 Amechec. 1960 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 35 | |||||||||||||||
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| Position | Fullback | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1933-06-01)June 1, 1933 Kenosha, Wisconsin, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Died | August 8, 1988(1988-08-08) (aged 55) Houston, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 218 lb (99 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Bradford (Kenosha) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Wisconsin (1951–1954) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1955: 1st round, 3rd overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Alan Ameche (/əˈmiːtʃi/; June 1, 1933 – August 8, 1988), nicknamed "the Iron Horse", or simply "the Horse", was an American professionalfootball player who was afullback for six seasons with theBaltimore Colts in theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theWisconsin Badgers and won theHeisman Trophy during his senior season in 1954. He was elected to thePro Bowl in each of his first four seasons in the league. He is often remembered for scoring the winning touchdown in overtime in the1958 NFL Championship Game against theNew York Giants, labeled "The Greatest Game Ever Played".[1][2]
With colleague and former Colts teammateGino Marchetti, Ameche founded theGino's Hamburgers chain.[3] He also founded the Baltimore-based Ameche's Drive-in restaurants.
Ameche was born inKenosha, Wisconsin, asLino Dante Amici to Italian immigrant parents who came to the United States in the late 1920s, although they returned for a year toItaly during his childhood. The family then returned to Kenosha, where he attendedBradford High School. Ameche was a cousin of actor brothersDon andJim Ameche.[4]
Ameche earned unanimousAll-America honors at theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison, where he playedlinebacker as well asfullback insingle-platoon days. In four years as aBadger, he gained 3,212 yards, then the NCAA record, scored 25 touchdowns, and averaged 4.8 yards per carry. He played in the program's firstbowl game, the1953 Rose Bowl, as a sophomore, rushing for 133 yards on 28 carries. Ameche won theHeisman Trophy in1954, the first for the Badger program.[5][6][7]
Ameche is one of six Wisconsin football players to have a number retired by the program (35) and enshrined on theCamp Randall Stadium façade as of 2008: fellow Heisman winner and current career rushing record holderRon Dayne (33),Elroy Hirsch (40),Dave Schreiner (80),Allan Schafer (83), andPat Richter (88) are the others. Ameche was inducted into theWisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1967, theCollege Football Hall of Fame in 1975,[5] and theRose Bowl Hall of Fame in 2004.
Ameche was the third overall selection of the1955 NFL draft and played fullback for theBaltimore Colts from1955 until1960. NamedNFL Rookie of the Year in1955, he was a four-timePro Bowler (1955–58), and the only rookie named to theAssociated Press All-Pro team in 1955.[8] Ameche averaged 4.2 yards per carry over his career, and held the record for most rushing yards in his first three NFL games (410) untilCarnell "Cadillac" Williams broke the record by gaining 434 yards in 2005.[9]
Ameche may be best remembered for his role in the1958 NFL Championship Game atYankee Stadium, often cited as "The Greatest Game Ever Played." Ameche scored the winning touchdown for the Colts on a one-yard run with 6:45 left in overtime as the Colts beat the Giants, 23–17. It was his second touchdown of the day. He also scored a touchdown on a 2-yard run in the second quarter.[1][2] His overtime touchdown was the last in championship history untilSuper Bowl LI in February 2017, whenJames White scored at 3:58 of overtime as theNew England Patriots beat theAtlanta Falcons, 34–28.
Due to anAchilles tendon injury in December 1960,[10][11][12] Ameche finished a relatively short six-season NFL career with 4,045 rushing yards, 101 receptions for 733 yards and 44 touchdowns. He is one of only four players named to theNational Football League 1950s All-Decade Teamnot elected to thePro Football Hall of Fame. The others areJoe Fortunato,Dick Barwegen andBobby Walston. In 2015, theProfessional Football Researchers Association named Ameche to the P.F.R.A. "Hall of Very Good" Class of 2015.[13]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| WonNFL Championship | |
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Y/G | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | FR | ||
| 1955 | BAL | 12 | 12 | 213 | 961 | 4.5 | 80.1 | 79 | 9 | 27 | 141 | 5.2 | 18 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 1956 | BAL | 12 | 12 | 178 | 858 | 4.8 | 71.5 | 43 | 8 | 26 | 189 | 7.3 | 22 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 1957 | BAL | 12 | 12 | 144 | 493 | 3.4 | 41.1 | 49 | 5 | 15 | 137 | 9.1 | 40 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 1958 | BAL | 12 | 12 | 171 | 791 | 4.6 | 65.9 | 28 | 8 | 13 | 81 | 6.2 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1959 | BAL | 12 | 11 | 178 | 679 | 3.8 | 56.6 | 26 | 7 | 13 | 129 | 9.9 | 30 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 1960 | BAL | 10 | 7 | 80 | 263 | 3.3 | 26.3 | 16 | 3 | 7 | 56 | 8.0 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 70 | 66 | 964 | 4,045 | 4.2 | 57.8 | 79 | 40 | 101 | 733 | 7.3 | 40 | 4 | 13 | 1 | |
Ameche's Drive-in was afast-food restaurant chain based inBaltimore, founded by Alan Ameche.[14][15] Ameche's had five locations, all located in Baltimore or its suburbs:
The restaurants were known for "no charge" carry out service,signature "Powerhouse" hamburgers[16] ("A banquet on a bun"), akin to today's Big Mac or Whopper sandwiches, and "Cheerleader" sandwiches (hot ham and Swiss cheese with mustard) and their onion rings.[15] The Loch Raven and Taylor location was open during the Summer of 1960.[who?] There is aMcDonald's on the location today. The restaurants were typicaldrive-ins, with car side order boxes. Orders were delivered by a carhop who attached a tray to the lowered window. The company trademark was aBig Boy-like football player (#35) running through the uprights carrying a hamburger.[who?] In addition, Ameche's secret sauce was sold in many local grocery stores. The company slogan was "Meetcha at Ameche's!"[15] Ameche's restaurants were informally known by many teenaged patrons as "UM-cheez."[who?]
Ameche had undergonetriple bypass surgery at age 46 in 1979.[3] He died of a heart attack in 1988 at age 55 atMethodist Hospital inHouston,Texas, a few days after undergoing another heart bypass surgery, under the care of Dr.Michael DeBakey.[17][18] He is interred at Calvary Cemetery inWest Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.
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