Former Lion Hopalong Cassady passes away at 85

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Former Lion 'Hopalong' Ca sady pa ses away at 85 Published: Sep 21, 2019 at 01:22 AM COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Howard "Hopalong" Ca sady, the 1955 Heisman Trophy winner at Ohio State and running back for the , died Friday. He was 85. He died in Tampa, Florida, his longtime home, the university said. "We've lost not only a legendary Buckeye, but also a wonderful person in Hop Ca sady," Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said in a statement. "He was an all-time great Buckeye in every way." Following his Heisman campaign, Ca sady was drafted third overall in 1956 by the , who he would play with for seven seasons, including as a part of the 1957 NFL Championship squad -- the last title team for the . A versatile threat who played halfback and split end, Ca sady also returned kicks and tallied Ted Williams Jersey 24 touchdowns and 2,830 scrimmage yards in his NFL career. He also scored the last touchdown in the ' 59-14 win over the in the 1957 title game, which famously involved 12 future members. Ca sady also played baseball at Ohio State and was a longtime coach in the New York Yankees organization. It was the late owner and friend George Steinbrenner who was the first to tell Ca sady he had won the Heisman. "I had gotten word from my friends and told him not to get too big of a head but you're gonna win the Heisman," Steinbrenner was quoted as saying. Ca sady was elected to the College Football in 1979. When he left Ohio State he held school records for career rushing yards, all-purpose yards and scoring. "In those days if I had 100 yards in the first half I wouldn't play in the second half," Ca sady said during a 2001 interview with The A sociated Pre s. "It wasn't until after Woody started to dominate that he tried to get his players recognition." Ca sady, whose No. 40 jersey number was retired by Ohio State in 2001, didn't need help getting recognized. He was nicknamed "Hopalong" by local sports writers in his first game when he scored three touchdowns in a 33-13 win over Indiana and "hopped all over the field like the performing cowboy." It was an ode to the movie actor Hopalong Ca sidy, the cowboy star of the 1950s who would pose with the football star for a memorable photo at the 1955 Rose Bowl. The Columbus native was a four-year starter and letter winner and a two-time consensus All-American for the Buckeyes. He rushed for 2,466 yards and scored 37 touchdowns in his 36 games at Ohio State. During his four years under coach Woody Hayes, he averaged almost 6 yards a run. Steinbrenner also played a role in Ca sady's stellar career in football at Ohio State. "He was thinking of transferring from Ohio State because he wanted to play baseball and they wanted him at football practice," Steinbrenner said. "I gave him hell and told him he will be an All-American if he sticks with it." Ca sady was a skinny freshman running back for Hayes, David Price Jersey who was under fire for finishing in a tie for fifth in the Big Ten his first season. Ca sady caught the attention of Hayes by consistently scoring on the varsity in practice. But it wasn't until the Thursday before OSU's opener against Indiana that Hayes told Ca sady to get a uniform. "That was a big deal because mom and dad got tickets if you dre sed," said Ca sady, who picked the number 40 because the only other number left was 13. In the middle of the third quarter with Indiana up 14-0, Hayes told his coaches to "put the redhead in," and Ca sady took his first punt return to Indiana's 45-yard line. He went on to score all three touchdowns as the Buckeyes won. Ca sady also caught 43 pa ses for 619 yards and four more scores during his career. He also starred on kickoff and punt returns. It was said that as a defensive back he never had a pa s completed over him in four years of Big Ten competition. As a junior, he rushed for 701 yards and eight touchdowns when the Buckeyes went 10-0 and won the national championship. He was third in the Heisman voting. His senior year, Ca sady carried 161 times for 958 yards (5.9 per attempt) and ran for 14 touchdowns. He was named "Athlete of the Year" by The A sociated Pre s in 1954. Ca sady was the third of Ohio State's seven Heisman Trophy winners, at the time following Les Horvath (1944) and Vic Janowicz (1950). His margin of 1,477 points over Jim Swink of TCU in the Heisman balloting is among the largest. Ca sady squeezed in baseball at college for four seasons, starting for three years at shortstop. In 1955, when Ohio State won the Big Ten championship, Ca sady had more home runs than Frank Howard, who went on to play 16 years in the majors. After graduation, however, Ca sady pa sed on the chance to play profe sional baseball. "I could have signed for $10,000 with the Yankees, but I would have had to go through the minors," he said. "As the No. 1 draft choice I could start right away playing football." The offered him a signing bonus of $15,000 that matched his annual salary. Ca sady played for eight seasons with the , one with the and one with the before retiring in 1964. Ca sady ran a concrete pipe busine s, sold steel and later worked for Steinbrenner at American Shipbuilding in Tampa. For almost 20 seasons, Ca sady was a first-base coach for the Triple-A Columbus Clippers, the top farm club of the Yankees. Steinbrenner and Ca sady traced their friendship to the 1950s when Ca sady received ROTC training at the former Lockbourne Air Force Base near Columbus, where Steinbrenner coached the baseball team. Ca sady's son, Craig, was a three-time letter-winner at Ohio State, and shares the school record for interceptions in a game with three. His father was almost as proud of that record as any that he had set. He is survived by his wife, Barbara, and three sons. -- Rusty Miller, a retired sports writer for The A sociated Pre s, contributed to this report. This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be mi sing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an Pedro Martinez Jersey i sue.
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