Al Wistert
Encyclopedia
Albert Alexander "Ox" Wistert (born December 28, 1920) is a former All-Pro
American football
offensive tackle in the National Football League
(NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles
. He played his entire nine-year NFL career for the Eagles and became their team captain
. He was named to play in the NFL's first Pro Bowl
as an Eagle. During most of Wistert's career there were no football All-star games, although he was named to the league All-Pro team eight times.
Wistert played college football
at the University of Michigan
. He is one of the three brothers—along with Whitey
and Alvin
— who were named All-American
tackles
at Michigan and later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
. He was the first Michigan alumnus to be selected to the National Football League
Pro Bowl
. He and his brothers are three of the seven players who have had their numbers retired by the Michigan Wolverines football
program.
veteran who was later killed in the line of duty while working for the Chicago Police Department
. The story of the Wistert brothers at Michigan began when Whitey's Carl Schurz High School classmate John Kowalik was invited to visit the University of Michigan. At the time, Whitey Wistert had a factory job where he was involved with building Majestic radios. Kowalik took Whitey with him on his visit to Ann Arbor
, and according to Alvin, "that's how it started: the Wisterts of Michigan."
, Wistert became the second of the Wistert brothers to play for Michigan where he wore number 11 like his brothers and played from 1940 to 1942. He was a consensus All-American and team MVP
in 1942. He played in the 1943 East–West Shrine Game. He is well remembered, among other things, for his exploits in a 1942 game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
team, and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1968, one year after his brother Francis. In 1981, he was named to the University of Michigan Hall of Honor in the fourth class of inductees alongside his brothers. Only five Michigan football players earned this honor before him.
Michigan posted a 20–5–1 record during Wistert's three years on the team. In 1940, the team's only loss in its eight-game season was to the eventual national champion Minnesota Golden Gophers football. The Wolverines followed that season with 6–1–1 and 7–3 marks in the next two years. Wistert served as captain of the College All-star team that beat the Sammy Baugh
-led National Football League
champion Washington Redskins
, 27–7, in Chicago
. He was the only one of the three brothers not to play on a national championship squad at Michigan.
in the fifth round by the Philadelphia Eagles
and signing for $3800 ($ today), he encountered animosity from veteran players for having signed such a large contract (though they thought he signed for $4500). He earned All-Pro honors in eight (five by consensus) of his nine seasons. As a two-way player, he played his entire nine-year career for the Philadelphia Eagles (who operated as a merged team with the Pittsburgh Steelers
for one season during World War II
.) The National Football League had no All-Star games between 1943 and 1950. Thus, although Wistert was a perennial All-Pro
selection, it is difficult to compare him to more modern players who are often measured by Pro Bowl
invitations. He served as Eagles captain
for five consecutive seasons, from 1946
to 1950, and was named All-Pro in each season. In Wistert's next to last season he was selected to the first Pro Bowl. In his final season, he recovered three fumble
s. The Eagles won the 1948
and 1949
National Football League Championships with Wistert. These were the only consecutive National Football League champions to win by shutout. His number 70 was retired by the Eagles in 1952. According to his College football hall of fame biography, during his career he started every game the Eagles played except for the 1950 season opener against the Cleveland Browns
. However, according to other statistical databases he only started about 2/3 of his career games. His is one of only seven retired Eagles Jerseys. Wistert lamented not having been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
and on Philadelphia Eagles Honor Roll:
Wistert was inducted into the Philadelphia Eagles Honor Roll on September 29, 2009 along with Randall Cunningham
.
salesman. He sold insurance for 40 years. Among the places he has lived since retirement are California
and Grants Pass, Oregon
. He was married to his late wife Ellie for 61 years and has three daughters (Pam, Dianna and Kathy) and three grandchildren. At one point he was both coaching football at Riverside High School
in Riverside Township, New Jersey
and playing professionally. According to brother Alvin, their father "was born Casmir Vistertus and he Anglicized it when he came to America to Wistert."
