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DE Jim Houston (All-American, CFB HOF, Pro Bowler, NFL Champion, R.I.P.)

bearonu

60% of the time, it works every time.
Well before many of our times, but a BIG congrats to Jim Houston on making the College Football Hall of Fame. However, notice that everyone's favorite Mark May made the list as well.

http://www.sportsnetwork.com/default.asp?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfoot/news/afn3901983.htm



New York, NY (Sports Network) - Heisman Trophy winning quarterback John Huarte and All-America running back Anthony Davis are among the College Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2005.

Huarte, the 1964 Heisman winner from Notre Dame, and Davis, the 1974 Heisman runner-up from Southern California, were joined in this year's class by nine other Division I-A players and two coaches.

Other players selected for enshrinement were Alabama linebacker Cornelius Bennett, Pittsburgh offensive lineman Mark May, Oklahoma running back Joe Washington, Texas running back Roosevelt Leaks, Michigan defensive back Tom Curtis, Penn State offensive tackle Keith Dorney, Ohio State end Jim Houston, Stanford defensive tackle Paul Wiggin and Illinois wide receiver David Williams.

Pat Dye and Don Nehlen were the coaches chosen for induction.

"We are very pleased to have the opportunity to induct another exceptional class of college football Hall of Famers," said National Football Foundation chairman Jon F. Hanson. "Each year our hard-working honors court, chaired by Gene Corrigan, continues to do an outstanding job in ensuring the game's legends are duly recognized."

The 2005 College Football Hall of Fame Division I-A Class will be inducted at the 48th Annual Awards Dinner on December 6, 2005, at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. They will be officially enshrined at the Hall of Fame in South Bend during ceremonies in August of 2006.

Huarte guided Notre Dame to a share of the national championship in 1964 when he set 12 school records, including single-season passing yards with 2,062 and touchdown passes with 16.

Davis, the Heisman runner-up to Ohio State's Archie Griffin, will become the sixth Trojan in as many years to enter the Hall of Fame. He helped Southern California to a record of 31-3-2, three conference titles, three Rose Bowl victories and two national championships in three years.

Bennett, Alabama's Player of the Decade for the 1980s, won the Lombardi Award as the nation's top lineman in 1986. He was a two-time first-team All-American and a unanimous selection in '86. In 14 successful NFL seasons, he played in five Super Bowls -- four in a row for the Buffalo Bills.

May was the 1980 Outland Trophy winner as the top interior lineman and that season captained a Pittsburgh team that went 11-1 and included Hall of Famers Dan Marino and Hugh Green. He was also a two-time Super Bowl winner with the Washington Redskins in a 13-year NFL career.

Washington finished third -- behind Griffin and Davis -- in the 1974 Heisman balloting, then was fifth in the voting the following season when Griffin won the award again. His Sooner teams won a pair of national championships and lost only twice in 46 career games.

Leaks became the first African-American athlete to earn All-America honors for Texas in 1973 when he finished third in the Heisman Trophy race.

Curtis had 25 career interceptions from 1967-69 for Michigan, leading the nation with 10 picks in 1968.

Dorney was a two-time first-team All-America for Penn State and helped the Nittany Lions to a record of 38-10 during his career from 1975-78.

Houston was an Ohio State team MVP twice and led the Buckeyes to the 1957 national championship.

Wiggin played at Stanford from 1954-56 and is one of only two players to return to school as head coach.

Williams finished his collegiate career (1983-85) as the second-leading receiver in NCAA history with 245 receptions and in 1984 led the nation with 101 catches for the Illini.

Dye had a record of 153-62-5 in 19 years with East Carolina (1974-79), Wyoming (1980) and Auburn (1981-92). During his 12-year run at Auburn, Dye was the SEC coach of the year three times and led the Tigers to six bowl victories in nine appearances. Nehlen is best known for his 21 years at West Virginia (1980-2000) and was named national coach of the year in 1988 when he guided the Mountaineers to an undefeated regular season. He also coached for nine seasons at Bowling Green and has a career record of 202-128-8.
 
Nehlen and Pat Dye got in as coaches, and Cooper missed out.

Can't argue about the players that got in (other than the scUMer, or course). Mark May is an tool now, but he was an outstanding player.

Long overdue honor for Jim Houston.
 
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End Jim Houston (official thread)

Family pointed the way for Houston


BRUCE MARSHALL
Tribune Staff Writer


Growing up in a large, poor family, Jim Houston was told by his mother early on that if he wanted to go to college, he'd have to pay for it himself.

