Winston Hill

Winston Hill
No. 75, 73
Position:	Offensive tackle
Personal information
Born:	October 23, 1941; Joaquin, Texas, U.S.
Died:	April 26, 2016 (aged 74); Denver, Colorado, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:	270 lb (122 kg)
Career information
College:	Texas Southern
NFL draft:	1963 / round: 11 / pick: 145
Career history
	New York Jets (1963–1976); Los Angeles Rams (1977);
Career highlights and awards
	Super Bowl champion (III); AFL champion (1968); 4× AFL All-Star (1964, 1967–1969); 3× All-AFL (1964, 1968, 1969); 4× Pro Bowl (1970–1973); 3× NEA Second-team All-Pro (1970–1972); AFL All-Time 2nd Team; New York Jets Ring of Honor;
	Stats at Pro Football Reference
	Pro Football Hall of Fame

Winston Hill (October 23, 1941 – April 26, 2016) was an American college and professional American football player.^[1]

Early years

Hill grew up in Joaquin, Texas. His father, Garfield Hill, served as principal of Weldon High School in Gladewater, Texas. Winston was a tennis champion in high school. He played both offensive and defensive line in college at Texas Southern University and was an All-American.^[2]

Career with the New York Jets

Hill was drafted by the Baltimore Colts in 1963, but signed as a free agent with New York’s American Football League franchise in the same year that they became the New York Jets, and went on to record the tenth-longest string of starts in pro football history at 174.^[3] As left offensive tackle for the Jets, he spent his career protecting Joe Namath's blind side and opening holes for the likes of Emerson Boozer, Matt Snell and John Riggins. He was an American Football League All-Star in 1964, 1967, 1968 and 1969, and a Pro Bowl selection in 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1973. He and Joe Namath joined the Los Angeles Rams in 1977; Namath retired after one season and Hill after three games. On January 15, 2020, Hill was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2020.

1968 season and Super Bowl III

Hill was an overpowering blocker who was instrumental in opening gaping holes for Jet running backs during the 1968 season, in which they won the Eastern division title with 11 wins and 3 losses and gained as a team 1608 yards rushing and 3574 yards passing. Hill also starred in the Third Professional AFL-NFL World Championship Game (Super Bowl III), as the Jets decimated the right side of the Baltimore Colts' defensive line with Ordell Braase at end against Hill and Fred Miller at tackle against Bob Talamini, so that Matt Snell gained 121 yards rushing in the Jets' 16–7 upset victory.

Special recognition

In 1970 Hill was selected by a panel of members of the AFL's Hall of Fame Board of Selectors to the second-team All-time All-American Football League Team. He was a member of the New York Jets' All-Time Four Decade Team, which was determined by the fans in 2003. Hill was a 1986 inductee into the Texas Southern University Sports Hall of Fame.

The 2009 NFL season was the 50th season for the eight original AFL teams, and that anniversary was commemorated throughout the season with 16 "AFL Legacy Games." One of those games, pitting the NY Jets against the Miami Dolphins, took place in New York on Sunday November 1; designated by the NFL as "Winston Hill Day". Hill's daughter, opera singer Heather Hill, opened the game by singing the national anthem, and fifteen of Hill's former teammates and other ex-Jets joined the festivities. As part of the celebration, Hill's jersey, #75, was retired during the halftime ceremonies.

On Monday August 16, 2010, during halftime of the first game played at the New Meadowlands Stadium (a preseason opener; Jets vs. Giants), Hill was inducted into the Jets Ring of Honor. This selection was made by an internal committee led by Jets Chairman and CEO Woody Johnson.

On January 15, 2020, Hill was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2020.^[4]

Later life

Hill brought a smoker and his cooking talents to Centennial, Colorado in the early 1990s and opened a small restaurant - Winston Hill's BBQ or Winston Hill's Ribs & Stuff; now called Winston's Smoke BBQ. It was still active as of 2020.^{[citation needed]}

Hill died on April 26, 2016 at the age of 74.^[5]

References

^ "Winston Hill, beloved Jets lineman, dies at 74". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
^ Staff, Legacy.com (April 27, 2016). "Winston Hill (1941 - 2016)". Legacy.com. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
^ Cimini, Rich (October 30, 2009). "Former offensive lineman Winston Hill to be honored by New York Jets for iron man streak". New York Daily News. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
^ Grant Gordon (January 15, 2020). "Pro Football Hall of Fame Centennial Class revealed". NFL.com. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
^ Lange, Randy (April 26, 2016). "Winston Hill, Jets' Decorated Tackle, Dies at 74". www.newyorkjets.com. Retrieved April 26, 2016.

[1] "Winston Hill, beloved Jets lineman, dies at 74". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 24, 2017.

[2] Staff, Legacy.com (April 27, 2016). "Winston Hill (1941 - 2016)". Legacy.com. Retrieved May 24, 2017.

[3] Cimini, Rich (October 30, 2009). "Former offensive lineman Winston Hill to be honored by New York Jets for iron man streak". New York Daily News. Retrieved August 23, 2010.

[4] Grant Gordon (January 15, 2020). "Pro Football Hall of Fame Centennial Class revealed". NFL.com. Retrieved January 15, 2020.

[Lange-5] Lange, Randy (April 26, 2016). "Winston Hill, Jets' Decorated Tackle, Dies at 74". www.newyorkjets.com. Retrieved April 26, 2016.

