Howard Cassady

Howard Albert "Hopalong" Cassady (March 2, 1934 – September 20, 2019) was an American professional football halfback and split end who played in the National Football League. Born in Columbus, Ohio, he attended Central High School before playing college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes from 1952 to 1955.

At Ohio State, Cassady scored 37 touchdowns in 36 games and played both sides of the ball, earning a reputation as an outstanding defensive back. He was a unanimous All-American selection in both 1954 and 1955. The 1954 Buckeyes finished 10–0 and won a consensus national championship; that year Cassady placed third in the Heisman Trophy voting, behind Alan Ameche of Wisconsin. In 1955, he won the Heisman Trophy by the largest margin to that point, along with the Maxwell Award, and was named the Associated Press Athlete of the Year.

Cassady went on to play eight seasons in the NFL, seven of them with the Detroit Lions, with whom he won the 1957 NFL Championship Game. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1979.