You might think being the youngest of nine children would be an obstacle, but it proved to be an advantage by providing three older brothers to point the way for Houston.

"I remember sitting in the stadium in Cleveland, in a seat that cost twenty-five cents, when I was nine years old and watching my oldest brother, Lin, play for the Browns," said Houston. "I wondered what it would take to be down on that field playing."

Houston, a native of Massillon, Ohio, figured out what it would take, because he went on to win a state championship for Washington High School of Massillon, a national championship at Ohio State (1957) and an NFL championship (1964) with the Cleveland Browns.

Three championships, all in his home state of Ohio.

He figured it out so well that he will be enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame on August 12, in South Bend.

"My brother Lin (born in 1921) led the way for all three of us. My brothers Jack and Walt both played at Purdue and I got to Ohio State," said Houston. "We all got full, four-year scholarships and college degrees. That's pretty good for the sons of a steelworker who knew nothing about sports.

"Lin really had it the best," Houston continued, "he only played for one coach, Paul Brown, in high school (Washington H.S. of Massillon), college (Ohio State) and the pros (Cleveland Browns). But I played for a great college coach in Woody Hayes. He was very bright and always knew what was going on."

Playing for Ohio State from 1957 to 1959, Houston was a fierce competitor and team leader. In 1958 he was a first team All-American selection. Houston was invited to play in the East-West Shrine Game in 1959, "my coach in the Shrine Game was Otto Graham and that was exciting."

Houston was a two-time first team Big Ten All-Conference selection, named Ohio State team MVP twice and led the Buckeyes to a 9-1 record, a Big Ten title and a national championship in 1957.

In his senior year at Ohio State, Houston averaged an incredible 56 minutes per game, playing both defense and offense and was selected All-Big Ten Conference and All-American for the second year in a row. He averaged 51 minutes per game in his three year career at Ohio State.

"I remember one play when we were playing Michigan the last game of the year," Houston said. "Michigan ran a 'belly' play, faking the ball to the fullback, then pitching to the halfback. They were on our six yard line.

"I took the fake and tackled the fullback for a loss, but the halfback had the ball and he scored. This was just before halftime. We went into the locker and I sat in my usual seat on the far left side of the front row where Woody couldn't easily reach to hit me.

"Well, he started yelling and screaming at me for that play and really let me have it. It fired up the whole team and we went out and won the game in the second half.

"I saw Woody about a month later and asked him why he yelled at me like that when I'd played something like 1,445 minutes out of 1,600 minutes that season with very few mistakes. He said, 'It wasn't about your mistake, I just figured that if I yelled and screamed at the best player on the field, the others would take notice.' They did; Woody was a master at that."

Hayes recruited Houston personally; he thought that much of him. "When Woody came to my house, he walked in and shook my hand and said 'Hi.' Then he went and talked to my mother.

"I never talked to Woody again until I showed up at Ohio State that fall. He knew what he was doing though, because Purdue was heavily recruiting me. But the Purdue recruiters never got past my mother; she always just told them I was going to Ohio State."

Houston's brother Walt played in the pros for two years, "but he figured out he could make more money digging ditches than playing football. And he did, the most he ever made playing was $7,500 and he made $10,000 digging ditches.

"My brother Lin played for the Browns for eight years and never made more than $9,000. So when a fraternity brother asked me what I planned to do after graduation (from Ohio State), I told him I was playing pro football somewhere. He said I should have a plan for something else and he introduced me to insurance sales. I got my license in my senior year and have been selling insurance since."

Houston, age 68, follows college football today and is a season ticket holder at Ohio State. "I like the game today and, yes, I could play today's game. When I played for the Browns, I was 6-foot-3 and 255 pounds. Ray Nitschke (linebacker-Green Bay Packers '58-'72) and I were the prototypes for today's big linebackers. Even at that size I was fast enough to keep up with the smaller guys."
 
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2006 Enshrinee Spotlight: Jim Houston
Posted: Jul 20, 2006
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Houston won a National Championship at Ohio State in 1957
During his football career, Ohio State end Jim Houston captured a rare triple crown in championships by winning a state title, national collegiate championship and NFL crown all within his home state of Ohio.

It was a natural choice for Houston to become a Buckeye, following his brother Lin to Columbus. Like Jim, Lin was an All-America who played on a National Championship Ohio State team and NFL title squad.

