- Herman Wedemeyer
NFL player
Caption=
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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 theLos Angeles Rams )
ProBowls=
Stats=y
DatabaseFootball=WEDEMHER01
PFR=
years=1948
1949
teams=Los Angeles Dons (AAFC )
Baltimore Colts (AAFC )
CollegeHOF=40055Herman John Wedemeyer (born
May 20 1924 inHilo, Hawaii ; diedJanuary 25 1999 inHonolulu, Hawaii ) was an American actor, football player, andpolitician . 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, arunning back , playedcollege football for the St. Mary's College Galloping Gaels inMoraga, CA . In 1945, he finished fourth in theHeisman Trophy voting, and he was inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame in 1979. Wedemeyer was Hawai'i's first consensusAll-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 theAll-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 toIndianapolis 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 theHawaii 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 atLos Gatos High School , he contractedLou 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]
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