Don Bosseler dead at 88: Tributes pour in for college football Hall of Famer and NFL Pro-Bowler
College football Hall of Famer and eight-year NFL veteran Don Bosseler has died at the age of 88.
The All-American fullback — who led Miami to sixth place in The Associated Press poll in 1956 — was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, and news of his death was announced Thursday by the National Football Foundation.
“Don Bosseler’s talents helped Miami’s football program achieve national prominence in the 1950s,” Archie Manning, chairman of the National Football Foundation, said in a news release after his death Wednesday in Atlanta.
“He was an All-American and epitomized toughness, earning him the nickname ‘Bull.’ Almost seventy years later you can still find his name in the record books of the ‘U’.’
Bosseler was a first-round selection by Washington in 1957, drafted ninth overall that year and rushed for 3,112 yards and 22 touchdowns in eight NFL seasons. He made the Pro Bowl in 1959.
Eight-year NFL veteran and college football legend Don Bosseler has died at the age of 88
Among those who moved ahead of Bosseler in that 1957 draft: No. 1 pick Paul Hornung and No. 6 pick Jim Brown. Bosseler called them both after the draft to ask what they were signing for, and was subsequently given a $10,000 contract with a $500 signing bonus from Washington.
“And in typical Don Bosseler fashion, he came home with that $500 and spent it all in one night with his teammates from the University of Miami,” his son, Greg Bosseler, said Thursday. “I think they had a good time.”
Don Bosseler played his high school football in Batavia, New York, near Buffalo, and was heavily recruited. He chose Miami, but almost left after a few weeks because he was homesick. He packed his bags and went to the train station.
His roommate, fellow running back Don Dorshimer, called Miami coach Andy Gustafson with a message. “Bosseler is on the run,” Dorshimer said. Gustafson ran out of his house, reached the train station, found Bosseler and begged him to come back one more day.
“And the rest is history,” Greg Bosseler said.
The bags were unpacked. Bosseler led the team in rushing as a junior and senior, was a first-team AP All-American in 1956, picked as the best player in Florida and was MVP of the Senior Bowl. One of his best games was against the Florida Gators in 1956, when he led Miami to a 20-7 victory.
‘The bulldozer from Batavia, NY raced 148 yards on the ground – 23 yards more than the entire Gator team – scored two touchdowns, intercepted one pass, recovered one fumble, was impregnable on defense and made one quick punt over 47 meters,” Fort Lauderdale News Sports Editor Joe Kolb wrote that day. “Is that all of America, isn’t it?”
Bosseler carries the football during the Washington Redskins’ loss to the Giants in 1963
Greg Bosseler eventually went to Florida and played football for the Gators. Don Bosseler respected the decision, and father and son sometimes laughed about it over the years.
“I wasn’t nearly as talented as my dad,” Greg Bosseler said.
After football, Don Bosseler kept Miami as his home until the last years of his life, when he moved to Atlanta. A successful stockbroker, he was inducted into the Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 1970 and into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1990. His name is also part of the Hurricanes’ Ring of Honor.
“The fact that people still recognize the name after all this time is certainly a precious gift to all of us at this point,” Greg Bosseler said. “My father was my hero.”