Playing in the one platoon era, Houston averaged 44 minutes a game as a sophomore end in 1957. In just his first season, Houston caught four passes for one score and terrorized opposing offenses from his defensive end position. That year the Buckeyes won the Big Ten title and beat Oregon in the Rose Bowl. Houston’s 18-yard reception in the Rose Bowl set up the winning touchdown and Ohio State won their second National Championship under legendary head coach Woody Hayes.

In 1958, Houston averaged 56 minutes a game, caught four passes for 127 yards and was named first-team All-America. As a senior, he averaged 56 minutes a contest and repeated as a first team All-America and all-conference performer. Houston was Ohio State’s featured receiving option in 1959, as he led the team with 11 catches for 214 yards and three touchdown receptions. While Ohio Sate was primarily a running team, when the team looked to throw Houston delivered in a big way, averaging 24.6 yards per catch on 19 career receptions.

The consummate iron man, Houston averaged over 51 minutes of playing time per game throughout his college career.

Selected by the Cleveland Browns in the first round of the 1960 NFL Draft, Houston played his entire 13-year pro career with the Browns. A standout pro linebacker and defensive end, Houston appeared in four Pro Bowls, was a captain for seven seasons and was a key contributor on the Browns’ 1964 NFL Championship Team.

Houston will receive college football’s ultimate honor when he is permanently enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame on August 12, 2006.

For more information on the 2006 Enshrinement Festival, please click here.
 
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8/8/06

Jim Houston, end, 1957-1959


By MIKE POPOVICH

REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

Jim Houston’s older brothers went different directions after high school.
Lin became an All-American at Ohio State and played on the Buckeyes’ first national championship team in 1942. Walt followed Jack to Purdue in the early 1950s.
The Boilermakers were interested in Jim, but he chose to follow the path of his oldest brother.
“Purdue hustled after me pretty hard, but I decided to go to Ohio State and even out the score,” Jim Houston said. “We had our battles after that on the golf course.”
Purdue’s loss proved to be Ohio State’s gain.
Houston will be enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame this weekend in South Bend, Ind. The former Massillon High School great was a two-way end who earned first team All-America honors and helped lead the Buckeyes to a national title in 1957.
A three-year lettermen, Houston was viewed as the consummate iron man. He played 1,453 of a possible 1,680 minutes in three seasons, an average of over 51 minutes per 60-minute game. He averaged over 56 minutes his senior year.
“It was about conditioning and desire,” said Houston, who is a member of the Stark County High School Football Hall of Fame. “Plus the rules were different then. You couldn’t substitute freely like you can now. It was not uncommon for most of us to play 40 to 50 minutes.”
An injury in a high school all-star game forced Houston to miss his freshman season at Ohio State. Veteran Russ Bowermaster beat him out for the starting defensive end position in 1957. But Head Coach Woody Hayes never hesitated to get Houston into a game.
“He started Russ and put me in after so many seconds went by,” Houston said. “It was so abrupt, I didn’t remember what my plays were.”
Houston quickly fit in. He became the full-time starter when Bowermaster suffered an injury a few weeks later, and he anchored the line for three seasons.
Versatility was another Houston strength. When the Buckeyes clinched the 1957 national title with a Rose Bowl victory over Oregon, he caught an 18-yard pass to set up the winning touchdown.
While Ohio State focused on the run, Houston established himself as a big-play receiver. He averaged 24.6 yards per catch on 19 career receptions.
“I showed some dexterity,” Houston said.
The national title Ohio State won in 1957 came three years after Houston helped lead Massillon to a seventh straight state title. A title trifecta was achieved in 1964 when his Cleveland Browns shut out the Baltimore Colts, 27-0, in the NFL championship game.
“It’s mind-boggling,” Houston said of winning championships at all three levels. “The character of each team was the same. All the guys were hustling and working hard to achieve their goals.” Reach Repository sports writer Mike Popovich at (330) 580-8341 or e-mail: [email protected]
 
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Family pointed the way for Houston


BRUCE MARSHALL
Tribune Staff Writer


Growing up in a large, poor family, Jim Houston was told by his mother early on that if he wanted to go to college, he'd have to pay for it himself.

You might think being the youngest of nine children would be an obstacle, but it proved to be an advantage by providing three older brothers to point the way for Houston.

