Sam Huff, Fearsome Hall of Fame Giants Linebacker, Dies at 87

Burton Benjamin, the documentary’s producer, later recalled in an article for The New York Times that the “violent world” reference “quickly became a part of the football lexicon.”

As Frank Gifford, the Giants’ Hall of Fame running back and receiver, put it in his memoir “The Whole Ten Yards,” Huff became “a household name.”

Robert Lee Huff — he could not recall how he came to be called Sam — was born on Oct. 4, 1934, in Morgantown, W.Va., the son of a coal miner. He grew up in a mining camp known as Number Nine, outside Farmington, W.Va.

Huff was an All-American at West Virginia University, a 6-foot-1-inch, 230-pound guard and tackle on both offense and defense. The Giants selected him in the third round of the 1956 N.F.L. draft.

As a rookie, Huff played in the Giants’ 47-7 victory over the Bears in the 1956 N.F.L. championship game, and he became a key figure in the 4-3 alignment — four down linemen and three linebackers — installed by the Giants’ defensive coordinator, Tom Landry. Replacing the 5-2 scheme commonly used, it put Huff at the heart of the action.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/13/sports/football/sam-huff-dead.html