Mike Howell
Template:Short description Template:DMCA Template:DMCA Template:Infobox gridiron football biography
Michael Lionel Howell (July 5, 1943 – August 1, 2016) was an American professional football player who was a defensive back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins. Howell played college football for the Grambling State Tigers and was selected by the Browns in the eighth round of the 1965 NFL draft.[1][2]
A college quarterback,[3] Howell converted to defensive back in the NFL. He felt he had no chance playing quarterback in the NFL due to his race. At the time African-Americans were stereotyped as not being able to successfully play the position. "I know I'm not going into the NFL as a black quarterback," is what Howell told his coach, the legendary Eddie Robinson.[4] So, he changed to cornerback, winning a starting job in 1966, and moved to free safety in 1968.[3] Howell did not miss a league game during his career in Cleveland,[3] and intercepted 27 passes during his NFL career.[5]
In 2012, the Cleveland Plain Dealer selected Howell as one of the 100 best players in Browns history.[3]
Howell died on August 5, 2016 at the age of 73.[6]
References
Page Template:Reflist/styles.css has no content.
- ^ Palmer, Pete; Pullis, Ken; Lahman, Sean; Silverman, Matthew; Gillette, Gary (Eds.). The ESPN Pro Football Encyclopedia: First Edition, p. 1402. Sterling Publishing, 2006. Template:ISBN.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."1965 AFL Draft". Archived from the original on February 25, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
- ^ a b c d Peticca, Mike. "Cleveland Browns' 100 best all-time players: No. 89 -- Mike Howell (video)". Cleveland Plain Dealer, August 16, 2012. Retrieved on May 11, 2013.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Schalter, Ty. "Why African-American QBs Are Systemically Trained to Abandon Mechanics". Bleacher Report. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
- ^ Neft, David S. & Cohen, Richard M. The Football Encyclopedia: The Complete History of Professional NFL Football from 1892 to the Present, p. 478. St. Martin's Press, 1991. Template:ISBN.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Michael Lionel Howell". Mulhearn Funeral Home.
Template:San Diego Chargers 1965 draft navbox Template:Browns1965DraftPicks Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Authority control/config' not found.