"I remember sitting in the stadium in Cleveland, in a seat that cost twenty-five cents, when I was nine years old and watching my oldest brother, Lin, play for the Browns," said Houston. "I wondered what it would take to be down on that field playing."

Houston, a native of Massillon, Ohio, figured out what it would take, because he went on to win a state championship for Washington High School of Massillon, a national championship at Ohio State (1957) and an NFL championship (1964) with the Cleveland Browns.

Three championships, all in his home state of Ohio.

He figured it out so well that he will be enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame on August 12, in South Bend.

"My brother Lin (born in 1921) led the way for all three of us. My brothers Jack and Walt both played at Purdue and I got to Ohio State," said Houston. "We all got full, four-year scholarships and college degrees. That's pretty good for the sons of a steelworker who knew nothing about sports.

"Lin really had it the best," Houston continued, "he only played for one coach, Paul Brown, in high school (Washington H.S. of Massillon), college (Ohio State) and the pros (Cleveland Browns). But I played for a great college coach in Woody Hayes. He was very bright and always knew what was going on."

Playing for Ohio State from 1957 to 1959, Houston was a fierce competitor and team leader. In 1958 he was a first team All-American selection. Houston was invited to play in the East-West Shrine Game in 1959, "my coach in the Shrine Game was Otto Graham and that was exciting."

Houston was a two-time first team Big Ten All-Conference selection, named Ohio State team MVP twice and led the Buckeyes to a 9-1 record, a Big Ten title and a national championship in 1957.

In his senior year at Ohio State, Houston averaged an incredible 56 minutes per game, playing both defense and offense and was selected All-Big Ten Conference and All-American for the second year in a row. He averaged 51 minutes per game in his three year career at Ohio State.

"I remember one play when we were playing Michigan the last game of the year," Houston said. "Michigan ran a 'belly' play, faking the ball to the fullback, then pitching to the halfback. They were on our six yard line.

"I took the fake and tackled the fullback for a loss, but the halfback had the ball and he scored. This was just before halftime. We went into the locker and I sat in my usual seat on the far left side of the front row where Woody couldn't easily reach to hit me.

"Well, he started yelling and screaming at me for that play and really let me have it. It fired up the whole team and we went out and won the game in the second half.

"I saw Woody about a month later and asked him why he yelled at me like that when I'd played something like 1,445 minutes out of 1,600 minutes that season with very few mistakes. He said, 'It wasn't about your mistake, I just figured that if I yelled and screamed at the best player on the field, the others would take notice.' They did; Woody was a master at that."

Hayes recruited Houston personally; he thought that much of him. "When Woody came to my house, he walked in and shook my hand and said 'Hi.' Then he went and talked to my mother.

"I never talked to Woody again until I showed up at Ohio State that fall. He knew what he was doing though, because Purdue was heavily recruiting me. But the Purdue recruiters never got past my mother; she always just told them I was going to Ohio State."

Houston's brother Walt played in the pros for two years, "but he figured out he could make more money digging ditches than playing football. And he did, the most he ever made playing was $7,500 and he made $10,000 digging ditches.

"My brother Lin played for the Browns for eight years and never made more than $9,000. So when a fraternity brother asked me what I planned to do after graduation (from Ohio State), I told him I was playing pro football somewhere. He said I should have a plan for something else and he introduced me to insurance sales. I got my license in my senior year and have been selling insurance since."

Houston, age 68, follows college football today and is a season ticket holder at Ohio State. "I like the game today and, yes, I could play today's game. When I played for the Browns, I was 6-foot-3 and 255 pounds. Ray Nitschke (linebacker-Green Bay Packers '58-'72) and I were the prototypes for today's big linebackers. Even at that size I was fast enough to keep up with the smaller guys."
 
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Massillon rings true for Houston
By CHRIS EASTERLING
[email protected]
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Jim Houston has been a lot of places in his lifetime. He has accomplished quite a bit as well.

But through all the places and all the faces, the one thing Houston ? who was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame this year ? has never forgotten is where his roots are, which is Massillon, Ohio. And he returned to those roots Tuesday to speak at the Touchdown Club meeting at Amvets.

?Do you know what it?s like to have Massillon as your hometown?? Houston asked rhetorically. ?It?s the greatest thing going. Everybody knows of Massillon, Ohio. Everybody, unless they?ve never seen a football game ever.

