No. 40, 41 | |||
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Position: | Halfback, split end | ||
Personal information | |||
Date of birth: | March 2, 1934 | ||
Place of birth: | Columbus, Ohio | ||
Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
Weight: | 183 lb (83 kg) | ||
Career information | |||
High school: | Columbus (OH) Central | ||
College: | Ohio State | ||
NFL Draft: | 1956 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3 | ||
Career history | |||
Career highlights and awards | |||
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Career NFL statistics | |||
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Player stats at NFL.com |
Howard Albert "Hopalong" Cassady (born March 2, 1934) is a former professional American football running back. He won the Heisman Trophy in 1955 and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1979. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons, seven of them for the Detroit Lions, with whom he won the 1957 NFL Championship Game.
Cassady was born in Columbus, Ohio and attended the now closed Central High School.
Cassady played football for the Ohio State Buckeyes from 1952 to 1955. During his college career, he scored 37 touchdowns in 36 games. He also played defensive back; a pass was never completed on him in his four years at the university. He was twice selected as a consensus All-American, in 1954 and 1955. The 1954 Buckeyes finished the season 10–0 and won a consensus national championship. That year Cassady finished third in the vote for the Heisman Trophy behind Alan Ameche of Wisconsin. In 1955, Cassady won the Heisman Trophy (by the largest margin at the time), the Maxwell Award, and was named the Associated Press Athlete of the Year. During his playing days, Cassady was 5'10" and 170 pounds.
Cassady earned the nickname "Hopalong" during his first game as a freshman for Ohio State. Columbus sportswriters who saw him play said he "hopped all over the field like the performing cowboy", a reference to the fictional character Hopalong Cassidy. In that game Cassady came off the bench to score three touchdowns in a win over Indiana University.