In the 1950s, Sam Huff, a pioneer of the middle linebacker position in the NFL, became one of the first defensive stars in professional football. Born in 1934 near Morgantown, West Virginia, Huff played collegiately at West Virginia and was selected by the Giants in the third round of the 1956 Draft. The 6-foot-1, 230-pound Huff had been drafted as an offensive guard/tackle, but assistant coach Tom Landry made Huff a middle linebacker in the novel 4-3 defense. “It was such a beautiful thing for me,” Huff said of his new position. “It was like I was born to play it.” In his rookie season, the Giants won the NFL title, with the fast, tough-tackling Huff anchoring a defense that gained notoriety and helped make defensive players glamorous. Huff played in 6 NFL Championship games, appeared on the cover of Time Magazine and in advertisements, and starred in a CBS documentary. Wearing No. 70, Huff played 13 seasons in the NFL for the Giants and the Redskins, making five Pro Bowls and intercepting 30 passes. He was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982.