?The experiences I?ve had all these years, you guys should pat yourselves on the back, because you show a wonderful, great presence for Massillon football. I can?t tell you, I?ve been everyplace, and everybody knows about Massillon, and I?m so proud that I can?t even tell you. When I was asked to come down and talk with you, I said ?great, fantastic? because I wanted to tell you that Massillon is the place to be. It really is.?

The youngest of four brothers ? all of whom played at Massillon and went on to play Big Ten college football ? Houston graduated from Washington High in 1956 having been an All-Ohio defensive end. He went on to be an All-American and team captain at Ohio State, before being selected as a first-round draft pick in 1960 by the Cleveland Browns.

Houston and his brother Lin, who also played at Ohio State and for the Browns, both achieved the distinction of having won titles at the high school, college and professional levels. The older Houston played on the Tigers? 1937 and 1938 state championship teams, then was on Ohio State?s 1942 title team and Cleveland?s 1946-49 All-American Football Conference and 1950 NFL championship teams.

The younger Houston won a state title at Massillon in 1954, then played on the Buckeyes? 1957 championship team and the Browns? 1964 title squad.

Yet, with all of that success at the high school, collegiate and professional level, who would have believed Jim Houston would also know the sting of getting cut. But, in the seventh grade, that?s exactly what happened to the future four-time Pro Bowl selection.

?I felt so bad,? Jim Houston said of getting cut. ?I went home and I said, ?Mom, (seventh-grade coach) Roger (Price) just cut me from the team.? I was too small, too little, couldn?t do anything. So anyways, I got cut.

?I had brothers who were playing high school ball at Massillon, and I have another brother playing for the Cleveland Browns. I?m the youngest, and they cut me. I was like, ?Oh jeez, what am I going to say? What am I going to say to everybody?? She said, ?Simply just try next year. That?s all you have to do, just try next year.? I thought about that, and I said, ?OK.??

Yes, things turned out OK for Houston. After playing halfback in junior high, he switched to tackle in the ninth grade. The rest, as they say so often, is history.

?I was playing at halfback,? Houston said. ?I wanted all the glory, but I didn?t want to do all the work. As a ninth-grader, I played tackle and made all-city. So, maybe I was in the wrong position in the seventh grade.?

Houston broke into the Tigers? starting lineup as a junior, as Massillon went 9-1 to claim the state championship in Tom Harp?s first season at the helm. His senior season resulted in an 8-1-1 mark and a No. 2 ranking in the state. As a senior, he was recognized as an All-Ohioan.

?The football experiences I had at Massillon were just tremendous,? Houston said. ?I didn?t get to play much as a sophomore; nobody plays very much as a sophomore. But, as a junior, I started, and as a senior, I started and I had reasonably good success.?

Yet for all of his ? and his teammates? ? success, he also knew there was a fair amount of hard work needed to achieve it. It was that message which he tried to convey to the two current Tiger players who were sitting at the head table as he spoke.

?We had guys who wouldn?t quit,? Houston said. ?And that?s what I want you guys to remember, you can?t quit. Never, never, never.?

He paused for a second, before joking, ?Or I?ll punch you in the mouth.?

Just like Jim Houston the player used to do to the opposition.
 
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Jim Houston, a champion at every level



Sunday, October 29, 2006

High school: Born in 1937 in Massillon, he became a two-way end for state poll champion Massillon his junior season. Named All-Ohio and All-American as a senior.
College: Member of the 1957 national championship team at Ohio State, where he was a two-time All-American and two-time team MVP. Played on both sides of the ball and on special teams, averaging 51 minutes of play a game.
Professional: Drafted fifth overall by the Browns in 1960. Member of Browns' 1964 championship team. Played defensive end and linebacker for the Browns for 13 seasons (1960-72). Four-time Pro Bowler (1964, 1965, 1969, 1970). Houston was in the Army in 1962 and 1963, stationed in New Jersey. During football season, he did his military duties during the week and would fly to Browns games - home or away - to play Sunday afternoon and return to duty that evening.
Honors: Enshrined into the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1979 and the National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame in August 2006.
 
