Position: Linebacker / Center Role American football player Name LaVern Torgeson | College: Washington State | |
Date of birth: (1929-02-28)February 28, 1929 Date of death: March 20, 2015(2015-03-20) (aged 86) Place of death: Huntington Beach, California Died March 23, 2015, Huntington Beach, California, United States Education Washington State University | ||
Place of birth: La Crosse, Washington | ||
LaVern Earl "Torgy" Torgeson (February 28, 1929 – March 20, 2015) was an American football player and coach. He played college football for the Washington State Cougars football team from 1948 to 1950. He then played professional football in the National Football League (NFL), principally as a linebacker, for the Detroit Lions from 1951 to 1954 and for the Washington Redskins from 1955 to 1957.
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After retiring as a player, Torgeson worked for 35 years from 1959 to 1993 as an assistant coach in the NFL. His coaching positions included stints with the Washington Redskins (1959–1961, 1971–1977, 1981–1993), Pittsburgh Steelers (1962–1968), and Los Angeles Rams (1969–1970, 1978–1980). He was a coach on three Super Bowl championship teams in 1982, 1987 and 1991. As a player and coach, he spent 42 years in the NFL, 26 of them with the Redskins.
Early years
Torgeson was born in La Crosse, Washington, a small town in the eastern part of the state, in 1929. He attended La Crosse High School.
College football
After graduating from high school, Torgeson enrolled at nearby Washington State College where he played college football for the Washington State Cougars football team from 1948 to 1950. He played on both offense as a center and on defense as a linebacker for the Cougars. In November 1950, Torgeson's younger brother Robert Torgeson, also a student at Washington State, died from carbon monoxide poisoning while sleeping in his car after traveling to Spokane, Washington, to watch the annual Washington-Washington State rivalry game. Torgeson was the captain of the 1950 Washington State football team, and at the end of the season he was selected by the Associated Press (AP) as the first-team center on the 1950 All-Pacific Coast Conference football team.
Professional football
Torgeson was selected by the Detroit Lions in the fifth round (58th overall pick) of the 1951 NFL Draft. As a rookie, he appeared in all 12 games for the Lions, playing at both the linebacker and center positions. From 1952 to 1954, he played at the right linebacker position for the Lions. During the Lions' NFL championship seasons in 1952 and 1953, he had ten interceptions, including a 31-yard interception return for touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams on October 19, 1952.
In January 1955, the Lions traded Torgeson and Jim Hill to the Washington Redskins in exchange for Walt Yowarsky and Jim Ricca. Torgeson played for the Redskins from 1955 to 1957, appearing in 35 games.
Coaching career
In September 1959, Toregson announced that he was retiring as a player and had been hired as an assistant coach with the Redskins. He was with the Redskins from 1959 to 1961.
In January 1962, Torgeson left the Redskins to become an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers under his former Lions head coach Buddy Parker. He remained with the Steelers from 1962 to 1968.
In February 1969, Torgeson was hired by the Los Angeles Rams as their defensive line coach under head coach George Allen. He remained with the Rams for the 1969 and 1970 seasons. In those two years under Allen and Torgeson, the Rams compiled a 20–7–1 record.
In 1971, Allen left the Rams to become head coach of the Washington Redskins. Torgeson followed Allen and became the Rams' defensive coordinator from 1971 to 1977. During seven seasons under Allen and Torgeson, the Rams compiled a 67–30–1 record and lost Super Bowl VII to the Miami Dolphins.
In February 1978, Allen returned to the Los Angeles Rams, and Torgeson followed him as an assistant coach. Torgeson remained with the Rams for three years through the 1980 season. During three years under Allen and Torgeson, the Rams compiled a 12–4 record in 1980, won the NFC championship and lost Super Bowl XIV in 1981, and compiled an 11–5 record in 1982.
In February 1981, Torgeson returned to the Redskins as defensive line coach. He remained with the Redskins for 13 seasons through the 1993 season. He was an assistant under head coaches Joe Gibbs from 1981 to 1992 and Richie Petitbon in 1993. During his tenure with the Redskins, the team won Super Bowl XVII in 1983, Super Bowl XXII in 1988, and Super Bowl XXVI in 1992, and lost Super Bowl XVIII in 1984. When Norv Turner took over as head coach of the Redskins in early 1994, Torgeson and several other assistant coaches were dismissed.
Torgeson concluded his coaching career as the defensive coordinator and linebacker coach for the 1996 Frankfurt Galaxy.
Later years
After retiring from coach, Torgeson lived with his wife Nola (Carmichael) Torgeson in Huntington Beach, California. In 1970, he was inducted into the Washington State University Athletic Hall of Fame. He was also inducted into the State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame in 1994. Torgeson died in 2015 at age 86 in Huntington Beach.