Joe Schmidt (American football)

Joe Schmidt

Schmidt from The 1953 Owl, Pittsburgh yearbook
No. 56
Position:	Linebacker
Personal information
Born:	(1932-01-19)January 19, 1932[1] Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died:	September 11, 2024(2024-09-11) (aged 92) Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:	220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school:	Brentwood (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
College:	Pittsburgh
NFL draft:	1953 / round: 7 / pick: 85
Career history
As a player:
Detroit Lions (1953–1965)
As a coach:
Detroit Lions (1966–1972) →Linebackers coach (1966) →Head coach (1967–1972)
Career highlights and awards
2× NFL champion (1953, 1957) 8× First-team All-Pro (1954–1959, 1961, 1962) 2× Second-team All-Pro (1960, 1963) 10× Pro Bowl (1954–1963) NFL 1950s All-Decade Team NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team Pride of the Lions Detroit Lions 75th Anniversary Team Detroit Lions All-Time Team Detroit Lions No. 56 retired First-team All-American (1952) First-team All-Eastern (1952) Pittsburgh Panthers No. 65 retired
Career NFL statistics
Interceptions: 24 INT Yards: 294 Fumbles recovered: 17 Touchdowns: 3 Stats at Pro Football Reference
Head coaching record
Regular season:	43–34–7 (.554)
Postseason:	0–1 (.000)
Career:	43–35–7 (.547)
Coaching record at Pro Football Reference
Pro Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame

Joseph Paul Schmidt (January 19, 1932 – September 11, 2024) was an American professional football player and coach. He played as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions for 13 years from 1953 to 1965. He won two NFL championships with the Lions (1953 and 1957), and, between 1954 and 1963, he played in ten consecutive Pro Bowl games and was selected each year as a first-team All-Pro player. He was also voted by his fellow NFL players as the NFL's most valuable defensive player in 1960 and 1963, named to the NFL 1950s All-Decade Team, inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and chosen as a member of the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team in 2019.

From 1967 to 1972, Schmidt was the head coach of the Detroit Lions. In six years under Schmidt, the Lions compiled a 43–34–7 record and finished in second place each year from 1969 to 1972. After retiring from the Lions, Schmidt worked as a manufacturer's representative in the automobile industry in Detroit.

A native of Pittsburgh, he played college football for the University of Pittsburgh Panthers team from 1950 to 1952. He was selected by the International News Service as a first-team All-American in 1952 and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000.