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Browns legend racked up minutes, titles over career

Jim Houston joins team's elite with today's induction
Sunday, October 29, 2006Bob Roberts
Plain Dealer Reporter
Some athletes collect moments. Others encase mementos. For Jim Houston, it's the minutes.
Houston, 68, one of Ohio's most accomplished football players, is enjoying a season of salutes. But all the trophies and plaques in the world don't mean as much to him as the game clock he once owned.
Having earned a rare Buckeye football triple crown - championships in high school, college and at the professional level - Houston has his playing minutes at Ohio State memorized.
"As a sophomore, it was 440 minutes of 600. As a junior, 500? of 540 minutes, and as a senior, it was 502? of 540," he said. "The key was not getting hurt, and the reason for that was that I was always warmed up and ready to play."
Houston, who began his career at Massillon High and ended it with the Cleveland Browns, was one of the game's last two-way players. He starred at the end position, on both defense and offense, on three Woody Hayes-coached Ohio State teams.
Houston was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame on Aug. 12. He'll become a Cleveland Browns Legend today when he is inducted with Walt Michaels, Doug Dieken, and Earnest Byner at the Browns' home game against the New York Jets.
To be a Legend, players must have been on the Browns roster for at least four seasons. Inductees are selected by a 10-member Legends panel (80 percent of the total) and by fans voting on clevelandbrowns.com (20 percent).
Houston's Ohio Triple Crown of Football started when he was a member of the Massillon team that was voted No. 1 in the state in 1954. At Ohio State, he played on the 1957 team that won the Big Ten title, beat Oregon in the Rose Bowl and was voted the nation's most accomplished team.
In 1964, Houston was a member of the Browns team that won the NFL title, beating the Baltimore Colts, 27-0, in the championship game.
"I value all my championships, but that 1964 season was the greatest," said Houston. "Everybody on the team was on the same page. It was a team in unison."

As a youngster, though, Houston wasn't sure he would get the opportunity to play football at any level. He was cut from his seventh-grade team and was told he was too small and too slow.
Houston grew to 6-3, 240 pounds and went on to star at Massillon.
It was at Ohio State where Houston blossomed. He points to a year in which he didn't play as most significant to his development.
"Even though I wasn't eligible to play as a freshman in 1956, it was my most important year," Houston said. "The coaching staff ran plays at me all fall. I was ahead of the competition when I started playing. I knew in a split second what was unfolding."
Houston was coached by two legends at OSU.
On Woody Hayes' coaching staff, in charge of the ends, was Bo Schembechler, who would eventually take over the head coaching duties at Michigan and enjoy an immense rivalry with Hayes and the Buckeyes.
Houston recalls the 1957 season-ending Rose Bowl, a 10-7 victory over Oregon, a game in which his 18-yard pass reception help set up the winning touchdown.
"I played all 60 minutes and lost 18 pounds that day," said Houston, who now lives in Sagamore Hills.
"Could today's players go both ways? With all the timeouts you think somebody could, but I don't think anybody really wants ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^to."
 
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NFL: BROWNS: Where are they Now?: Houston


/noticias.info/ Steve King, Staff Writer
11.21.2006

When first-round NFL Draft picks end holdouts and report to training camp now, their first press conference is a major event.

Accompanied by a small entourage that usually includes their family and agent, the player strides into team's indoor facility and is greeted by a horde of media people. It's as if a head of state has arrived at the White House. You almost expect to hear a band strike up a rendition of "Pomp and Circumstance."

So what kind of greeting did defensive end Jim Houston, the eighth overall choice in the 1960 draft, receive as he wandered into League Park on Cleveland's east side for his first practice as a member of the Browns?

"I expected a pat on the back or something when I came in the door, but instead someone yelled at me about where I had parked," he said. "The guy screamed, ?Go get your car! If you leave it outside on the street, it'll get stolen!' So I went out and pulled my car - I had a 1956 Chevy - inside the gate."

And once there, no one paid any special attention to Houston, least of all the small group of reporters present. He was just another na?ve, still-wet-behind-the-ears rookie. The fact he was a first-round pick meant absolutely nothing.

That tells you all you need to know about the vast differences in today's NFL as opposed to 45 years ago.

Yesterday: Three Storied Teams, Three Titles

Back in the 1950s, when Houston was growing up, an Ohio football player could do better than playing at Massillon High School, then Ohio State and finally the Browns. All three were riding a wave of success, and Houston was on board with each one.

"We were state champs when I was a junior at Massillon (1954)," Houston said. "We were national champs when I was a sophomore at Ohio State ('57), and we were NFL champs when I was in my fifth year with the Browns ('64).

"To have been part of that, and to have played for two of the greatest coaches who ever lived in Woody Hayes and Paul Brown, was so special."

