Eugene Lipscomb

Eugene Allen Lipscomb (August 9, 1931 – May 10, 1963) was an American professional football defensive tackle and occasional professional wrestler who played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was known by the nickname "Big Daddy", due to his habit of calling everyone around him "Little Daddy".

Lipscomb was twice selected as a first-team All-Pro, twice chosen for the second All-Pro team, and twice NFL Champion as a member of the Baltimore Colts. Standing 6'6" tall and weighing around 300 pounds, Lipscomb is regarded as a prototype of the modern ultra-athletic interior defensive lineman.

Early life Eugene Allen Lipscomb was born in Uniontown, Alabama on August 9, 1931, to a family of cotton pickers. Lipscomb never knew his father, as he died in a federal Civilian Conservation Corps camp from illness. He was placed on waivers by the Rams in September 1956 and claimed by the Baltimore Colts.

It was not Lipscomb's physical gifts or on-field ability that caused the Rams to cut ties with Lipscomb, but rather the proverbial "off-field issues." Friendly opponent, Baltimore Colt halfback Buddy Young recalled, "Back in his Los Angeles days, Daddy was known for other things. I won't say he was irresponsible, but surely he wasn't the most disciplined and orderly soul wearing shoulder pads. Among other things, Daddy didn't read the clock very well during the season. Often he'd stay up long past the hour the coach had fixed as the club's bed time, and he drank some then, too. Caught up in a fast crowd, ignored by many of his Ram teammates, an orphan from a dirt-poor Detroit family, without any college experience, Daddy didn't seem to care much."

Baltimore Colts The Colts were fortunate to land Lipscomb via the "waiver wire" for the standard $100 fee. The San Francisco 49ers were actually the team with the worst win-loss record from the previous season and thus had highest priority in placing waivers claims — and they wanted Lipscomb. As part of the Steelers he was encouraged to play more up the field as an interior pass rusher to wreak havoc on guards. The result was a first season that saw a total of 17.5 sacks (according to retroactive counting of statistics).

Lipscomb was regarded as a prototype of the modern interior defensive lineman, combining great size with speed and agility.

Lipscomb's final NFL game was the Pro Bowl in January 1963, in which he was voted lineman of the game.

Professional wrestling career During the 1959–60 and 1960–61 off-seasons, Lipscomb earned extra income as a professional wrestler. He primarily wrestled in California for promotions such as the North American Wrestling Alliance, NWA San Francisco, and Ad Santel Promotions, going by either "Gene Lipscomb" or "Big Daddy Lipscomb". In spring 1960, he made a foray to the northeastern United States and Montreal, Quebec, Canada to wrestle for Eddie Quinn. In June 1960, he appeared with 50th State Big Time Wrestling in Hawaii. In April 1961, he appeared with the American Wrestling Association in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Personal life Lipscomb had a taste for both women and alcohol, which resulted in three marriages and divorces — including one case of bigamy when he married his second wife in Tijuana, Mexico, while he was still married to his first. He was pronounced dead just before 8am at Lutheran Hospital. He was only 31 years old when he died, cutting short what would have been a Hall of Fame career.

Friends of Lipscomb disbelieved the story due to his professed fear of needles, with some believing that he was the victim of a homicide for robbery. Teammate and good friend Johnny Sample said he had never known Lipscomb to touch narcotics, and that Lipscomb had told him the day of his death that he had just cashed an unexpected check for $750 and was "going to have a little fun". Sample speculated that Lipscomb had been flashing cash around and buying drinks for people, met strangers who later took advantage of him being drunk, injected him with heroin, and robbed him. Sample noted that the injection marks were in Lipscomb's right arm, and that Lipscomb was right-handed, making it unlikely that the narcotics were self-injected, adding further doubt to Black's story.

Before his body was moved for burial, thousands went to his viewing in Baltimore, reportedly stretching multiple city blocks even when it was set to close at 10pm. His funeral was held in Detroit to a crowd of over a thousand people composed of teammates and loved ones. He was buried at Lincoln Park Memorial Cemetery.

The Professional Football Researchers Association named Lipscomb to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2006. Lipscomb was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. In 2019, Lipscomb was selected as a finalist for the NFL's 100th Anniversary Team. Lipscomb was a senior nominee for the Class of 2025 of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.