1959 Profile: Alex Webster

Halfback
No. 29
North Carolina State

"A great favorite with Giant fans last year as a rookie, Webster led the team in ball-carrying with 634 yards gained on 128 tries for a 5.0 average. His longest runs were for 71, 52, 48 and 41  yards and he was the eighth best ball carrier in the league, according to statistics. He scored six touchdowns and caught 22 passes for 269 yards.

Not particularly fast, Webster is very powerful and shifty. He's a right halfback who could be shifted to fullback in an emergency. He has been compared to the great Tuffy Leemans as a runner.

Alex is a Kearney, New Jersey, resident who has been a Giant fan all his life."

-1956 Jay Publishing

"After making a great reputation for himself in Canadian football, Alex came to New York last season. He proved to be the top  Giant running back and placed third in the NFL in average yards gained.

Alex does double duty as a ball carrier and helps on the defense as a linebacker."

-1956 Topps No. 5

"The seventh ranking ball carrier in the League on statistics in 1956, Webster gained 694 yards on 178 tries for a 4.0 average for 12 games. He also caught 21 passes for 197 yards. He scored 10 touchdowns in regular season play, two more in the championship, a total topped only by Rick Casares of the Bears.

Not particularly fast, Webster is very powerful and shifty and the type of running back who just won't go down. He keeps making yardage even after he's been firmly stopped. A right halfback who is plenty strong enough to play fullback, Alex is a great crowd favorite.

From Kearney, New Jersey, he recently moved to Brunswick. He has been a Giant fan all his life. Alex came to the Giants after setting many records with the Montreal Alouettes. He's married, with two youngsters."

-1957 Jay Publishing

"Alex excelled in running and pass catching last season. On the receiving end of 21 aerials, he scored three touchdowns while rolling up 197 yards. His aggressive brand of play makes him a Giant favorite.

As a youngster in New Jersey, Alex was a Giant fan. In 1954 he was Canada's top grid star."

-1957 Topps No. 121

"Alex Webster (29), passed over by the Redskins in 1954, tore the Canadian League apart that season and became a Giant in 1955. Signing the North Carolina State graduate from Kearney, New Jersey, was one of the Maras' outstanding player coups.

A driving, slashing runner who squirms for extra yardage the way Tuffy Leemans used to do and a reliable pass receiver, Alex scored 10 touchdowns last season and added two more in the title play-off. Teamed with Gifford, he gives the Giants the heaviest one-two halfback punch in the league."

-1957 New York Giants Official Program (Yankee Stadium)

"Power and shiftiness rather than speed are relied upon by Alex Webster, Giant halfback, to pick up most of his gains. He is usually good for four or five long runs each season."

-1957 Chicago Bears Official Program

"Through he plays halfback, Alex splits a line with the bull power of a fullback. It sometimes takes more than one tackler to bring him down, and when he gets the scent of that goal line, he usually digs into his reserve and manages to score."

-1958 Topps No. 30

"The wheel horse of the offense, Alex can smash a line, run wide and nail passes. He can play halfback and fullback.
Drafted by the Redskins, Alex was released before he played a game and went to Canada, where he was named that country's top player. He joined the Giants in 1955.
Alex lives in East Brunswick, New Jersey."

-Pro Football Handbook 1959

"Alex Webster (29) had been a great chips-down runner for the Giants for five seasons. Going in this year, he had carried the ball 2,290 yards and scored 20 touchdowns.

A product of Kearney, N.J., and North Carolina State, Alex failed to make the grade with the Redskins in 1953, but played so well in Canada that year and in 1954 that the Giants signed him in 1955. It was an inspired move and, with Gifford, he gives the Giants as fine a pair of halfbacks as there is in the league."

-1959 New York Giants Official Program (Yankee Stadium, November 1)

"One of the toughest short-yardage backs in the circuit, Alex has proven to be a highly reliable runner since coming to New York from Canada in 1955. Through the 1959 season, he has grounded out 2,545 yards via 646 hauls and caught 124 aerials for 1,449 yards. His touchdown tally is 35. The record was achieved despite frequent injuries that have prevented him from reaching his full potential. The 6-3, 210-pound North Carolina State alumnus was drafted and released by Washington in 1953."

-1959 Baltimore Colts Official Program (Memorial Stadium, NFL Championship Game)