 | |||||||||
| No. 70 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Offensive tackle | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1920-12-28)December 28, 1920 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died | March 5, 2016(2016-03-05) (aged 95) Grants Pass, Oregon, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 214 lb (97 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Carl Schurz (Chicago) | ||||||||
| College | Michigan (1940–1942) | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1943: 5th round, 32nd overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Albert Alexander "Ox"Wistert (December 28, 1920 – March 5, 2016) was an American professionalfootball player who was anoffensive tackle in theNational Football League (NFL) for thePhiladelphia Eagles. He played his entire nine-year NFL career for the Eagles and became their teamcaptain. He was named to play in the NFL's firstPro Bowl as an Eagle. During most of Wistert's career there were no football All-star games, although he was named to the leagueAll-Pro team four times.[1]
Wistert playedcollege football for theMichigan Wolverines. He is one of the three brothers—along withWhitey andAlvin—who were namedAll-Americantackles at Michigan and later inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame. He was the first Michigan alumnus to be selected to thePro Bowl.[2] The Wistert brothers all wore jersey No. 11 at Michigan and are among the seven players who have had their numbers retired by the Michigan Wolverines football program. Their number will be put back into circulation starting on November 10, 2012, before a Michigan home game against theNorthwestern Wildcats as part of theMichigan Football Legend program.[3] The Legends program was discontinued in July 2015, and the numbers again permanently retired.[4][5]
Wistert, who was born inChicago, Illinois,[6] was from a Lithuanian family.[7] His father, Kazimer Wistert, was aSpanish–American War veteran who was later killed in the line of duty while working for theChicago Police Department.[7] The story of the Wistert brothers at Michigan began when Whitey'sCarl Schurz High School classmate John Kowalik was invited to visit the University of Michigan. At the time,Whitey Wistert had a factory job where he was involved with building Majestic radios. Kowalik took Whitey with him on his visit toAnn Arbor, and according toAlvin Wistert, "that's how it started: the Wisterts of Michigan."[8]
And if I'm not mistaken I think this is unprecedented in the annals of college football: that three brothers all would go to the same school, all played football. All played tackle, all wore the same number 11, all made All-American. Two of us played on four national championship teams. And all were inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.[8] – Alvin Wistert
After graduating fromForeman High School,[9] Wistert became the second of the Wistert brothers to play for Michigan where he wore number 11 like his brothers and played from 1940 to 1942. He was a consensus All-American and teamMVP in 1942.[10] He played in the 1943East–West Shrine Game.[11] He is well remembered, among other things, for his exploits in a 1942 game against theNotre Dame Fighting Irish football team,[11] and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1968, one year after his brother Francis.[10] In 1981, he was named to the University of Michigan Hall of Honor in the fourth class of inductees alongside his brothers. Only five Michigan football players earned this honor before him.[12]
Michigan posted a 20–5–1 record during Wistert's three years on the team. In 1940, the team's only loss in its eight-game season was to the eventual national championMinnesota Golden Gophers football. The Wolverines followed that season with 6–1–1 and 7–3 marks in the next two years. Wistert served as captain of the College All-star team that beat theSammy Baugh-ledNational Football League championWashington Redskins, 27–7, inChicago.[9] He was the only one of the three brothers not to play on a national championship squad at Michigan.
After beingdrafted in the fifth round by thePhiladelphia Eagles and signing for $3800 ($69,050 today), he encountered animosity from veteran players for having signed such a large contract (though they thought he signed for $4500).[13] He earned All-Pro honors in eight (four by consensus)[1][14] of his nine seasons.[7] As a two-way player,[14] he played his entire nine-year career for the Philadelphia Eagles (who operated as a merged team with thePittsburgh Steelers for one season duringWorld War II.[6]) The National Football League had no All-Star games between1943 and1950. Thus, although Wistert was a perennialAll-Pro selection, it is difficult to compare him to more modern players who are often measured byPro Bowl invitations. He served as Eaglescaptain for five consecutive seasons, from1946 to 1950,[15] and was named All-Pro in each season.[9] In Wistert's next to last season he was selected to the first Pro Bowl. In his final season, he recovered threefumbles.[6] The Eagles won the1948 and1949 National Football League Championships with Wistert. These were the only consecutiveNational Football League champions to win by shutout.[7] His number 70 was retired by the Eagles in 1952.[9] According to hisCollege Football Hall of Fame biography, during his career he started every game the Eagles played except for the 1950 season opener against theCleveland Browns.[9] However, according to otherstatistical databases he started 84 of his career 95 games.[6] His jersey number is one of nine retired by the Eagles.[15] In 2005, Wistert lamented not having been enshrined in theProfessional Football Hall of Fame and on Philadelphia Eagles Honor Roll:
The two things that would really make my career complete is to be inducted into both thePro Football Hall of Fame and the Philadelphia Eagles Honor Roll.[15]
Wistert was inducted into the Philadelphia Eagles Honor Roll on September 29, 2009, along withRandall Cunningham.[16] In 2003, he was named to thePro Football Researchers Association Hall of Very Good in the association's inaugural HOVG class; he is one of two players that the Association officially supports for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.[17] He was named as a senior finalist for the class of 2020's "blue ribbon panel" but also missed out.[18] In 2023, he was named as a senior semifinalist for the class of 2024.[19]
After football, Wistert became a successfullife insurance salesman. He sold insurance for 40 years.[15] Among the places he has lived since retirement areCalifornia andGrants Pass, Oregon.[11][15] He was married to his late wife Ellie for 61 years and has three daughters (Pam, Dianna and Kathy) and three grandchildren.[15] At one point he was both coaching football atRiverside High School inRiverside Township, New Jersey and playing professionally.[15] According to brother Alvin, their father "was born Casmir Vistertus and he Anglicized it when he came to America to Wistert."[8]
Wistert died on March 5, 2016, inGrants Pass, Oregon at the age of 95.[20]
