Al Wistert

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Al Wistert
Al Wistert.JPG
Al Wistert
Positions:
OT, G , DT
Jersey number (s):
70
born December 28, 1920 in Chicago , Illinois
died on March 5, 2016 in Grants Pass , Oregon
Career information
Active : 1943 - 1951
NFL Draft : 1943 / Round: 5 / Pick: 32
College : Michigan
Teams
Career statistics
Games     95
as a starter     62
Fumble secured     8th
Stats at pro-football-reference.com
Career highlights and awards
College Football Hall of Fame

Albert Alexander "Al" Wistert (* 28. December 1920 in Chicago , Illinois ; † 5. March 2016 in Grants Pass , Oregon ) Nickname : Ox , was a US American football poker players. He played among other things as an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) with the Philadelphia Eagles .

youth

Al Wistert's parents immigrated to the United States from Lithuania . His father Casmir Vistertus changed his name to Kazimer Wistert after entering the USA. Kazimer Wistert was a soldier in the Spanish-American War . After the war he served as a police officer in Chicago. On June 27, 1927, at the age of 50, he was shot dead by a robber while on duty.

Al Wistert attended high school in his hometown after the death of his father . He had two older brothers. His brother Francis Wistert later became a professional baseball player with the Cincinnati Reds . In 1933, Al Wistert attended the NFL championship game between the Chicago Bears and the New York Giants with his brother . Wistert was so fascinated by the game that he started pursuing a career as a professional football player. It was also his brother Francis who induced Al to study at the University of Michigan after graduating from high school, like himself . Their brother Alvin Wistert followed them later.

Player career

College career

The three brothers studied in Michigan at different times, but all played college football in the same position . Upon graduation, each of them was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and the University of Michigan Hall of Honor.

Al Wistert studied at the University of Michigan from 1940 to 1942. He played as a tackle both on the offensive line and on the defensive line . In his senior year in college, he was named his team's MVP and All American . Wistert was the captain of a college football team that defeated reigning NFL champions Washington Redskins 27-7 in Chicago in 1943 .

Professional career

Al Wistert was founded in 1943 by the Eagles in the fifth round on 32nd drafted . The Eagles' coach was Greasy Neale . In 1943 there was a shortage of players in the NFL due to the Second World War and the Philadelphia team was therefore forced to enter into a syndicate with the Pittsburgh Steelers . The syndicate was known as the Phil-Pitt Steagles . Both Neale and the trainer of the Steelers Walt Kiesling took over the coaching office.

Greasy Neale (1922)

Wistert received a contract from the Eagles with a guaranteed income of $ 4,500 a year. The Steagles' success remained modest and the following year the team was split again. With this separation the Eagles rose to a top team. Jack Ferrante returned to the team in 1944 after playing on a Eagles farm team from the 1941 season onwards , and numerous young, hopeful up-and-coming players such as Bucko Kilroy , Steve Van Buren , Russ Craft and Pete Pihos were able to sign over the next few years be taken. Wistert was mainly used by Neale in the offense alongside Vic Sears and Bucko Kilroy in the offensive line . In addition to protecting his own quarterback , Wistert had the task of blocking the way into the opposing end zone for his own running back .

From 1946 Wistert acted as team captain of the Eagles, which were able to strengthen this year with the commitment of center Alex Wojciechowicz . In 1947 Al Wistert moved with his team for the first time in the NFL championship game , but where they lost to the Chicago Cardinals with 28:21.

In 1948 Al Wistert was able to win his first NFL championship. Again the Cardinals were the opponents - this time however they were defeated by the Eagles 7-0. The following year, the Eagles moved into the final again and Wistert won his second NFL title. The Philadelphia team beat the Los Angeles Rams 14-0 after one season with 11 wins after a loss in the NFL final . In both finals, running back Steve Van Buren was the decisive factor with the help of his offensive line. In 1948 Wistert and his teammates helped Van Buren to gain 98 yards . Van Buren also scored the decisive touchdown . A year later, Van Buren managed to gain 196 yards, the total gain of space of the offense of the Eagles was 342 yards and clearly exceeded the team performance of the Rams of 109 yards.

After the 1951 season, Wistert ended his career. Except for one game at the beginning of the 1950 season, in which Wistert could not play due to an injury, he played all his team's games during his professional career. In his final year as a pro, he made $ 10,000. The total was the line player's highest income in the NFL.

Honors

Al Wistert played in a Pro Bowl , the season-end game of the best players of the season. He was voted All-Pro eight times . His number was banned from college and the Eagles. He became a member of the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team , the Eagles Hall of Fame , the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame , the University of Michigan Hall of Honor, and the College Football Hall of Fame . However, numerous initiatives for his admission to the Pro Football Hall of Fame have failed.

According to the NFL

During his playing career, Wistert worked as a trainer at a high school in New Jersey . He drove his coach Greasy Neale's car to his team's training and games. "Ox" Wistert became a successful insurance broker after his playing career. He was married, had a total of three daughters and last lived in Grants Pass ( Oregon ) on his own farm, where he and one of his daughters looked after neglected horses.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Al Wistert, a Tenacious All-Pro Tackle for Champion Eagles Teams, Dies at 95
  2. Kazimer Wistert on the Officer Down Memorial Page
  3. Alvin Wistert in the College Football Hall of Fame ( Memento of the original from November 20, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.footballfoundation.org
  4. ^ Francis Wistert in the College Football Hall of Fame
  5. ^ According to other sources, $ 3800
  6. Annual statistics of the Eagles 1947
  7. Statistics NFL final 1947
  8. Annual statistics of the Eagles 1948
  9. ^ NFL final 1948 statistics
  10. Annual statistics of the Eagles 1949
  11. ^ NFL final 1949 statistics
  12. Tribute to Al Wistert