Gene Lipscomb

Gene Lipscomb
Born: (1931-08-09)August 9, 1931
Uniontown, Alabama
Died: May 10, 1963(1963-05-10) (aged 31)
Baltimore, Maryland
Career information
Position(s) Defensive lineman
Height 6 ft 9 in (206 cm)
Weight 290 lb (130 kg)
College USMC Camp Pendleton
Career history
As player
1953–1955 Los Angeles Rams
1956–1960 Baltimore Colts
1961–1962 Pittsburgh Steelers
Career highlights and awards

Eugene Allen "Gene" Lipscomb (August 9, 1931 – May 10, 1963) was an American football defensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) and a professional wrestler. He was known by the nickname "Big Daddy".

Early life

Born in Uniontown, Alabama, Lipscomb never knew his father, and moved to Detroit, Michigan with his mother at the age of three. When he was 11, his mother was murdered in the neighborhood where they lived, and he moved in with his maternal grandparents.

Professional career

After graduating from Miller High School, Lipscomb did not attend college and instead served in the United States Marine Corps, where he was stationed at Camp Pendleton and played on the camp's football team. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Los Angeles Rams. He played for the Rams for three seasons, from 1953 to 1955, before being traded to the Baltimore Colts for five seasons. In two of the seasons he played for the Colts, 1958 and 1959, he earned a spot in the Pro Bowl, and was instrumental in the Colts' two consecutive NFL Championships in 1958 and 1959. He then went on to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers for two seasons. During the 1959–60 and 1960–61 off-seasons, Lipscomb worked as a professional wrestler.

The Professional Football Researchers Association named Lipscomb to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2006 [1]

Death

On May 10, 1963, Lipscomb died of an overdose of heroin on Brice Street in Baltimore, Maryland, at the apartment of Timothy Black.[2]

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ "Hall of Very Good Class of 2006". Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  2. ↑ "New Law May Result in Freedom", Baltimore Afro-American, July 27, 1963
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