Mac Speedie

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mac Speedie (January 12, 1920 - March 12, 1993) was a football player who starred as a wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns in both the All-America Football Conference and National Football League for seven years, and later served for two years as head coach of the American Football League's Denver Broncos.

[edit] Early life

Speedie was born in Illinois, but attended high school in Utah, playing two sports (football and track & field) at South High School in Salt Lake City. Speedie lived up to his surname in the latter sport, tying a national high school record with a run in the 120-meter high hurdles of 14.7 seconds.

[edit] College

Moving on to the University of Utah, Speedie again excelled at both sports, earning honorable mention All-America recognition for football in 1942 after having competed in the 1940 NCAA Track & Field Championships. Years later, he would be honored by his induction into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame, as well as a berth on the Utah football centennial team.

[edit] Start of Pro Football career

Speedie was drafted by the Detroit Lions, but first spent two years in the U.S. Army. While playing for the Fort Warren service team, he was spotted by Great Lakes Naval Station head coach Paul Brown. When the war ended, Brown took over the helm of the fledgling Browns in the AAFC. Remembering Speedie's prowess on the gridiron, Brown offered him twice what the Lions had, and Speedie signed for US$7,000.

In each of the four seasons of the league's existence, the Browns captured the championship, with Speedie being on the receiving end of 211 passes for over 3,500 yards and 24 touchdowns. From 1947 to 1949, Speedie led the league in receiving, with arguably his most spectacular scoring effort coming on November 2, 1947. Catching Otto Graham's pass from the Browns' one-yard line, Speedie scored on a 99-yard pass play.

When the Browns moved to the NFL in 1950, the team's success continued, but Speedie and Brown continued on a collision course that would keep the wideout with the team for only three more years. Speedie's penchant for off-the-field celebrating was in direct contrast to the strait-laced Brown, and by 1952, Speedie showed his disdain for the coach by bringing a skunk to training camp and naming him "Paul". That year would be Speedie's most productive with 62 receptions and an award as team Most Valuable Player, but a knee injury in the final regular season game kept him out of the NFL title game against the Lions, a game the Browns lost, 17-7.

Frustrated by his low salary and sensing he was on the verge of being phased out, the 33-year-old Speedie shocked the Browns by signing with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League on June 30, 1953. In each of his first two years, he earned All-CFL honors, but in August 1955, he suffered a broken leg, an injury that led to his retirement at the end of the season.

Speedie entered the investment business, seemingly leaving the world of football behind, but when former teammate Lou Rymkus was named head coach of the new AFL's Houston Oilers in 1960, Speedie signed on as an assistant. In the league's first year, the Oilers captured the inaugural championship, but when the team started slowly the following year, Rymkus was fired. Just days later, Speedie announced his resignation.

On March 2, 1962, he was hired by the Broncos as a receivers coach, working first under original head coach Frank Filchock, followed by Jack Faulkner early into that first season. By 1964, the Broncos had lost 13 straight games, resulting in Faulkner's dismissal and the ascension of Speedie to the head coaching position. In his first game leading the team, the Broncos ended their losing skein with a 33-27 upset victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. However, the frustrations soon returned with Speedie suspending kicker Gene Mingo and defensive back Willie West two weeks later.

Despite going only 2-7-1 for the remainder of the season, Speedie was signed to a two-year contract on December 12, but 1965 would result in a 4-10 campaign. When the next season began with two losses, Speedie resigned in favor of assistant Ray Malavasi, ending his brief coaching tenure with a 6-19-1 record. Speedie, who had been pelted with garbage by angry fans while leaving the field after that second contest, accepted a scouting position with the organization, a post he held until his retirement in 1981.

It was during his scouting days that he had a brief and cold reunion with Brown in 1977, nearly a quarter-century after his departure from the Browns. Seeing his former coach at the annual East-West Shrine all-star game, Speedie introduced himself, only to be told, "Yes, I know. You're the one who went to Canada."

That animosity, in Speedie's eyes, was the basis for his exclusion from the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Stating that Brown's influence (and bad-mouthing) helped dissuade voters, Speedie spent his remaining years justifying his case for induction to the shrine. In truth, Speedie's relatively short career (seven years) and the fact that more than half of his receptions came in the AAFC are the likely culprits in his fate.

[edit] Death and burial

Speedie died of a heart attack at his home in Laguna Hills, California in 1993.

[edit] External links

• Professional Football Researchers Association article