Ed Meadows

Who was Ed Meadows?

Edward Allen Meadows was an American football defensive end in the National Football League for the Chicago Bears, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Washington Redskins. He played college football at Duke University and was drafted in the third round of the 1954 NFL Draft.

Meadows became a controversial player early in his career due to a play in the Western Conference championship-deciding final game of the 1956 regular season against the Detroit Lions. Meadows' vicious hit behind the play knocked Detroit quarterback Bobby Layne out of the game with a concussion. Detroit coach Buddy Parker felt strongly that the hit was both cheap and illegal, and appealed to NFL Commissioner Bert Bell to suspend Meadows, but no action was taken.

After sitting out the 1960 season, he played three games with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League in 1961, but chronic shoulder injuries led to his release in August 1962.