Personal information | |
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Born: | August 28, 1926 Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
Died: | April 17, 1975 (age 48) Tomah, Wisconsin, U.S. |
Career information | |
High school: | Madison (WI) Central |
College: | Wisconsin |
Position: | Defensive back |
Career highlights and awards | |
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Edward J. Withers (August 28, 1926 – April 17, 1975) was an American football player. He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and moved to Madison, Wisconsin when he was a boy. He attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison and played college football for the Wisconsin Badgers football team. He was one of the first African-Americans to be a regular starter for the Badgers, playing at the defensive back position.[1] He was selected by the Football Writers Association of America as a first-team defensive player on their 1950 College Football All-America Team.[2][3][4] Withers later worked as a teacher and coach at Roosevelt and North Division High Schools in Milwaukee and subsequently as an insurance salesman.[1] He died in Tomah, Wisconsin, in 1975 at age 48.[5]