All-Pro
All-Pro is a term mostly used in the NFL for the best players of each position during that season. It began as polls of sportswriters in the early 1920s...
American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
offensive tackle in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. He played his entire nine-year NFL career for the Eagles and became their team captain
Captain (sports)
In team sports, a captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field...
. He was named to play in the NFL's first Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
as an Eagle. During most of Wistert's career there were no football All-star games, although he was named to the league All-Pro team eight times.
Wistert played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
. He is one of the three brothers—along with Whitey
Whitey Wistert
Francis Michael "Whitey" Wistert was an American football and baseball player. He played college football and college baseball at the University of Michigan...
and Alvin
Alvin Wistert
Alvin Lawrence "Moose" Wistert was an American football player. A native of Chicago, Illinois, he played college football at the tackle position for Boston University in 1946 and at the University of Michigan from 1947 to 1949...
— who were named All-American
College Football All-America Team
The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best American college football players at their respective positions. The original usage of the term All-America seems to have been to the 1889 College Football All-America Team selected by Casper Whitney and published in This...
tackles
Tackle (American football)
Tackle is a playing position in American and Canadian football. Historically, in the one-platoon system a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, offensive tackle and defensive tackle are separate positions....
at Michigan and later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
. He was the first Michigan alumnus to be selected to the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
. He and his brothers are three of the seven players who have had their numbers retired by the Michigan Wolverines football
Michigan Wolverines football
The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...
program.
Early life
Wistert, who was born in Chicago, Illinois, was from a Lithuanian family. His father, Kazimer Wistert, was a Spanish-American WarSpanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
veteran who was later killed in the line of duty while working for the Chicago Police Department
Chicago Police Department
The Chicago Police Department, also known as the CPD, is the principal law enforcement agency of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States, under the jurisdiction of the Mayor of Chicago. It is the largest police department in the Midwest and the second largest local law enforcement agency in the...
. The story of the Wistert brothers at Michigan began when Whitey's Carl Schurz High School classmate John Kowalik was invited to visit the University of Michigan. At the time, Whitey Wistert had a factory job where he was involved with building Majestic radios. Kowalik took Whitey with him on his visit to Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
, and according to Alvin, "that's how it started: the Wisterts of Michigan."
College football
After graduating from Foreman High SchoolForeman High School
Edwin G. Foreman High School is a public 4-year high school located in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, USA. It is operated by the Chicago Public Schools. The school was named in the honor of a Chicago banker and civic leader, Edwin G. Foreman...
, Wistert became the second of the Wistert brothers to play for Michigan where he wore number 11 like his brothers and played from 1940 to 1942. He was a consensus All-American and team MVP
Most Valuable Player
In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
in 1942. He played in the 1943 East–West Shrine Game. He is well remembered, among other things, for his exploits in a 1942 game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...
team, and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1968, one year after his brother Francis. In 1981, he was named to the University of Michigan Hall of Honor in the fourth class of inductees alongside his brothers. Only five Michigan football players earned this honor before him.
Michigan posted a 20–5–1 record during Wistert's three years on the team. In 1940, the team's only loss in its eight-game season was to the eventual national champion Minnesota Golden Gophers football. The Wolverines followed that season with 6–1–1 and 7–3 marks in the next two years. Wistert served as captain of the College All-star team that beat the Sammy Baugh
Sammy Baugh
Samuel Adrian "Slingin' Sammy" Baugh was an American football player and coach. He played college football for the Horned Frogs at Texas Christian University, where he was a two-time All-American. He then played in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins from 1937 to 1952...
-led National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
champion Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
, 27–7, in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. He was the only one of the three brothers not to play on a national championship squad at Michigan.
