Buzz Nutter
Encyclopedia
Madison Monroe "Buzz" Nutter (February 16, 1931 – April 12, 2008) was an American football
center
in the National Football League
for the Baltimore Colts
and Pittsburgh Steelers
. He played college football
at Virginia Tech
.
and grew up in Huntington, West Virginia
, where he acquired the nickname "Buzz" as a young man. He attended and played high school football
at Vinson High School
.
at Virginia Tech
. After his senior season, he became the first player from Virginia Tech drafted into the NFL, despite the team going 0-10, 2-8 and 5-6 the final three seasons of his career. Nutter was inducted into the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 1985.
in the 12th round of the 1953 NFL Draft
by the Washington Redskins
. He failed to make the team in the offseason and moved back to West Virginia
to work in a steel mill
. He returned to the NFL in 1954 with the Baltimore Colts
, where he played for seven seasons and won consecutive NFL Championship titles (1958–1959). Nutter was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers
, along with Eugene Lipscomb
, in 1961 for wide receiver
Jimmy Orr
. Nutter played in Pittsburgh for four seasons and was selected for the Pro Bowl
in 1962. In 1965, he returned to the Colts and played for one more season.
and started a beverage distribution company in Waldorf, Maryland
that he ran for more than 40 years. The company was named Center Distributors after his football position.
Nutter's wife of 44 years, Carole, a devout Catholic
, died in 1997. Two days before her death, in a service that took place in his wife's hospital room, Nutter converted to Catholicism
after being a lifelong Methodist. They had four children and ten grandchildren.
Nutter died on April 12, 2008 of heart failure at Civista Medical Center in La Plata.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
center
Center (American football)
Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...
in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
for the Baltimore Colts
History of the Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They play in the AFC South division of the National Football League. They have won 3 NFL championships and 2 Super Bowls....
and Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Virginia Tech
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, popularly known as Virginia Tech , is a public land-grant university with the main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia with other research and educational centers throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and internationally.Founded in...
.
Early life
Nutter was born in Summersville, West VirginiaSummersville, West Virginia
Summersville is a town in Nicholas County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 3,194 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Nicholas County.-Geography:...
and grew up in Huntington, West Virginia
Huntington, West Virginia
Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia, along the Ohio River. Most of the city is in Cabell County, for which it is the county seat. A small portion of the city, mainly the neighborhood of Westmoreland, is in Wayne County. Its population was 49,138 at...
, where he acquired the nickname "Buzz" as a young man. He attended and played high school football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
at Vinson High School
Spring Valley High School (West Virginia)
Spring Valley High School is a high school located in an unincorporated portion of Wayne County, West Virginia, United States, with a postal address in the nearby city of Huntington. It is part of the Wayne County Board of Education system.-History:...
.
College career
Nutter attended and played college footballCollege football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Virginia Tech
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, popularly known as Virginia Tech , is a public land-grant university with the main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia with other research and educational centers throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and internationally.Founded in...
. After his senior season, he became the first player from Virginia Tech drafted into the NFL, despite the team going 0-10, 2-8 and 5-6 the final three seasons of his career. Nutter was inducted into the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 1985.
Professional career
Nutter was draftedNFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
in the 12th round of the 1953 NFL Draft
1953 NFL Draft
The 1953 National Football League Draft was held on January 22, 1953.-Player selections:-Round one:* HOF Member of the Professional Football Hall of Fame-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:...
by the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
. He failed to make the team in the offseason and moved back to West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
to work in a steel mill
Steel mill
A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel.Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. It is produced in a two-stage process. First, iron ore is reduced or smelted with coke and limestone in a blast furnace, producing molten iron which is either cast into pig iron or...
. He returned to the NFL in 1954 with the Baltimore Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
, where he played for seven seasons and won consecutive NFL Championship titles (1958–1959). Nutter was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
, along with Eugene Lipscomb
Eugene Lipscomb
Eugene Allen Lipscomb was an American football defensive lineman in the National Football League and a professional wrestler.-Early life:...
, in 1961 for wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
Jimmy Orr
Jimmy Orr
Jimmy Orr is a former American Football wide receiver who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Colts for 13 seasons from 1958 to 1970. Orr was a two-time Pro Bowler, as a Steeler in 1959 and as a Colt in 1965...
. Nutter played in Pittsburgh for four seasons and was selected for the Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
in 1962. In 1965, he returned to the Colts and played for one more season.
After football
After retiring from football, Nutter moved to La Plata, MarylandLa Plata, Maryland
La Plata is a town in Charles County, Maryland, United States. The population was 6,551 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Charles County.-History:...
and started a beverage distribution company in Waldorf, Maryland
Waldorf, Maryland
Waldorf, Maryland is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Charles County, Maryland, United States. It is south-southeast of Washington, D.C. The population of the census-designated area only was 67,752 at the 2010 census...
that he ran for more than 40 years. The company was named Center Distributors after his football position.
Nutter's wife of 44 years, Carole, a devout Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
, died in 1997. Two days before her death, in a service that took place in his wife's hospital room, Nutter converted to Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
after being a lifelong Methodist. They had four children and ten grandchildren.
Nutter died on April 12, 2008 of heart failure at Civista Medical Center in La Plata.