Ed Salem
Encyclopedia
Edward Joseph Salem was an American football
quarterback
and defensive back
. He was a 1950 College Football All-America Team
selection from the University of Alabama
Crimson Tide
and played one season for the National Football League
's Washington Redskins
and one season for the Canadian Football League
's Montreal Alouettes
.
Salem was born in Tucson, Arizona
and arrived in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
to play for Harold Drew
's Crimson Tide at a time when they were still rising to national prominence. He starred on all sides of the ball. As a quarterback he was the team's top passer in 1948, 1949 and 1950. He was also the Tide's leading rusher in 1948 and top scorer in 1948 and 1949, a season in which he also led the team in interceptions. In 1950 he was the Tide's top punt returner. In Alabama's 55-0 victory over rival Auburn University
in the 1948 Iron Bowl
he threw for three touchdowns, rushed for another, and kicked seven extra points. Alabama's athletics staff named him one of the Tide's 50 best players in history in 1992.
The Washington Redskins made Salem the 15th player selected overall in the second round of the 1951 NFL Draft
. He played one year for the Redskins, recording five interceptions on defense. For the following season he signed with the Montreal Alouettes, making his mark there by kicking what was then a league record field goal of 53 yards (48.5 m)
After leaving professional football, Salem moved to Birmingham, Alabama
and opened the first "Ed Salem's Drive-In" on what became a noted cruising strip on the section of the Bee Line Highway between Birmingham and North Birmingham. He later expanded with additional locations in the Lakeview neighborhood. Ed Salem's Drive-In #3, formerly Eli's Drive-In, was the site of WSGN-AM's famed "Sky Castle" deejay booth, where the station's "Good Guys" evening rock and roll deejays would take live requests.
In addition to his restaurants, Salem opened a travel agency and several bowling alleys and acted as a real estate developer. He died in 2001 from complications from diabetes and was buried at Birmingham's Elmwood Cemetery
.
Salem was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame
in the Class of 2010.
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...
quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
and defensive back
Defensive back
In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...
. He was a 1950 College Football All-America Team
1950 College Football All-America Team
The 1950 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams for the 1950 college football season...
selection from the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
Crimson Tide
Alabama Crimson Tide football
|TeamName = Alabama football |Image = Alabama Crimson Tide Logo.svg |ImageSize = 110 |Helmet = Alabama Football.png |ImageSize2 = 150 |CurrentSeason = 2011 Alabama Crimson Tide football team...
and played one season for 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...
's 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,...
and one season for the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
's Montreal Alouettes
Montreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes are a Canadian Football League team based in Montreal, Quebec.The current franchise named the Alouettes moved to Montreal from Baltimore, Maryland, in 1996 where they had been known as the Baltimore Stallions...
.
Salem was born in Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
and arrived in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Tuscaloosa is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west central Alabama . Located on the Black Warrior River, it is the fifth-largest city in Alabama, with a population of 90,468 in 2010...
to play for Harold Drew
Harold Drew
-External links:*...
's Crimson Tide at a time when they were still rising to national prominence. He starred on all sides of the ball. As a quarterback he was the team's top passer in 1948, 1949 and 1950. He was also the Tide's leading rusher in 1948 and top scorer in 1948 and 1949, a season in which he also led the team in interceptions. In 1950 he was the Tide's top punt returner. In Alabama's 55-0 victory over rival Auburn University
Auburn Tigers football
Only Mohamed Amin Abughadir set the record with 1,890 yards in 1 season. He was the QB for Auburn in 1998.The Auburn Tigers football team represents Auburn University in college football as a member of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, competing in the Western Division of the...
in the 1948 Iron Bowl
Iron Bowl
The Iron Bowl is an American college football rivalry game played annually by the Alabama Crimson Tide football team of the University of Alabama and the Auburn Tigers football team of Auburn University. The series is considered one of the best and most hard-fought rivalries in all of sports...
he threw for three touchdowns, rushed for another, and kicked seven extra points. Alabama's athletics staff named him one of the Tide's 50 best players in history in 1992.
The Washington Redskins made Salem the 15th player selected overall in the second round of the 1951 NFL Draft
1951 NFL Draft
The 1951 National Football League Draft was held on January 18–January 19, 1951. The Baltimore Colts folded after the 1950 season. The NFL placed their players in the 1951 NFL draft.-Player selections:-Round one:...
. He played one year for the Redskins, recording five interceptions on defense. For the following season he signed with the Montreal Alouettes, making his mark there by kicking what was then a league record field goal of 53 yards (48.5 m)
After leaving professional football, Salem moved to Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
and opened the first "Ed Salem's Drive-In" on what became a noted cruising strip on the section of the Bee Line Highway between Birmingham and North Birmingham. He later expanded with additional locations in the Lakeview neighborhood. Ed Salem's Drive-In #3, formerly Eli's Drive-In, was the site of WSGN-AM's famed "Sky Castle" deejay booth, where the station's "Good Guys" evening rock and roll deejays would take live requests.
In addition to his restaurants, Salem opened a travel agency and several bowling alleys and acted as a real estate developer. He died in 2001 from complications from diabetes and was buried at Birmingham's Elmwood Cemetery
Elmwood Cemetery (Birmingham, Alabama)
Elmwood Cemetery is a cemetery established in 1900 in Birmingham, Alabama northwest of Homewood by a group of fraternal organizations. It was renamed in 1906 and gradually eclipsed Oak Hill Cemetery as the most prominent burial place in the city...
.
Salem was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame
Alabama Sports Hall of Fame
The Alabama Sports Hall of Fame is a state museum located in Birmingham, Alabama, dedicated to communicating the state’s athletic history...
in the Class of 2010.