Sam Huff Robert Lee " Sam " Huff ( born October 4 , 1934 in Edna Gas , West Virginia ) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League for the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins . He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982 . Early life . Huff was born and grew up in the No . 9 coal mining camp in Edna Gas , West Virginia , The fourth of Oral and Catherine Huff ' s six children , he lived with his family in a small rowhouse with no running water . Huff grew up during the Great Depression , while his father and two of his brothers worked in the coal mines loading buggies for Consolidated Mining . Huff attended and played high school football at the now - closed Farmington High School , where he was both an offensive and defensive lineman . While he was there , Huff helped lead the team to an undefeated season in 1951 . He earned all - state honors in 1952 and was named to the first - team all - Mason Dixon Conference . College career . Huff attended and played college football at West Virginia University , where he majored in physical education . He started at guard as a sophomore and tackle the next two years , after winning a letter as a backup guard during his freshman season . He was a four - year letterman and helped lead West Virginia to a combined four - year mark of 31 - 7 and a berth in the 1954 Sugar Bowl . In 1955 , Huff was voted an All - America n and served as co - captain in both the East - West Shrine Game and the Senior Bowl . Professional career . New York Giants ( 1956 – 1963 ) . Huff was drafted in the third round of the 1956 NFL Draft by the New York Giants . In training camp , head coach Jim Lee Howell was having a hard time coming up with a position for Huff . Discouraged , Huff left camp but was stopped at the airport by assistant coach Vince Lombardi , who coaxed him back to camp . Then , defensive coordinator Tom Landry came up with the new 4 - 3 defensive scheme that he thought would fit Huff perfectly . The Giants switched him from the line to middle linebacker behind Ray Beck . Huff liked the position because he could keep his head up and use his superb peripheral vision to see the whole field . On October 7 , 1956 in a game against the Chicago Cardinals , Beck was injured and Huff was put into his first professional game . He then helped the Giants win five consecutive games and they finished with a 8 – 3 – 1 record , which gave them the Eastern Conference title . New York went on to win the 1956 NFL Championship Game and Huff became the first rookie middle linebacker to start an NFL championship game . In 1958 , the Giants again won the East and Huff played in the 1958 NFL Championship Game . The championship , which became widely known as " The Greatest Game Ever Played " , was the first ever National Football League ( NFL ) game to go into sudden death overtime . The final score was Baltimore Colts 23 , New York Giants 17 . In 1959 , Huff and the Giants again went to the NFL Championship Game , which ended in a 31 – 16 loss to the Colts . Also that year , Huff became the first NFL player to be featured on the cover of " Time " magazine on November 30 , 1959 . He almost passed up the magazine appearance , demanding money to be interviewed , but relented when " Time " agreed to give him the cover portrait . Huff was also the subject of an October 31 , 1960 CBS Television special , " The Violent World of Sam Huff " . , broadcast as an episode of the Walter Cronkite anthology series " The Twentieth Century " . The network wired Huff for sound in practice and in an exhibition game . The Giants then visited the championship under new coach Allie Sherman in 1961 , 1962 , 1963 , but lost every one of them . To improve what he thought was a defensive problem , Sherman then traded many defensive players , including Cliff Livingston , Rosey Grier , and Dick Modzelewski . After these trades , Huff went to owner Wellington Mara and was assured he would not be traded . But in 1964 , Giants head coach Allie Sherman traded Huff to the Washington Redskins for defensive tackle Andy Stynchula and running back Dick James . The trade made front - page news in New York and was greeted with jeers from Giants fans , who crowded Yankee Stadium yelling " Huff - Huff - Huff - Huff . " Huff played in four consecutive Pro Bowl s with the Giants from 1959 through 1963 . He was named most valuable player of the 1961 Pro Bowl . Washington Redskins ( 1964 – 1969 ) . Huff joined the Redskins in 1964 and they agreed to pay him $ 30 , 000 in salary and $ 5 , 000 for scouting , compared to the $ 19 , 000 he would have made another year with New York . The impact Huff had was almost immediate and the Redskins ' defense was ranked second in the NFL in 1965 . On November 27 , 1966 , Huff and the Redskins beat his former Giant teammates 72 – 41 , in the highest - scoring game in league history . After an ankle injury in 1967 ended his streak of 150 straight games played Huff retired in 1968 . Vince Lombardi talked Huff out of retirement in 1969 when he was named Washington ’ s head coach . The Redskins went 7 - 5 - 2 and had their best season since 1955 ( which kept Lombardi ' s record of never having coached a losing NFL team intact ) . Huff then retired for good after 14 seasons and 30 career interceptions . He spent one season coaching the Redskins ' linebackers in 1970 . After football . Business . Huff invested $ 75 , 000 with ESPN to showcase the West Virginia Breeders Classic horse race from Charles Town , West Virginia . The event has now run for over 20 years and has paid for Huff ’ s original investment several times over . Huff joined the Marriott Corporation as a salesman in 1971 and worked himself up to vice president of sports marketing before retiring in 1998 . He owns a 5 percent stake in the Marriott Hotel in Charleston , West Virginia . It remains the only Marriott in the state . Commentator . After retiring from football , Huff spent one season as a color commentator for the Giants radio team and then moved on to the same capacity for the Redskins radio network , where he remains to this day , calling games alongside former Redskins teammate Sonny Jurgensen and play - by - play announcer Larry Michael . He announced his retirement from broadcasting on June 21 , 2013 . He was also a broadcaster for a regionally syndicated TV package of Mountaineer football games in the mid - 1980s . Honors . In 1982 , Huff became just the second WVU player to be inducted into both the College and Pro football Halls of Fame . In 1988 , he was inducted into the WVU School of Physical Education Hall of Fame and , in 1991 he was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame . In 1999 , Huff was inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame and was ranked number 76 on " The Sporting News " ' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players . In 2001 , Huff was ranked number six on " Sports Illustrated ' s " list of West Virginia ' s 50 Greatest Athletes . On November 24 , 2005 , Huff ' s uniform number 75 was retired by West Virginia University . Horse breeding . In 1986 Huff began breeding Thoroughbred racehorses at Sporting Life Farm in Middleburg , Virginia . His filly , Bursting Forth , won the 1998 Matchmaker Handicap . He is on the Board of Golden Dreams Therapeutic Riding Center in Middleburg , Virginia . Politics . In 1970 , Huff ran for a seat in the U . S . House of Representatives , but lost in the West Virginia Democratic primary against Bob Mollohan by more than 19 , 000 votes . Personal . Huff is divorced from Mary Helen Fletcher . They have three children , Robert Lee ( " Sam " ) Huff Jr . , Catherine Ann , J . D . and three grandchildren Nicholas , Mary Carmen and Robert Lee ( " Bobby " ) Huff III . External links . Sam Huff ac