Tag: New York Giants

Letters to the Editor: Bob Fierro On Sam Huff

You should understand that from the time I could figure out pro football as a kid in the 1950s, I was probably the only one in New York City who detested the football Giants and loved the Baltimore Colts. Don't ask why, it just happened (and continues to this day–go Jets!). Thus, you would not be surprised to learn that through some machinations by the policeman father of a friend I wound up in the bleachers at Yankee Stadium with a dozen other young teens in December, 1958 for what turned out to be “The Greatest Football Game Ever Played,” as determined by a blue ribbon panel in 2019.

That I was probably the only one in stadium who stood and cheered and whooped when Colts fullback Alan Ameche swept past the Giants linebackers to score the winning touchdown was, in retrospect, a huge mistake, because I was immediately pounded into a pulp by my friends.

So, imagine many years later when as newly-elected president of the New York Thoroughbred Breeders I was at a reception for the state program presidents when the dining room doors opened up and in walked one of those Giants linebackers, a tall, fit, and totally mesmerizing man named Sam Huff.

I was beside myself with incoherent thoughts fleeting through my head and did not even have a chance to catch a breath after he was introduced to me and a couple of other presidents. He must have noticed my dropped jaw and for some inane reason I babbled, “I was at the Giants-Colts game when Alan Ameche scored the winning touchdown, and I was 13 years old and a Colts fan and when I went crazy after he scored my friends beat the crap out of me.”

Sam looked me in the eye while everyone around us took a deep breath and then smiled and said, “Would you like that to happen again?”

That was the Sam Huff I came to know–a sweet, determined, purposeful man who along with his partner Carol Holden brought quality, dignity and excitement to the breeding and racing industry in his beloved home state of West Virginia. The three of us got to know each other quickly and they actually invited me several times to be a guest on their radio program–once by cellphone as I was winding my way through the hills of his state on my way back home to New York from a sale in Kentucky.

Though he was stricken almost a decade ago by dementia, he still showed up at the sales at times and when he didn't, I missed a man who had become a star in two great sports–as well as a pal.

My condolences to Carol, his family, and West Virginia–to paraphrase John Denver, his state's country roads have taken him home.

MIKE SEKULIC
Churchill Downs' management is taking a hardline position by suspending Bob Baffert for two years. Baffert is an awfully successful trainer, so I am starting to wonder what might happen if his horses win all the big Derby prep races? Let's say Baffert wins the Santa Anita Derby, Florida Derby, Wood Memorial, Arkansas Derby, Blue Grass S., etc., will Churchill Downs double down on their position and run a Kentucky Derby filled with Derby prep also-rans and allowance horses? Or will they let Baffert's horses participate? Stay tuned. It seems like digging in your heels, even when you might be wrong, is the order of the day.

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NFL Hall of Famer, Owner, Breeder Sam Huff Passes Away at 87

Sam Huff, who made his mark in both the NFL and in thoroughbred racing as an owner-breeder and the co-founder of the West Virginia Breeders Classics, died Saturday. Huff, who had been suffering from dementia since 2013, was 87.

Huff, a third-round draft choice of the New York Giants in 1956, discovered racing during his time in New York when he would frequent Aqueduct and Belmont. Huff was traded to the Washington Redskins before the 1964 season and retired in 1969.

After his playing days were done, he devoted more time to thoroughbreds. Along with his partner Carol Holden, he opened Sporting Life Farm in Middleburg, Virginia. Huff was the owner and breeder of Bursting Forth, a winner of five stakes races, including the GIII Bewitch S., the GIII Vinery Matchmaker S. and the GIII All Along S.

“When you have a stakes winner, it's like hitting the lottery,” Huff told the Saratogian in 2001. “It's the most exciting thing I've ever done. More than winning an NFL championship, more than reaching the Hall of Fame. There's nothing like it. That's why people are in this business.”

Huff attended the inaugural Maryland Million in 1986 and liked the concept so much he decided to copy it. In 1987, Holden and Huff launched the West Virginia Breeders Classics run at Charles Town. The 35th edition of the event, held Oct. 9 at Charles Town, featured nine stakes for West Virginia-breds with total purses of $1,075,000.

“When we first started, I never had any idea we could do it for 23 years,” Huff told The Northern Virginia Daily in 2009. “It seems like a long time, but when you're working in it, time goes fast. It's always been a goal to be bigger than the Maryland Million–that was our guide, that's what we copied.”

Until his health started to deteriorate, Huff was the face of the Breeders Classics, always there to pose for pictures, shake hands and present trophies in the winner's circle.

Huff maintained a small stable for years and, according to Equibase, won 15 races as an owner since 2000. He started his last horse in 2015.

“I'm not the kind of owner trainers like,” Huff told the Saratogian. “I am involved. I stay on top of things. There's no way you can be in one part of this business. You have to do it all. I read about the industry all the time.”

“Most knew Sam Huff as an NFL Hall of Famer,” read a tweet from Charles Town. We knew him as an advocate of racing and co-founder of the @WVBClassics. Sam passed away today at the age of 87. He will forever be woven into the fabric of West Virginia racing. Our deepest condolences to all who loved him.”

Huff was born in 1934 in Edna, West Virginia and was the son of a coal miner. His full name was Robert Lee Huff. He became known as Sam at an early age and always maintained that he had no idea where the nickname came from.

He grew up in a mining camp known as Number Nine, outside of Farmington, W.Va. A middle linebacker, he played collegiately at West Virginia, where he became an All-American.

The Washington Post called him the first defensive player to become a superstar in the NFL, saying that he “acquired the visibility and fame previously reserved for quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers.”

During his eight seasons in New York, Huff helped lead his team to an NFL championship in 1956. During Huff's time in New York, the Giants played in six championship games. The Giants' 1958 championship loss to the Baltimore Colts is widely remembered as “The Greatest Game Ever Played,” and is seen as a catalyst for the NFL's popularity.

He was traded to Washington in 1964. He retired before the 1968 season but came back a year later and played in 1969 before retiring again.

“Sam was one of the greatest Giants of all time,” said John Mara, the Giants' President and Chief Executive Officer. “He was the heart and soul of our defense in his era. He almost single-handedly influenced the first chants of 'Defense, Defense' in Yankee Stadium.”

Huff was a five-time Pro Bowler, a two-time first-team All-Pro and four-time second-team selection, and a member of the NFL's 1950s All-Decade Team.

After spending another season with the Redskins as an assistant coach, he worked for the Marriott Corporation as a marketing liaison between the hotel chain and athletic teams.

He also worked with both the Giants and Redskins as a broadcaster.

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