Professional football
After being draftedNFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
in the fifth round by the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and signing for $3800 ($ today), he encountered animosity from veteran players for having signed such a large contract (though they thought he signed for $4500). He earned All-Pro honors in eight (five by consensus) of his nine seasons. As a two-way player, he played his entire nine-year career for the Philadelphia Eagles (who operated as a merged team with the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
for one season during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.) The National Football League had no All-Star games between 1943 and 1950. Thus, although Wistert was a perennial All-Pro
All-Pro
All-Pro is a term mostly used in the NFL for the best players of each position during that season. It began as polls of sportswriters in the early 1920s...
selection, it is difficult to compare him to more modern players who are often measured by Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
invitations. He served as Eagles captain
Captain (sports)
In team sports, a captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field...
for five consecutive seasons, from 1946
1946 NFL season
The 1946 NFL season was the 27th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, Elmer Layden resigned as NFL Commissioner and Bert Bell, co-founder of the Philadelphia Eagles, replaced him...
to 1950, and was named All-Pro in each season. In Wistert's next to last season he was selected to the first Pro Bowl. In his final season, he recovered three fumble
Fumble
A fumble in American and Canadian football occurs when a player, who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed or scoring. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking or successful handing that results in loss of player possession...
s. The Eagles won the 1948
1948 NFL season
The 1948 NFL season was the 29th regular season of the National Football League. During the season, Halfback Fred Gehrke painted horns on the Los Angeles Rams' helmets, making the first modern helmet emblem in pro football. The season ended when the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Chicago...
and 1949
1949 NFL season
The 1949 NFL season was the 30th regular season of the National Football League. Prior to the season, Boston Yanks owner Ted Collins asked the league to fold his team due to financial woes, and give him a new one in New York City...
National Football League Championships with Wistert. These were the only consecutive National Football League champions to win by shutout. His number 70 was retired by the Eagles in 1952. According to his College football hall of fame biography, during his career he started every game the Eagles played except for the 1950 season opener against the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. However, according to other statistical databases he only started about 2/3 of his career games. His is one of only seven retired Eagles Jerseys. Wistert lamented not having been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
and on Philadelphia Eagles Honor Roll:
Wistert was inducted into the Philadelphia Eagles Honor Roll on September 29, 2009 along with Randall Cunningham
Randall Cunningham
Randall W. Cunningham is a former American football quarterback.After playing college football at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, he was selected in the second round of the 1985 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, with whom he remained through the 1995 season...
.
Later life and family
After football Wistert became a successful life insuranceLife insurance
Life insurance is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death of the insured person. Depending on the contract, other events such as terminal illness or critical illness may also trigger...
salesman. He sold insurance for 40 years. Among the places he has lived since retirement are California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and Grants Pass, Oregon
Grants Pass, Oregon
-Rogue River:The Rogue River runs through Grants Pass.-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 23,003 people, 9,376 households, and 5,925 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 9,885 housing units at an average density of 1,303.3 per square mile . By 2008,...
. He was married to his late wife Ellie for 61 years and has three daughters (Pam, Dianna and Kathy) and three grandchildren. At one point he was both coaching football at Riverside High School
Riverside High School (New Jersey)
Riverside High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Riverside Township in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States, as part of the Riverside School District....
in Riverside Township, New Jersey
Riverside Township, New Jersey
Riverside Township is a Township in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2000 United States Census, the township population was 7,911....
and playing professionally. According to brother Alvin, their father "was born Casmir Vistertus and he Anglicized it when he came to America to Wistert."
See also
- List of Michigan Wolverines football All-Americans
- University of Michigan Athletic Hall of HonorUniversity of Michigan Athletic Hall of HonorThe University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor, founded in 1978, recognizes University of Michigan athletes, coaches, and administrators who have made significant contributions to the university's athletic programs...
- 1942 College Football All-America Team1942 College Football All-America TeamThe 1942 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers. The organizations choosing the teams included: the United Press, the Associated Press, Collier's Weekly, the New York Sun, and Sporting News...
Sources
- Algeo, Matthew (2007). Last Team Standing: How the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles--"The Steagles"--Saved Pro Football During World War II. Da Capo Press. ISBN 9780306815768