 Wedemeyer, circa 1945 | |||||||||||||
| No. 99, 87 | |||||||||||||
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| Position | Back | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | (1924-05-20)May 20, 1924 Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Died | January 25, 1999(1999-01-25) (aged 74) Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight | 178 lb (81 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | Saint Louis (Honolulu, Hawaii) | ||||||||||||
| College | Saint Mary's (CA) | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1947: 1st round, 9th overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Herman John Wedemeyer (May 20, 1924 – January 25, 1999) was an American actor,football player, andpolitician.[1]
He is best known for portraying Sergeant/Detective "Duke" Lukela on the crime dramaHawaii Five-O (1972–1980). He also appeared on the first episode ofHawaii Five-O as Lt. Balta ofHonolulu Police Department.
Wedemeyer attendedSt. Louis School in Honolulu and was a standout in both football and baseball.[2] Wedemeyer, ahalfback, playedcollege football for theSt. Mary's College Galloping Gaels inMoraga, California. In 1945, he finished fourth in theHeisman Trophy[3] voting, and he was inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame in 1979.
Wedemeyer was Hawai'i's first consensusAll-American football player. He bore the colorful nicknames "Squirmin' Herman", "The Flyin' Hawaiian", "The Hawaiian Centipede", and "The Hula-Hipped Hawaiian".[citation needed]
Wedemeyer was a first-round draft choice of theLos Angeles Dons of theAll-America Football Conference[4] in 1948.
Despite leading the AAFC in punt return yardage that year, he was waived by the Dons. He was then signed by the AAFCBaltimore Colts, with whom he played in 1949 before retiring from professional sports for good.[citation needed]
In 1968, Wedemeyer was elected to theHonolulu City Council as a Republican.[1] In 1970, he was elected to theHawaii House of Representatives as a Democrat, winning re-election in 1972. He served as the chairman of the Committee on Tourism.
Wedemeyer played Edward D. "Duke" Lukela[5] onHawaii Five-O from 1971 to 1980, appearing in 143 episodes. Lukela was originally a uniformed HPD sergeant, but he later joined the Five-O squad as a detective.[citation needed]
Herman Wedermeyer was the most famous football player in all of Hawaii - in the 4th quarter of a game in the stadium in Honolulu. On the kickoff, he was in the end zone and caught the ball. He bent over and put the football on top of his shoe and the opposing team thought he had downed the ball, but the referee saw he didn't. Thus, Wedermeyer put the ball under his arm and jogged 100 yards into the opposing end zone without anyone touching him. The referee declared a touchdown which won the game. Wedermeyer's brother wasCharlie Wedemeyer, a former Michigan State football player who, after being diagnosed withLou Gehrig's disease, continued to teach and coach football atLos Gatos High School. Charlie was the subject of a television drama calledQuiet Victory: The Charlie Wedemeyer Story and the PBS documentary "One More Season".
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