As good as Houston was with the Browns - and he was very good in his 13-year (1960-72) career, twice being selected All-NFL and making the Pro Bowl four times - he was just as good with the Buckeyes. He was chosen as an all-American in his junior and senior seasons. Hi career was so special, in fact, that he was recently inducted into the College Football Hall Of Fame along with one of his former Browns teammates - and the man he played behind, literally, during much of his Cleveland career -- defensive end Paul Wiggin (Stanford).

Houston was part of a special football family. His older brother, Lin, also played for Ohio State, where he, too, was an All-American, and with the Browns. Two other brothers, Jack and Walt, played at Purdue, and Walt went on to the Redskins.

"I think the reason Paul Brown drafted me was because my brother, Lin, had played for him. I really believe that," Houston said.

Houston didn't disappoint Brown, or the coaches who followed him, Blanton Collier and Nick Skorich. Playing first at end and then at linebacker, he was a mainstay of a Browns defense that, because of all the stars on offense, never got its due during his career.

And it all came together in the 1964 NFL Championship Game, when the Browns blanked Jonny Unitas and the Baltimore Colts, 27-0. It was a magical end to a magical season.

"When I was at Ohio State, we expected to win," Houston said. "We had the same feeling for all the time I played with the Browns.

"In 1964, the thing that was special about that team was that we were all so unselfish. Paul Wiggin played end in front of me. I looked out for him, and he looked out for me. It was that way throughout the team."

The Browns made it to the playoffs seven times in Houston's last nine years with the club, qualifying for the league title game on four occasions.

Today: Still Protecting His Friends

Houston, now 68, can thank Paul Brown for the career he has today.

"When I was a rookie, Paul said to us, ?Men, we don't have practice on Mondays and Tuesday, so go out and get a job,' " Houston. "So I did. That's how I got started in the insurance business. I'm still in that today."

He works out of his Sagamore Hills home in suburban Cleveland. His wife, Donna, a registered nurse for 42 years, is still working as well. They have eight kids from their combined families. Houston has five children of his own and 12 grandchildren.

A Cut Above The Rest

And to think Houston's football career almost ended before it started. As a seventh-grader at Lorin Andrews Junior High School in Massillon, he was cut from the team because he was too small and too slow.

"I weighed about 70 pounds," Houston said. "But my parents encouraged me. They just told me to try again the next year, and I made it as an eighth-grader.

"That experience was one of the things that drove me throughout my whole career."

Along, of course, with the "warm" welcome he got with the Browns as a rookie.
 
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Jim Houston

As a Buckeye: The three-time letterman-winner (1957 to '59) was team MVP and an All-American as an end in 1958 and '59. Houston made the college Hall of Fame in 2006.

As a pro: A first-round draft choice of the Cleveland Browns of the NFL and Buffalo Bills of the AFL, Houston followed his brother Lindell to Cleveland, where he played for 13 seasons and made four Pro Bowls.

The skinny: Under coach Paul Brown, Houston started his career as a defensive end but switched to linebacker when Blanton Collier was hired as coach.

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The memories: From Jim Houston, 72, the Buckeyes' College Hall of Fame two-way end who played every minute of this game as a sophomore: "That was my first 60-minute game. It was 84-degree weather. At the beginning of the season in Columbus, you might get one of those days, but being in California, it was expected. Most of us played a lot of minutes. I lost 18 pounds during the game. It was a great time for all of us. We thought we had the ability to do well. The seniors conveyed that and the sophomores went along with it. We had certain standards that we had to live by, and we made sure everybody did. It was one of those things where this is what we were expected to do, and when you're under Woody [Hayes'] regime, that's exactly what you'd better do.

"I was just savoring the moment. We really enjoyed everything we went through, with Woody and all your teammates. All of us took pride our in our defense, Jim Marshall and Bob White and all the others. And Frank Kremblas, the quarterback, did a great job.

"I was one of the younger guys, and you were able to experience one of those once-in-a-lifetime things. It was like playing in the Super Bowl for us. Oregon playing Ohio State again just brought the whole game right back to me that we played.

"There wasn't any BCS in those days. The Rose Bowl was the game. After we won, Woody didn't have much emotion. He did it like he'd been there before. And he said, 'Guys, always do that, like you've been there before.' Once you go through that, it's an experience that you really relish."

Buckeyes Rose Bowl Rewind: Ohio State wins but Oregon gets the glory | Ohio State Buckeyes - cleveland.com - - cleveland.com
 
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