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v t e New York Jets Super Bowl III champions
11 Jim Turner 12 Joe Namath (MVP) 13 Don Maynard 15 Babe Parilli 22 Jim Hudson 23 Bill Rademacher 24 Johnny Sample 26 Jim Richards 29 Bake Turner 30 Mark Smolinski 31 Bill Mathis 32 Emerson Boozer 33 Curley Johnson 34 Lee White 35 Billy Joe 41 Matt Snell 42 Randy Beverly 43 John Dockery 45 Earl Christy 46 Bill Baird 47 Mike D'Amato 48 Cornell Gordon 50 Carl McAdams 51 Ralph Baker 52 John Schmitt 56 Paul Crane 60 Larry Grantham 61 Bob Talamini 62 Al Atkinson 63 John Neidert 66 Randy Rasmussen 67 Dave Herman 68 Michael Stromberg 70 Karl Henke 71 Sam Walton 72 Paul Rochester 74 Jeff Richardson 75 Winston Hill 80 John Elliott 81 Gerry Philbin 83 George Sauer 85 Steve Thompson 86 Verlon Biggs 87 Pete Lammons
Head coach: Weeb Ewbank
Coaches: Walt Michaels Clive Rush Buddy Ryan Joe Spencer

v t e Members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Quarterbacks	Aikman Baugh Blanda Bradshaw Clark Conzelman L. Dawson Driscoll Elway Favre Fouts Friedman Graham Griese Herber Jurgensen J. Kelly Layne Luckman Manning Marino Montana Moon Namath A. Parker Stabler Starr Staubach Tarkenton Tittle Unitas Van Brocklin Warner Waterfield S. Young
Running backs	M. Allen Battles Bettis J. Brown Campbell Canadeo Csonka T. Davis Dickerson Dorsett Dudley Faulk Gifford Grange Guyon F. Harris Hinkle Hornung James J. H. Johnson L. Kelly Lambeau Leemans F. Little Martin Matson McAfee McElhenny J. McNally Moore Motley Nagurski Nevers Payton Perry Pollard Riggins B. Sanders Sayers Simpson E. Smith Strong Ji. Taylor T. Thomas Thorpe Tomlinson Trippi Van Buren Walker
Wide receivers / ends	Alworth Badgro Berry Biletnikoff Branch T. Brown Bruce Carmichael Carter Chamberlin Fears Flaherty Halas Harrison Hayes Hewitt Hirsch Hutson Irvin A. Johnson C. Johnson Joiner Largent Lavelli Lofton Maynard McDonald Millner Mitchell Monk Moss Owens Pearson Pihos A. Reed Rice Speedie Stallworth Swann C. Taylor Warfield
Tight ends	Casper Ditka Gonzalez Mackey Newsome C. Sanders Sharpe J. Smith Winslow
Offensive linemen	L. Allen Boselli B. Brown R. Brown Covert Creekmur D. Dawson DeLamielleure Dierdorf Faneca Gatski Gregg Grimm Hannah Hickerson Hill Hutchinson S. Jones W. Jones Kramer Langer L. Little Mack Matthews Mawae McCormack McDaniel Mix Munchak Muñoz Ogden Otto Pace J. Parker Ringo Roaf Shaw A. Shell Shields J. Slater St. Clair Stanfel Stephenson J. Thomas Tingelhoff Upshaw Webster Wright Yary Zimmerman
Pre-modern era two-way players	Edwards Fortmann Healey Hein Henry Hubbard Kiesling Kinard Lyman Michalske Musso Owen D. Slater Stydahar Trafton Turner Wojciechowicz
Defensive linemen	Atkins Bethea Buchanan Culp W. Davis Dean Dent Doleman Donovan Eller Ford Freeney J. Greene Haley Hampton Humphrey D. Jones Jordan Karras Kennedy Klecko Lilly Long Marchetti McMichael Nomellini Olsen Page Peppers Randle Robustelli Sapp Selmon Seymour B. Smith Sprinkle Stautner Strahan Ja. Taylor Weinmeister Ra. White Re. White B. Willis B. Young Youngblood
Linebackers	Bednarik Bo. Bell Brazile Brooks Buoniconti Butkus Carson Connor George Gradishar K. Greene Ham Hanburger Hendricks Howley Huff Jackson Lambert Lanier Lewis Mills Nitschke Richter D. Robinson Schmidt Seau Singletary L. Taylor D. Thomas Z. Thomas Tippett Urlacher Ware Wilcox P. Willis
Defensive backs	Adderley Atwater Bailey Barber Barney Blount W. Brown J. Butler L. Butler Christiansen Dawkins Dillon Easley Green C. Harris Haynes Houston J. Johnson Krause Lane Lary Law LeBeau Lott Lynch Polamalu E. Reed Renfro Revis Riley J. Robinson D. Sanders D. Shell E. Thomas Tunnell Wehrli Williams L. Wilson Wood C. Woodson R. Woodson
Special teams	Andersen Groza Guy Hester Stenerud
Coaches	G. Allen P. Brown Chamberlin Conzelman Coryell Cowher Dungy Ewbank Flaherty Flores Gibbs Gillman Grant Halas J. Johnson Lambeau Landry Levy Lombardi Madden Neale Noll Owen Parcells Shula Stram Vermeil Walsh
Contributors	Beathard Be. Bell Bidwill Bowlen Brandt Carr A. Davis DeBartolo Finks Halas Hunt J. Jones Lambeau T. Mara W. Mara Marshall A. McNally Nunn Polian Ray Reeves A. Rooney D. Rooney Rozelle E. Sabol S. Sabol Schramm Tagliabue R. Wilson Wolf G. Young
Italics denotes members who have been elected, but not yet inducted.