Sam Huff

Robert Lee "Sam" Huff (October 4, 1934 – November 13, 2021) was an American professional football player whose frequent battles against Cleveland Browns fullback Jim Brown made him the first member of the defense to gain widespread prominence in the National Football League. Born in the No. 9 coal mining camp in Edna, West Virginia, he was the fourth of six children of Oral and Catherine Huff and grew up during the Great Depression in a small rowhouse with no running water, while his father and two of his brothers worked in the coal mines loading buggies for Consolidated Mining. He attended Farmington High School, since closed, where he played both offensive and defensive lineman and helped lead the team to an undefeated season in 1951, earning All-State honors. In college he starred for the West Virginia Mountaineers. As a professional he played for the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins, winning one NFL championship and earning two-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowl selection. Huff is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982.