Herman Wedemeyer

NFL player


Caption=
ImageWidth=
DateOfBirth=May 20 1924
Birthplace=Hilo, Hawaii
DateOfDeath=death date and age|1999|1|25|1924|5|20
Deathplace=Honolulu, Hawaii
College=St. Mary's College
Position=Running Back
DraftedYear=1947
DraftedRound=1 / Pick 9
(By the Los Angeles Rams)
ProBowls=
Stats=y
DatabaseFootball=WEDEMHER01
PFR=
years=1948
1949
teams=Los Angeles Dons (AAFC)
Baltimore Colts (AAFC)
CollegeHOF=40055

Herman John Wedemeyer (born May 20 1924 in Hilo, Hawaii; died January 25 1999 in Honolulu, Hawaii) was an American actor, football player, and politician. He is best known for portraying 'Sergeant/Detective "Duke" Lukela' on the crime drama "Hawaii Five-O" (1972-1980).

Wedemeyer, attended St. Louis School in Honolulu and was a standout in both football and baseball. Wedemeyer, a running back, played college football for the St. Mary's College Galloping Gaels in Moraga, CA. In 1945, he finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting, and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1979. Wedemeyer was Hawai'i's first consensus All-American football player. He bore the colorful nicknames 'Squirmin' Herman,' 'The Flyin' Hawaiian,' 'The Hawaiian Centipede,' and 'The Hula-Hipped Hawaiian.'

Wedemeyer was a first-round draft choice of the Los Angeles Dons of the All-America Football Conference in 1948. Despite leading the AAFC in punt return yardage that year, he was waived by the Dons. He was then signed by the AAFC Baltimore Colts (NOT the same franchise that moved to Indianapolis in the 1980s), with whom he played in 1949 before retiring from professional sports for good.

In 1968, Wedemeyer was elected to the Honolulu City Council as a Republican. In 1970, he was elected to the Hawaii House of Representatives as a Democrat, winning re-election in 1972.

Herman was the brother of Charlie Wedemeyer, a former Michigan State football player who gained fame when, as a football coach at Los Gatos High School, he contracted Lou Gehrig's Disease and continued to coach for many years, despite his handicap. He is the subject of a television movie called .

External links

* [http://hawaiisportshalloffame.com/xwede.htm Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame Profile]
*imdb|0917175
* [http://wedey.usanethosting.com/wedey.htm Herman Wedemeyer Fan Home Page]