Washington Redskins: 15 greatest running backs in franchise history

You’d think Don Bosseler would have a nickname like Don “The Boss” Bosseler. Or maybe “Boss Man”? It’s an easy one to come up with. But onlookers and spectators looked past the low-hanging fruit and fashioned another nickname for Bosseler.

The Bull.

It’s a name that accurately embodies the way Bosseler played the game. At 6-foot-1, 212 pounds, he would be of average size in today’s NFL. But in 1957, when he was first drafted by the Redskins, he was one of the biggest players on the gridiron. As Miami University once put it, “if Norman Rockwell had to paint a picture of a football player, it would be Bosseler”.

At first glance, it seems like natural lip service from a college, for its beloved star player. But Bosseler lived up to his reputation in the NFL.

In eight seasons, he amassed 3,112 yards and 41 touchdowns on 775 career carries, good for a yards-per-carry average of 4.0, which was transcendent in his time. He earned a Pro Bowl berth in 1959 and ended his career as one of the Redskins’ all-time leading rushers.

In the NFL, “The Bull” was very much in his natural habitat, steamrolling defenders into the dirt. And in that habitat, he thrived.