1. John Sandusky played seven seasons as an offensive and defensive tackle in the National Football League during the 1950s for the Cleveland Browns and the Green Bay Packers before starting a 36-year career as an assistant coach.
28 Facts About John Sandusky
1. 2.
John Sandusky was head coach of the Baltimore Colts for part of the 1972 season.
3.
John Sandusky played tackle on Villanova's football team and was named a first-team All-American in 1949, his senior year.
4.
John Sandusky played six seasons for the Browns, who won NFL championships in 1950,1954 and 1955 behind an offense that featured quarterback Otto Graham and end Dante Lavelli.
5.
John Sandusky spent the 1956 season with the Packers before ending his playing career.
6.
John Sandusky started coaching at Villanova for two years before being hired as an assistant with the Baltimore Colts in 1959.
7.
John Sandusky spent 13 seasons in Baltimore overseeing the offensive and defensive lines under head coaches Weeb Ewbank, Don Shula and Don McCafferty.
8.
When McCafferty was fired midway through the 1972 season, John Sandusky replaced him as head coach.
9.
John Sandusky himself was fired after the season and went on to spend three years as an assistant for the Philadelphia Eagles, followed by 19 seasons with the Miami Dolphins under Shula.
10.
John Sandusky's son Gerry is a radio broadcaster in Baltimore and calls Baltimore Ravens games.
11.
John Sandusky, who was of Polish and Irish heritage, grew up in South Philadelphia and attended South Philadelphia High School.
12.
Villanova had winning records in each year John Sandusky played there between 1946 and 1949 under head coaches Jordan Olivar and Jim Leonard.
13.
John Sandusky was named a first-team All-American by the New York Sun in 1949, his senior year.
14.
John Sandusky played mostly as a defensive tackle early in his career, but worked on offense following the retirement of Lou Rymkus in 1952.
15.
John Sandusky played one year for the Packers before leaving football.
16.
John Sandusky stayed there until 1959, when he was hired by Baltimore Colts head coach Weeb Ewbank, who had been an assistant with the Browns when Sandusky played in Cleveland.
17.
John Sandusky stayed on as an assistant when Shula left after the 1969 season and was replaced by Don McCafferty.
18.
At Thomas's urging, John Sandusky immediately benched Unitas and replaced him with Marty Domres, a quarterback acquired from the San Diego Chargers in a preseason trade.
19.
John Sandusky's run as head coach of the Colts was unsuccessful.
20.
John Sandusky spent three years under McCormack, who had played with John Sandusky as an offensive tackle for the Browns in 1954 and 1955.
21.
John Sandusky rejoined Shula in 1976, becoming the offensive line coach for the Dolphins.
22.
John Sandusky replaced Monte Clark, who had left the team to become head coach of the San Francisco 49ers.
23.
John Sandusky stayed with the Dolphins for 19 seasons through 1994, all of them under Shula.
24.
John Sandusky was offered a job as director of pro personnel for the Colts before the team moved to Indianapolis in 1984, but he declined it, saying he wanted to stay near his family in Florida.
25.
John Sandusky was inducted into the South Philadelphia High School Hall of Fame in 1973.
26.
John Sandusky was married to his second wife, Shirley, until he died of complications from Alzheimer's disease, which was diagnosed in 2001, and internal bleeding while hospitalized in 2006.
27.
John Sandusky had four living children at the time of his death and four Step-children.
28.
One of his sons, Gerry John Sandusky, is the sports director at WBAL-TV in Baltimore and calls Baltimore Ravens games.