Norb Hecker
| No. 88, 48 | |
| Date of birth | May 26, 1927 |
|---|---|
| Place of birth | Berea, Ohio |
| Date of death | March 14, 2004 (aged 76) |
| Place of death | Los Altos, California |
| Career information | |
| CFL status | International |
| Position(s) | S |
| College | Baldwin-Wallace |
| NFL draft | 1951 / Round: 6 / Pick: 72 |
| Career history | |
| As coach | |
| 1959–1965 | Green Bay Packers (DB) |
| 1966–1968 | Atlanta Falcons (HC) |
| 1969–1971 | New York Giants (DC) |
| 1972–1973 | Stanford (DC/DL) |
| 1974–1976 | Stanford (DC/LB) |
| 1977–1978 | Stanford (LB) |
| 1979 | San Francisco 49ers (DB) |
| 1980–1986 | San Francisco 49ers (LB) |
| As player | |
| 1951–1953 | Los Angeles Rams |
| 1954 | Toronto Argonauts |
| 1955–1957 | Washington Redskins |
| 1958 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats |
| Career stats | |
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Norbert Earl Hecker (May 26, 1927 – March 14, 2004) was an American football player and coach who was part of eight National Football League championship teams, but may be best remembered as the first head coach of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons.
Born and raised in Olmsted Falls, Ohio, Hecker served in the U.S. Army during World War II, then returned home to attend nearby Baldwin-Wallace College. In his years at the school, he showed himself to be an outstanding athlete by competing in four sports, most notably in football, where he won small college All-American honors in 1950 at wide receiver. After having seen time as a reserve during the previous two years, Hecker caught 34 passes for 646 yards as a senior, including 13 catches in a single game.
Hecker lived in Olmsted Falls Ohio, and his family still lives there. Hecker was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the sixth round of the 1951 NFL Draft, and during his first season with the team, played on both sides of the ball, missing only one game after suffering a fractured cheekbone. On defense, he returned one turnover for a touchdown that season, but his most important contribution came in the NFL title game on December 23, when his game-saving tackle helped the Rams defeat the Cleveland Browns, 24–17.
During the following off-season, Hecker married Barbara Anne Ritchie on April 4, a union that would last 46 years until her death. The family ties became even stronger when his brother Bob joined him in the Los Angeles secondary, but Hecker's time with the Rams would end after the conclusion of the 1953 NFL season, when, after intercepting seven passes for the year, he was dealt to the Washington Redskins. However, before playing a down with his new team, he signed to play with the Canadian Football League's Toronto Argonauts on June 8, 1954.
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