Saturday, October 25, 2014

1970 Profile: Alex Webster

Head Coach
"'Big Red,' as he is known within the Giant football family, stepped into an unpleasant situation when he replaced Allie Sherman as head coach a week before the start of the '69 season. Rancor gripped the Giants. The fans had kept up a continuing din of 'Goodbye Allie,' expressing their displeasure with the way the Giants were being coached; when the team lost a dreary preseason exhibition game to the Steelers, voices of mutiny were heard on the squad itself. A few days later, Sherman was out - long-term contract and all - and Alex Webster was in as his successor.
It was a widely applauded appointment. During his ten years as a Giant running back (1955-1964), Webster was a very popular, highly professional player. He still holds three team records: most rushing attempts (1,213), most rushing yardage (4,805) and most touchdowns rushing (39). He played on Giant teams that won one world championship (1956) and six Eastern Conference titles (1956, '58, '59, '61, '62, '63).
Before becoming head coach, Webster had been the Giants' offensive backfield coach. While Alex is popular with his players, he is a no-nonsense taskmaster who is committed to an all-out effort to make the Giants winners again."

-Brenda and Jack Zanger, Pro Football 1970

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