.jpg) Thurston's 1963 Topps trading card | |||||||
| No. 64, 63 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Offensive guard | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born | (1933-12-29)December 29, 1933 Altoona, Wisconsin, U.S. | ||||||
| Died | December 14, 2014(2014-12-14) (aged 80) Green Bay, Wisconsin, U.S. | ||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||
| Listed weight | 247 lb (112 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school | Altoona | ||||||
| College | Valparaiso | ||||||
| NFL draft | 1956:5th round, 54th overall pick | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Frederick Charles "Fuzzy"Thurston (December 29, 1933 – December 14, 2014) was an American professionalfootball player who was anoffensive guard for theBaltimore Colts andGreen Bay Packers of theNational Football League (NFL).[1][2] He playedcollege football atValparaiso.
Born and raised in the small westernWisconsin town ofAltoona, Thurston accepted abasketball scholarship toValparaiso University in northwestIndiana, and didn't play collegiate football for theCrusaders until his junior season (1954). He played basketball because his high school didn't have a football team.[3] Thurston played junior varsity basketball as a 190-pound freshman at Valparaiso before gaining 40 pounds and joining the football team his sophomore year.[4] He led Valparaiso to anIndiana Collegiate Conference title and was twice selectedAll-American. Thurston was also named All-Conference for the 1954 and 1955 seasons,[5] while being named the conference's top lineman in 1955.[6] He was selected by thePhiladelphia Eagles in thefifth round of the1956 NFL draft.[7]
As the left guard, Thurston was a key member of the Packers'offensive line during the team's glory years under head coachVince Lombardi, when they won fiveNFL championships and thefirsttwoSuper Bowls. Paired withhall of famerJerry Kramer at right guard, they led the vauntedPackers sweep running attack. Thurston was named to the1961 and1962All-Pro teams.[8]
Prior to joining the Packers, Thurston played the 1958 season with theNFL championBaltimore Colts. Thus, Thurston is one of only four players in pro football history to play on six NFL championship teams. He was inducted into theGreen Bay Packers Hall of Fame inJanuary 1975.[9]
In response to a sportswriter's question about how he prepared for the famousIce Bowl game in1967, when the gametime temperature was −13 °F (−25 °C) (with awind chill well below that), Thurston responded that he drank "about tenvodkas" in order to stay warm.[10] He remained popular inWisconsin after his playing days and could often be found atFuzzy's, a bar he owned not far from Lambeau Field and at the Left Guard, a bar and restaurant he owned in Menasha, WI.
Thurston was elected to the Indiana Football Hall of Fame in 1982,[11] and theWisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003. He was the first athlete ever to be voted in by the people of Wisconsin, even though the Hall had been founded in 1951. TheProfessional Football Researchers Association named Thurston to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Classof 2006.[12]
After several years of declining health, Thurston died at age 80 in Green Bay,[13] battlingAlzheimer's diseaseandcancer.[14]
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