) head coaches in wins.
Don Shula holds the current records for regular season wins at 328 and combined regular and postseason wins at 347. Bill Belichick holds the record for postse ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
*
Cradle of Coaches Archive: A Legacy of Excellence—Weeb Ewbank
Miami University Libraries
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ewbank, Weeb
1907 births
1998 deaths
American football quarterbacks
American men's basketball players
Baltimore Colts head coaches
Basketball coaches from Indiana
Brown Bears football coaches
Brown Bears men's basketball coaches
Columbia Lions football coaches
Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets football coaches
Miami RedHawks baseball players
Miami RedHawks football players
Miami RedHawks men's basketball coaches
Miami RedHawks men's basketball players
New York Jets head coaches
New York Jets executives
Washington University Bears football coaches
National Football League general managers
College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
High school baseball coaches in the United States
High school basketball coaches in Ohio
High school football coaches in Ohio
American Football League All-Time Team
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
Super Bowl-winning head coaches
Sportspeople from Richmond, Indiana
Burials at Oxford Cemetery, Oxford, Ohio
United States Navy personnel of World War II