Donald John Bosseler (born January 24, 1936) 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 wi ...

fullback who played in the

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for the

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from 1957 to 1964. 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 in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

and was drafted in the first round (ninth overall) of the 1957 NFL Draft. He was inducted into the

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in 1990.

Early life

Bosseler attended and played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, partl ...

at Batavia High School in

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College career

Bosseler was a four-year starter at fullback for the University of Miami. In his senior year, 1956, he helped the team to an 8-1-1 record, was named

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by the

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, and was MVP in the

Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...

. He rushed for 1,642 yards in his four years. Bosseler was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 1970.

Professional career

Bosseler was drafted ninth overall in the 1957 NFL Draft and played for seven seasons with the

before retiring. In 1959, he was named to the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

After football

After his football days, Bosseler briefly served as a radio analyst for

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 p ...

radio broadcasts before joining

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, where he became a vice-president.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bosseler, Don 1936 births Living people American football fullbacks American Football League announcers College Football Hall of Fame inductees Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players Miami Dolphins announcers Miami Hurricanes football players People from Wyoming County, New York Players of American football from New York (state) Washington Redskins players