Athletes - Weeb Ewbank

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	Athletes - Weeb Ewbank

Wilbur "Weeb" Ewbank (May 6, 1907 - November 17, 1998) was an American professional football coach. He is a member of the Cradle of Coaches, the unique reputation Miami University (Ohio) has for producing top football coaches.

When Sonny Werblin bought the New York Titans franchise in the American Football League, he changed both the team's name (to the New York Jets) and its coach. Ewbank took over a team that had not had a winning record in its first three years, and made them into a force to be reckoned with.

As coach of the Baltimore Colts, Ewbank had won the 1958 and 1959 NFL championships. In 1965, the Jets' signing of Joe Namath added to the arsenal he would eventually pit against his former team in the third AFL-NFL World Championship game, Super Bowl III.

His Jets won the American Football League Championship in 1968 with a victory over the defending AFL champions, the Oakland Raiders. In the third World Championship Game, the Colts (proclaimed by some to be "the greatest pro football team of all time") were heavily favored over the AFL's "overmatched" Jets. But with Weeb's confident planning, the Jets ran a game plan that mystified the Colts, and came out with a 16-7 victory.

In doing so, the Jets made Ewbank the only man ever to coach two teams to victory in an NFL championship, an American Football League Championship, and a World Championship. His record in the AFL was 50-42-6. Ewbank was selected as the Head Coach of the All-Time All-AFL team.

Coincidentally, Ewbank died 30 years to the day that his Jets lost to the Raiders 43-32, in what would come to be known as the Heidi Game.

He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1978.

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