Eric on The Road

Journeys into the offbeat, off the beaten path, overlooked and forgotten - by Eric Model

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Passing: Former NFL Stars, Dick Lynch & Wally Hilgenberg (NY Times/AP)

From The New York Times:

Dick Lynch, who twice led the NFL in interceptions as a defensive back for the New York Giants and who later spent 40 years as a radio broadcaster for the team, died Wednesday at his home in the Douglaston section of Queens. He was 72.
The cause was leukemia, his son, John Liam Lynch, said.
Lynch was a Giant for eight seasons, from 1959 through 1966, playing cornerback on teams with Y. A. Tittle and Frank Gifford and on the same defensive unit as Sam Huff, Jim Katcavage and Dick Modzelewski.
After the 1963 season, the Giants’ fortunes went into a prolonged downturn. The team did not reappear in a championship game until the 1986 Super Bowl, so for many fans the squads of Lynch’s tenure became emblems of the franchise’s past glory. It was this pedigree that helped make Lynch a fan favorite as a color commentator in the broadcast booth. Like Phil Rizzuto, the Yankees shortstop who became a beloved announcer, Lynch mixed football analysis with meandering stories about his playing days and greetings to his family and friends.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/25/sports/football/25lynch.html?ref=sports


From The Associated Press through The New York Times:

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Wally Hilgenberg, a former linebacker who helped propel the Minnesota Vikings to four Super Bowl appearances in the 1970s, died September 23 (after a battle with Lou Gehrig’s disease) at his home in Lakeville, Minn. He was 66.
Hilgenberg played in college at Iowa and then spent 16 seasons in the NFL, including 12 with the Vikings, from 1968 to 1979. As the National Football Conference champion, the team played in the Super Bowl in 1970, ’74, ’75 and ’77, losing each time.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/24/sports/football/24hilgenberg.html?em

1 Comments:

Blogger CTV Sportnight said...

Here's a great TV interview done with Wally in 1999. There are 2-parts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEslSeMsOJg

4:39 AM  

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