# Houston Antwine

Houston J. "Twine" Antwine (April 11, 1939 – December 26, 2011) was an American football defensive tackle who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons.

## Early life

Antwine was born on April 11, 1939, in Louise, Mississippi. He attended Manassas High School in Memphis, Tennessee.
He played college football as a two-way lineman and wrestled for the Southern Illinois University Salukis. He was named a Little All-American for football, and finished as second in the NAIA heavyweight division in wrestling. Antwine was selected by his football teammates as team MVP in 1960. That season, the Salukis won the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. He was inducted into the Southern Illinois University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1979.

## Pro career

He was selected by the AFL's Houston Oilers in the 1961 draft, but he was traded to the Boston Patriots for a fourth-round 1962 AFL draft pick. The Detroit Lions also drafted him in the third round of the 1961 NFL draft. Antwine chose to play for the Patriots. He did not play regularly in his first two seasons, starting only two games.
He earned his first of six straight All-Star selections in 1963, a season in which Antwine was also named first team All AFL by the AFL, the Associated Press (AP), United Press International (UPI), and the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA). The Patriots tied for the best record in the East Division at 7–6–1. The Patriots won the Divisional Playoff game versus Buffalo before losing to the San Diego Chargers in the AFL Championship Game. It was the only playoff experience for Antwine.
Nicknamed "Twine" from his wrestling days, Antwine was cited by Pro Football Hall of Famer Billy Shaw as one of the American Football League's best pass rushers, athletic and very quick on his feet, usually drawing double-team blocking for a line that also featured "Earthquake" Jim Lee Hunt. The Pro Football Hall of Fame states Antwine became "one of the most dominant defensive players in league history especially noted as devastating against the run." Teammate Gino Cappelletti described Antwine with quickness akin to a cat, who could rush with his speed and technique. He returned his only interception as a player (for two yards) in a 28–20 win over the Denver Broncos on December 12, 1965.
Antwine was the AFL Defensive Player of the Week as he sacked Dan Darragh three times in the Patriots' 16–7 win over the Buffalo Bills at War Memorial Stadium on September 8, 1968. He had a career high in sacks that year with 7.5. He posted a career high ten tackles in the Patriots' 33–14 win over the Cincinnati Bengals at Fenway Park on December 1, 1968. He was traded in 1972 to the Philadelphia Eagles for Bill Hobbs and started nine games in his final season.
Statistics for sacks were not officially counted in his day, but Antwine is recognized as having 38 sacks in his 142 games with the Patriots (36) and Eagles (2), though other sources (including the Patriots team sources) report him having 39 sacks just with the Patriots. He led the team in three straight seasons (1967–1969).
Antwine was one of over twenty African American players who boycotted the 1965 AFL All-Star game in New Orleans because of unequal racial treatment throughout the city leading up to the game, later joined by some white players. As a result, the game was moved to Houston. New Orleans later had to demonstrate to the NFL changes were made in the city, so it could obtain an NFL franchise.

## Honors

He was named to the American Football League All-Time Team in 1970 as a first-team defensive tackle alongside Tom Sestak (with future Hall of Famer Buck Buchanan named a second-team tackle). In addition to being a six-time AFL All Star, he was named All AFL six times, including first team selections by the AFL (1963, 1966), AP (1963), UPI (1963, 1966), NEA (1963, 1966, 1968) and The Sporting News (1968-1969); and second team selections by the AP (1966-1969), UPI (1964, 1967-1968), and The Sporting News (1967).
After years of being a finalist, Antwine was finally inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2015. He was also a member of the Patriots' 50th anniversary all time team.

## Personal life

Antwine died of heart failure in Memphis, Tennessee on December 26, 2011, less than a day before his wife Evelyn died of lung cancer.