Elbert Everett "Elbie" Nickel (December 28, 1922 – February 27, 2007) was a professional

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 ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

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 ...

. He played 11 seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers (1947–1957). Nickel starred in three sports at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...

– he was an

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 ...

on the football team, a top scorer on the

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

team and a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

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 c ...

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 ...

. His education was put on hold by

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

service 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 opposing ...

. Generally considered one of the best tight ends in Steelers' history, Nickel recorded 329 career receptions as a tight end and is now second in career receptions by a Steelers' tight end behind Heath Miller (490). Nickel was selected to the Pro Bowl three times, 1952, 1953 and 1956. In conjunction with the 2007 celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Steelers, Nickel was selected as one of 33 players on the

Pittsburgh Steelers All-Time Team The Pittsburgh Steelers All-Time Team was named as a part of the franchise's 75th season celebration in . The club's top 33 players were selected in commemoration of the franchise's founding in . The team was chosen on the basis of fan voting. ...

. Elbie Nickel was selected to the Pittsburgh Steelers' Hall of Honor in 2019 along with Tight End, Tackle Larry Brown, Coach Bill Cowher and Wide Receiver Hines Ward.

References

External links

* 1922 births 2007 deaths People from Lewis County, Kentucky American football tight ends Cincinnati Bearcats football players Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball players United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army soldiers Pittsburgh Steelers players Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players American men's basketball players {{tightend-1920s-stub