From Player to Politician (Part 3)
This is a continuation of the first and second part of this article, discussing sportsman who went from great players to politicians.
Now let us take a look at Tom Osborne. Oh, I’m sorry, “Dr. Thomas William Osborne.” He is the first person in this article to actually earn a doctorate, which was in educational psychology. He also played in the NFL for the Washington Redskins and then for
the San Francisco 49ers. However, he saw pleasure in educating children, and instead focused his efforts on coaching. He started off as an offensive assistance when he started coaching for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. No, they did not husk corn. When Osborne
took over as head coach in 1972, he went on to win 255 games, losing 49, and tying in 3, with a percentage of 83.6, the fifth-highest of all time, in his 25 years as head coach. He also led the Cornhuskers to three National titles, and 13 Conference titles,
and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999 and being named ESPN’s Coach of the Decade award that same year.
After retiring in 1997, Osborne decided, spontaneously, that he would run for Nebraska’s U.S. House of Representatives seat as a Republican in 2000. He won the vote with 83% majority, even though he did not even live in the 3rd district, which
is where he was running from. He was re-elected in 2002 and again in 2004, serving in the House from 2001 to 2007. He ran for Governor in 2006, but lost by three percent. He now heads the athletic department at Nebraska and earns $250,000 a year. That’s quite
a lot, seeing as the average department head earns an average $53,000.
Jack Kemp, sadly, passed away in 2009 due to cancer and will be remembered as a excellent politician and skilled professional football player. Before becoming the United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Kemp was drafted to the Detroit Lions
in the 1957 NFL Draft in round 17. He was cut before the season began, and spent the rest of the season with the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 1958, he played for the New York Giants, and made it to the NFL Championship Game, which is known as the “Greatest Game
Ever Played” and was the first NFL playoff game that went into overtime. However, Kemp was a third-string quarterback, and did not play in the game.
In 1960, Kemp played in the AFL, for the Los Angeles Chargers, and finished second in the league in passing attempts, yards, and completions. When the Chargers moved to San Diego, Kemp led the team to a Western Division Championship, and again finished second
in the league. In 1961, he led the Chargers to become champions of the division, but broke a finger two games into the next season, and was picked up by the Buffalo Bills, for a bargain $100. In 1964, he scored the winning touchdown in the 1964 AFL Championship
Game, and again led the Bills to the Championship Game in 1965 and 1966. He was named AFL All-Star for six sequential years. When Kemp moved onto politics, he supported lower tax rates and favored the lower and middle class, making many tax cuts throughout
his years as Secretary of Housing, under Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama.
Kemp also ran for vice-president but was soundly beaten in each attempt, mainly against his long-time friend, Al Gore. In 1988, he ran for President, using tax cuts as his primary campaign weapon, but lost to George H.W. Bush, who selected him to be the
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. His time as Secretary was rather unsuccessful at the beginning, due to a tarnished image of the position during President Ronald Reagan’s term, but most people would like to remember him as an AFL Champion quarterback.
These are a few more players who went from players to politicians, but don’t worry, this list won’t go on forever. There are only three more significant politicians who started as players, from MLB, NBA, and even boxing!
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