1963 Giant Linebackers Profiles

SAM HUFF
Middle Linebacker
No. 70
West Virginia
"'Football is a game of body contact,' says Sam Huff of the New York Giants. 'You either love it or you don't. There's no in-between.' The 28-year-old graduate of West Virginia obviously thrives in the rugged world of pro football.
At 6'1" and 230 pounds, Huff is dwarfed by some opponents, but he's made the All-Pro team four times during his seven seasons in the NFL and has the reputation of being one of the roughest defensive players in the game.
'You play as hard and tough as you can,' says Huff, 'but you play clean. Any guy who doesn't want to hit hard doesn't belong in it. The football field is no place for a cry-baby.'
Huff's number one target is the enemy quarterback.
'I rap him every chance I get,' he says. 'He's the brains of the club. Knock him out clean and hard early in the game and you'll have an easy afternoon.'
Sam considers Cleveland fullback Jimmy Brown one of the toughest men to stop. He always tries to hit him low. On the other hand, outstanding runners like Jon Arnett of the Rams and Baltimore's Lenny Moore will often slip away from a low tackle and have to be hit high.
A keen student of football, Huff, in the opinion of Giants' coach Allie Sherman, 'knows as much, if not more, about middle linebacking than any man in the game.'
'I like to get right inside their helmets,' says Sam, 'and think like they do. It's too late to tackle a man after he's made his move. You've got to get the job done before he makes his move.'
'Speed is the difference between a middle linebacker and a defensive tackle,' says Huff. 'The linebacker has to be fast enough to cover a back going downfield for a short pass, and he has to be strong enough to fight off blockers who are as big as he is - or bigger - and then have the muscle to bring down a guy like Jimmy Brown or Jim Taylor.'
Born in the coal country of West Virginia, where his father was a miner, Sam has worked hard for his success."

-1963 Official Pro Football Almanac


TOM SCOTT
Linebacker
No. 82
Virginia
Tom has shown the great speed and power to be deemed one of the hardest tacklers in the league. He played all 14 games in the successful Giant defense of the Eastern crown. In 1961, Tom returned an interception 65 yards for a touchdown in an important late-season Giant win.
Tom was twice selected All-Pro as a defensive end for the Eagles and has been become a vital cog in the Giant defense as a linebacker.


BILL WINTER
Linebacker
No. 31
St. Olaf
"The roughest position for a rookie is linebacker. Bill Winter got his NFL baptism as a Giant corner linebacker in 1962 and succeeded because he wouldn't let himself fail. He has the physical attributes; now he must acquire a broader scope of the game.
Born in Milbank, South Dakota, Bill was a fullback and linebacker at St. Olaf, where he made Little All-American."

-Don Schiffer, Pro Football 1963