Ernie Stautner

Ernest Alfred Stautner (April 20, 1925 – February 16, 2006) was a German-American professional football player and coach. He played as a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He also served as a coach for the Steelers, Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football for the Boston College Eagles. Stautner was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1969.

Stautner was born on April 20, 1925, in Prienzing near Cham, Bavaria in Germany. Stautner's family immigrated to Albany or nearby East Greenbush, New York, when he was three years old. He attended Columbia High School and the Vincentian Institute. He served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II (1943–46). At age 17, he fought in the Battle of Okinawa.

After the war, he enrolled at Boston College, where he was a four-year starter as an offensive and defensive tackle, and was selected All-New England and All-Catholic. He was a third-team Central Press All American in 1948. He also handled the team's kickoff and extra point duties. One of his teammates was future Pro Football Hall of Famer Art Donovan, who played defensive tackle next to Stautner. Donovan entered the Hall of Fame one year before Stautner. He earned a bachelor's degree in psychology in 1950.

In 1973, he was inducted into the Boston College Varsity Club Athletic Hall of Fame.

Stautner was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round (22nd overall) of the 1950 NFL draft. He played his entire career with the Steelers, from 1950 to 1963. Despite being small even for his day at 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) and 235 pounds (106.6 kg), he distinguished himself as one of the best defensive linemen of his era. He became the cornerstone of the Steelers' bruising defense.

Stautner was named to nine Pro Bowls in his 14-year career and only missed six games. He also made All-NFL in 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959. He retired as the career leader in safeties with three and ranked third in fumble recoveries with 23. He moved to defensive end in the later years of his career and also saw spot service at offensive guard. In 1957, he won the NFL's Best Lineman Award.

In the book Passion for Sports, a compilation of sports figure interviews published by The Sporting News, former teammate Andy Russell shares an anecdote that highlights Stautner's toughness. Russell, then a rookie playing on a team that would eventually finish in fourth place in what would be Stautner's final season, sees the grizzled veteran return to the huddle holding one of his hands in the other. Russell looks down and sees that Stautner has a compound fracture of the thumb; one of his thumb bones is visibly sticking out of his skin. Russell is the only one who notices, and Stautner says only, "What's the play?" Then he plays the rest of the defensive series. When the defense returns to the sideline, Russell watches Stautner, thinking that surely he must seek medical attention now. Instead, Stautner says to someone, "Give me some tape." Then Stautner taped up his hand into a club, and he played the rest of the game.

Before a 1958 game against the Browns, the team doctor was supposed to give Stautner a shot of Novocain to numb an injured shoulder. Instead, the doctor injected him with a dangerously high 1,200 milligrams of Demerol.