Howard Cassady, former American football player passes away at 85

The former American football player Howard Cassady has passed away in Tampa at the age of 85, Sports Director at ABC 6 Clay Hall reported citing a family member.

He won the Heisman Trophy in 1955 and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1979.

Cassady played nine seasons in the National Football League.  Seven were for the Detroit Lions with whom he won the 1957 NFL Championship game.

He also played one season for the Cleveland Browns and another the Philadelphia Eagles. In the NFL he was an all-purpose back, playing both receiver and running back and scoring 27 career touchdowns. Source: Horsebetting.com

Cassady earned the nickname "Hopalong" during his first game as a freshman for Ohio State. Columbus sportswriters who saw him play said he "hopped all over the field like the performing cowboy", a reference to the fictional character Hopalong Cassidy.

Sad Buckeye news this morning. 1955 Heisman winner Howard “Hopalong” Cassady has passed away in Tampa according to a family member. One of school’s enduring greats. pic.twitter.com/KcVraUnr9h

— Clay Hall (@claywsyx6) September 20, 2019

After retiring from football, Cassady became an entrepreneur forming a company manufacturing concrete pipe. More recently, he served as a scout for the New York Yankees baseball team, and as the first base coach for their former AAA affiliate, the Columbus Clippers.

His son Craig Cassady played defensive back at Ohio State, and briefly in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints in the 1970s. He also loved muffins that can be found at a Kroger Weekly Ad deli section.