Ernie Stautner

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Ernie Stautner

Date of birth	April 20, 1925
Place of birth	Prinzing-by-Cham, Bavaria, Germany
Date of death	February 16, 2006 (age 80)
Place of death	Carbondale, Colorado
Position(s)	Defensive tackle
College	Boston College
NFL Draft	1950 / Round 2/ Pick 22
Career Highlights
Pro Bowls	1953, 1954, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962
Awards	1957 Pro Bowl MVP
Honors	NFL 1950s All-Decade Team
Retired #s	Pittsburgh Steelers #70
Stats
Statistics	CBS.com DatabaseFootball
Team(s)
1950-1963	Pittsburgh Steelers
Pro Football Hall of Fame, 1969

Ernest Alfred Stautner (April 20, 1925 – February 16, 2006) was a German-born American football player and coach who starred as a defensive tackle with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Born in Prinzing-by-Cham, Bavaria in Germany, Stautner's family immigrated to Albany, New York when he was three years old. He served in the United States Marine Corps before attending Boston College, where he was a four-year starter as an offensive and defensive tackle. He earned a bachelor's degree in psychology in 1950.

After being selected in the second round of the 1950 NFL Draft, Stautner played his entire career with the Steelers from 1950 to 1963. Despite being small even for his day at 6-1 and 235 pounds, and playing on some bad teams, he was able to distinguish himself as one of the best defensive linemen of his era. Stautner was selected to nine Pro Bowls in his twelve-year career.

Stautner was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on September 13, 1969, and is the only player to ever have his number (70) officially retired by the Steelers.

From 1966 to 1988, he was an assistant coach with the Dallas Cowboys, and served as the team's defensive coordinator from 1973 to 1988.

From 1995 to 1997, he returned to Germany to become head coach of Frankfurt Galaxy, winning the World Bowl in 1995 for the NFL Europe team.

Stautner died at a Carbondale, Colorado nursing home at age 80 from complications of Alzheimer's disease.