{{Short description|American football player (1897–1976)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}} {{Infobox NFL biography |image= |caption= |image_size= |position=Center, End |number= |birth_date={{birth date|1897|11|29}} |birth_place=Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. |death_date={{Death date and age|1976|03|03|1897|11|29|mf=y}} |death_place=Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. |height_ft=5 |height_in=9 |weight_lbs=168 |high_school= |college=None |teams= * Louisville Brecks (1921–1923) | statlabel1=Games played | statvalue1=7 | statlabel2=Games started | statvalue2=7 | pfr = HiggAu20 | pfrcoach = HiggAu0 }} '''Austin George Higgins''' (November 29, 1897 – March 3, 1976) was an American football player and coach.
Higgins was born in 1897 in Louisville, Kentucky.<ref name=PFA>{{cite web|title=Austin Higgins|publisher=Pro Football Archives|accessdate=February 22, 2022|url=https://www.profootballarchives.com/playerh/higg00200.html}}</ref> He served in the Army during World War I from August 1917 to January 1919.<ref name=obit/><ref>Department of Veterans Affairs, BIRLS Death File for Austin G. Higgins, born 29 Nov 1897, died 3 Mar 1976.</ref>
From 1921 to 1923, he played professional football, principally at the center position, for the Louisville Brecks in the National Football League (NFL). He appeared in at least seven NFL games, all of those as a starter.<ref name=PFA/><ref name=PFR>{{cite web|title=Austin Higgins|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|work=Pro-Football-Reference.com|accessdate=August 12, 2020|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/H/HiggAu20.htm}}</ref> Higgins also served as the head coach for Louisville during the 1921 season.<ref>{{cite web|title=Austin Higgins|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|work=Pro-Football-Reference.com|accessdate=July 3, 2024|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/coaches/HiggAu0.htm}}</ref> He earned a reputation as an ironman player who played entire games. ''The Courier-Journal'' later wrote that Higgins, who weighed as little as 155 pounds during his playing career, "didn't know what a substitute was and he never backed away from any of the bigger giants."<ref name=CJ>{{cite news|title=Memories of Showday Days|newspaper=The Courier-Journal|author=Earl Ruby|date=February 24, 1954|page=19|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96199589/austin-higgins/|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> He left the sport with a blood clot that remained on his left leg for 10 years.<ref name=CJ/>
Higgins was married in 1923 to Mary Spellman.<ref>{{cite news|title=Austin Higgins, Breck Star, To Be Married|newspaper=The Courier-Journal|date=April 1, 1923|page=68|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96200393/austin-higgins/|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> After his football career ended, he worked for tobacco companies, including Phillip Morris Tobacco Co., Axton-Fischer Tobacco Co., and finally the Falls City Tobacco Company.<ref name=obit/> He was also one of the top bowlers in Louisville.<ref>{{cite news|title=Higgins Rolls 709|newspaper=The Courier-Journal|date=November 7, 1953|page=17|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96200096/higgins-rolls-709/|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Higgins Rolls a 669|newspaper=The Courier-Journal|date=November 26, 1956|page=18|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96200750/higgins/|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> He died in 1978 at age 78.<ref name=obit>{{cite news|title=Austin G. Higgins|newspaper=The Courier-Journal|date=March 5, 1976|page=42|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96198268/obituary-for-austin-g-higgins-aged-78/|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Louisville Brecks coaches}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, Austin}} Category:1897 births Category:1976 deaths Category:Louisville Brecks players Category:Players of American football from Louisville, Kentucky Category:American football centers Category:United States Army personnel of World War I