Ernest Alfred Stautner (April 20, 1925 – February
16, 2006) was a
German-born
American football player and
coach who starred as a
defensive tackle with the
Pittsburgh Steelers.
Biography
Born in
Prinzing near
Cham
, Bavaria
in Germany
, Stautner's family immigrated to Albany, New
York
when he was three years old. He served in the
United States Marine
Corps before attending Boston College
, where he was a four-year starter as an offensive and defensive tackle. He
earned a
bachelor's degree in
psychology in 1950.
After being selected in the second round of the
1950 NFL Draft, Stautner played his entire
career with the Steelers from 1950 to 1963. Despite being small
even for his day at 6-1 and 235 pounds, he distinguished himself as
one of the best
defensive linemen
of his era as he became the cornerstone of the Steelers bruising
defense. Stautner was selected to nine
Pro
Bowls in his fourteen-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 3 and ranked third in fumble
recoveries with 23. He also saw spot service at offensive
guard.
Stautner
was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
on September 13, 1969, his first year of
eligibility. Stautner is the only player to ever have his
number (70) officially retired by the Steelers.
From 1966 to 1988, he was an assistant coach with the
Dallas Cowboys, and served as the team's
defensive coordinator from
1973 to 1988. He was instrumental in the development of players
such as Randy White and Ed "Too Tall" Jones. Stautner stayed on
with the Cowboys from 1988 to 1989 as a
scout and then coached the
Dallas Texans, an
Arena Football League team, from 1990
to 1991. Stautner was the defensive line coach for the
Denver Broncos from 1991 to 1994. While with
the Broncos, he coached under both
Dan
Reeves and
Wade Phillips.
From 1995
to 1997, he returned to Germany
to become
head coach of the Frankfurt Galaxy of NFL Europe. He would guide the team to two
consecutive
World Bowls in
1995 and
1996,
winning in 1995.
Stautner was elected to the Steelers 50th anniversary team in 1982.
Stautner was elected posthumously by the Pittsburgh Steeler fans to
the Steelers 75th Anniversary All-Time Team in November 2007.
Stautner
died at a Carbondale,
Colorado
nursing home at age 80 from complications of
Alzheimer's disease. He
is buried in Texas. He is survived by his wife, Jill Stautner of
Colorado, daughters Tere Stautner of Texas and Carol Stautner
Hinds, grandchildren Zachary Hinds, Alexander Hinds and Rachel
Hinds of Colorado and grandchildren Danielle Stautner, Jodie
Stautner and Joseph Stautner of Texas. He was predeceased by his
son, Joseph Stautner.
Miscellaneous
Former Steelers claim that Stautner once had his finger so badly
broken, it was pointingthe opposite direction. Stautner just simply
grabbed it and ripped it into place. He is said to have been
extremely tough.
See also
References
External links
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