George Andrie

George Andrie
No. 66
Position: Defensive end
Personal information
Date of birth: (1940-04-20) April 20, 1940
Place of birth: Grand Rapids, Michigan
Height: 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight: 260 lb (118 kg)
Career information
High school: Grand Rapids (MI)
Catholic Central
College: Marquette
NFL Draft: 1962 / Round: 6 / Pick: 82
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played: 141
Fumbles recovered: 13
Safeties: 1
Interceptions: 1
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

George Joseph Andrie (born April 20, 1940) is a former professional football player, a defensive end in the National Football League for eleven seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, from 1962 through 1972. He played college football at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which dropped its program after his junior season.

Early years

Born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Andrie graduated from Catholic Central High School in 1958. He chose to play football across Lake Michigan at Marquette, where his older brother Stan had played on the line in the early 1950s. The Marquette football team was historically known as the "Golden Avalanche", as well as the other Marquette nicknames of Hilltoppers and Warriors.[1] During his sophomore and junior seasons (1959 & 1960), Andrie led the team in receiving both years from his slotback position.[2] As a two-way player, he was also ranked among the team's tackle leaders, registering over 80 tackles as a defensive lineman. After a 3–6 season in 1960 under head coach Lisle Blackbourn, the university dropped the football program in December, citing financial issues.[3][4][5][6] Given the option to transfer, he explored an opportunity at Tulsa in 1961, but soon returned to Marquette. Unsure of his ability to succeed at the pro level, he focused on academics and worked on his physical conditioning during his senior year.[1]

In 1991, he was inducted into the Marquette Athletics Hall of Fame.[7]

Professional career

Idle in his senior season, Andrie was off the radar of most pro teams, except for the Dallas Cowboys, who had just completed their second season in 1961 with a 4–9–1 record. Their player personnel director was Gil Brandt, who was born and raised in Milwaukee and was a Wisconsin alumnus.[1] They selected Andrie in the sixth round of the 1962 NFL draft as a defensive end. As a rookie, he won the starting job at right defensive end (replacing Nate Borden) and also made the NFL All-Rookie team.[8]

He had excellent size and strength to hold his ground against the run, yet he had quickness and agility that helped him become a great pass rusher. His height also allowed him to excel at batting down passes if he couldn't get to the quarterback.

In 1964, after playing on the left side of the defense, he was switched back to his original position at right defensive end, where he stayed throughout his career. He played most of his career next to hall of fame defensive tackle Bob Lilly. Together they helped to form the Cowboys' original "Doomsday Defense", that dominated most of the NFL for the next 20 years.

Andrie always played well in the big games. In the frigid 1967 NFL Championship Game against the Green Bay Packers, often referred to as the Ice Bowl, he picked up a Bart Starr fumble and ran it in for a touchdown, scoring six of the Cowboys' 17 points in the loss.[9] In 1970 he competed in Super Bowl V, the first after the merger with the American Football League. The Cowboys faced the Baltimore Colts, but lost in a game known for the record 11 turnovers committed by both teams, as well as 10 penalties committed by the Cowboys.[10] Andrie knocked out Colts quarterback Johnny Unitas with a shoulder tackle in the second quarter.[11][12] In the 1971 NFC Championship game he made another pivotal play. He intercepted a John Brodie pass near the San Francisco 49ers' 10-yard line and took it to the 2-yard line, setting up a Calvin Hill game-winning touchdown.[13]

After years of disappointments, the Cowboys finally found championship glory in Super Bowl VI by dominating the Miami Dolphins 24–3; it remains the only Super Bowl in which a team failed to score a touchdown.

The NFL didn't recognize quarterback sacks as an official stat until 1982; however, the Cowboys have their own records, dating back before the 1982 season. According to the Cowboys' stats, Andrie is unofficially credited with a total of 97 sacks, leading the Cowboys in sacks each year from 1964 to 1967, with a high of 18.5 in 1966. Andrie also had eight straight games with a sack from 1966–1967, making it the fourth longest such streak in club history. He ranks fifth on the team's all-time sack leaders list.

Andrie was a starter at defensive end for the Cowboys for 11 seasons and only missed two games in his career (with a dislocated elbow in 1963). He was named to the Pro Bowl five straight times (1965–1969), All-Pro once and three times second team All-Pro during his career. He was also named the Pro Bowl MVP in 1970, after a temporary retirement in training camp due to a $2,000 salary dispute.[14]

During his career, he was part of two NFC Championship and one Super Bowl Championship team. He retired after the 1972, after battling back problems. To this day, he remains one of the greatest defensive ends in Dallas Cowboys history.

Personal life

Andrie worked with Cowboy teammate Bob Lilly in a beer distribution business in Waco before founding a promotional products company in 1979.[1][15]

Video

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Wolf, Bob (February 1, 1979). "Andrie outlasted Marquette football". Milwaukee Journal. p. 3, part 3.
  2. ↑ "Midwest: Marquette". Sports Illustrated. September 19, 1960. p. 76.
  3. ↑ "Save football, alumni aim". Milwaukee Journal. December 10, 1960. p. 14.
  4. ↑ "Marquette drops football, track". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Associated Press. December 10, 1960. p. 10.
  5. ↑ Bolchat, Rel (December 10, 1960). "MU drops football, basketball survives". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 3, part 2.
  6. ↑ Riordon, Robert J (December 10, 1960). "'We want football!' MUers yell". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 1.
  7. ↑ "George Andrie". Marquette University Athletics. Hall of Fame. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  8. ↑ Lea, Bud (December 22, 1966). "Andrie left MU, found Cowboy ride to fame". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 2.
  9. ↑ Maule, Tex (January 8, 1968). "The old pro goes in for six". Sports Illustrated. p. 10.
  10. ↑ Bledsoe, Terry (January 18, 1971). "Colts survive Stupor Bowl". Milwaukee Journal. p. 10, part 2.
  11. ↑ "Morrall the hero this time". Milwaukee Journal. January 18, 1971. p. 10, part 2.
  12. ↑ Maule, Tex (January 25, 1971). "Eleven big mistakes". Sports Illustrated. p. 12.
  13. ↑ Bledsoe, Terry (January 3, 1972). "Giant thief name Andrie steals title for Cowboys". Milwaukee Journal. p. 11, part 2.
  14. ↑ "Cowboy end retires after salary dispute". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. Associated Press. August 8, 1970. p. 13.
  15. ↑ "Home". George Andrie & Associates. Retrieved March 20, 2014.
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