Up Close: Former Redskin Sam Huff

By Jeff Koslofsky

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

These days, when Hall of Famer and Washington Redskins great Sam Huff isn't working as a broadcaster for Redskins Radio or for his own horse racing show on the Middleburg Broadcasting Network, he has been out in the community expressing his concern of the affects of school consolidation on the rural schools of Middleburg.

A graduate of West Virginia University, Sam Huff, 74, played eight seasons with the New York Giants, and five with the Washington Redskins. In his career he played in six NFL Title games, and was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1982.

In an interview with Huff at his Middleburg office, he discussed his passion for retaining the rural schools of Loudoun County, his interest in horse racing and what he enjoys about living in Loudoun.

Q: What brought you to Loudoun?

A: I used to travel through here when I was traded to the Washington Redskins. I moved my family here and lived in Alexandria while I played for the Redskins. In the offseason I used to take my family through Middleburg. Loudoun was convenient for me. I found a property I liked and bought the land 25 years ago.

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Up Close: Sam Huff

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Dan Snyder, Sam Huff and fellow Hall of Famer Bobby Mitchell share a laugh before the ceremony dedicating a new football field in Mitchell's name in Nov. 2000. (Dudley M. Brooks)

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Former Redskins Darrell Green and Sam Huff talk at the Steve Spurrier Redskins Classic charity golf tournament in 2002. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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Former Redskins great and Hall of Famer Sam Huff presents a letter signed by Redskins owner Dan Snyder and former Redskins coach Steve Spurrier to Don Rose, the Commissioner for Babe Ruth Baseball, for his 32 years of service to Loudoun sports in Oct. 2003. (Len Spoden)

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Redskins Radio team, left to right, Sonny Jurgensen, Larry Michael, and Sam Huff in 2007. (Preston Keres)

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Sam Huff, 74, sits at his microphone at the Middleburg Broadcasting Network office where he hosts a weekly horse racing show. (Jeff Koslofsky)

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Q: You are very passionate about retaining the rural elementary schools in Loudoun. Where does that passion come from?

A: Well, it comes from West Virginia. I went to a small school, walked to school. People don't walk anymore, they all ride buses, but I've learned from that. When you're a football player and you have families, you're involved in local neighborhoods. You become part of the neighborhood. And moving my kids from West Virginia, where they were in school, to Long Island, and then I was traded to the Washington Redskins, and then went back to New York, and when I retired I moved to New Jersey. So, you're moving your family, which is traumatic. So, I know how important the local neighborhood schools are to kids. I understand how difficult it is to mix kids together.

Now, a lot of educators don't understand that, and a lot of people don't understand that. Close down Middleburg School, and bus these kids from Middleburg to Leesburg? This is their school. You've got a wonderful baseball field here, and a place these kids can go out and play. It's safe and it's in the middle of town, but these local supervisors were going to close it down.

School consolidation does not work. You're going to cause problems. I couldn't let this happen. Change sometimes is needed, but changing in Middleburg is not necessary. I'm not one to sit on the sideline and watch a football game, so I'm in the game. I'm going to stand up and be counted, for the kids.

School consolidation is like me coming from the New York Giants to the Redskins. It's not easy fitting in, especially for kids.

Q: You have your own horse racing show that airs every week. Talk about your interest in horse racing.

A: I'm not as good in horse racing as I am at football, let me tell you that. I've always liked horses. It's a great sport. Now, I can't own a football team like Dan Snyder. However, I can own a racehorse and compete against him if I wanted, if he had a horse. A 10-horse field, 10 gates ... my horse could come out of the gate and beat his horse. That's the only sport I can do that, so that's why I'm in it.

Q: You ran for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. How did you become interested in running for political office?

A: I knew the governor of West Virginia and I always admired him back then. His name was Arch Moore, and he was an inspiration. However, it's the worst thing I ever did.

Q: Although you haven't played football for quite some time, you still broadcast the games on the radio. How do you balance that responsibility with your community work?

A: I love the challenge. Raised in a coal camp, I knew the Cleveland Browns were playing and there was a star there, Frank Gatski, who went to the same high school I went to, and he was kind of my hero. And I said if he can make it, I can make it. And he made it, and I made it, and I finally got to play against Frank Gatski, who was my hero. That's just how I make it.

Q: When you sit in that radio booth and call the Redskins games, do you ever miss putting on the uniform on Sundays?

A: Oh, yeah. But, like Sonny Jurgensen, he and I, we're teammates now. We work together, and we think so much alike. It's a friendship made in heaven. That kind of friendship, nothing can come between that.

Q: When you're not broadcasting or helping in the community, what do you do in your free time?

A: Truthfully, I enjoy my life. I'm doing things that I never thought I'd be able to afford to do. I live good.

I'm involved with horses every day, somewhat. I'm involved in community affairs, like we're writing about here. I'm always involved with some type of fundraising. I play in the Bobby Mitchell Hall of Fame Classic for Leukemia, me and Sonny, and we have for 17 years.

Q: What is your favorite place in Loudoun County?

A: Coach Stop Restaurant. I eat there, sometimes, three times a day. I'm not an athlete that hides from people.

Q: Tell us one thing about yourself that your friends and coworkers might not know.

A: Well, I'm a pretty open person ... I've never spent a night in jail. When John F. Kennedy was running for President, he came to my hometown in Fairmont, W.Va., Before one of his speeches, I introduced him to the county.

Tagged: football, horses, Loudoun County Public Schools, Middleburg, Redskins, schools, sports, Up Close

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