It can be very easy to forget that it takes eleven players to make up a football team. While it is easy to see the star who almost always seems to get the ball, without a quality offensive line it doesn’t matter who that person is unless everyone else is doing their job. In the case of 1971 Milford graduate Lloyd Webb not only did his job, but he also stood out on what many consider to be one of the best offensive lines in Buccaneer history. As a result of his work, Webb will be inducted to the 12th Man Gridiron Club Hall of Fame this season.
The 1970 Milford team would sport a record of 8-2, with those two losses coming by a total of just three points. With Webb at offensive tackle, the Buccaneer offense was more than formidable. Webb would garner the Outstanding Offensive Lineman of the Year for his efforts in that 1970 season, as well as being named 1st Team All-Conference and, most importantly, the respect of his teammates and opponents alike. Webb gave a great deal of credit to head coach Moe Barber, who Webb had great things to say about.
“He was a true leader,” Webb said. “He always pushed you to do your best and was an excellent teacher as well. We also had a great coaching staff which included John Leone and Jim Brooks just to name a few.”
Asked about his favorite football memories, the 1970 season obviously stands out. However, winning the Battle of The Bell his senior season was a special memory for him.
“Back then we played the game on Thanksgiving Day. It was a really great day that I will never forget, it was special,” Webb said. “ More importantly, the bond I formed with my teammates was very special. It is a special bond that lasts a lifetime, being in that locker room, with that group was fantastic.”
When asked about being named to The Hall of Fame, Webb responded with nostalgia.
“It really is a great honor,” he said. “To have played so long ago and still be remembered, let alone be joining such a tremendous group of athletes is very humbling as well.
While still in high school, Webb would meet the love of his life, Nancy.
“There is no doubt that I have lived a blessed life. Meeting Nancy was the best thing that has happened to me, we have been married for 52 years,” Webb said. “In 1971, Nancy was on the cheerleading squad which would win the state championship. Her father, Charles Postles, also helped shape me as a person as well. We were blessed to have two boys, Jonathan and Scott, who played football for Milford as well.”
There is little doubt that Milford looked quite different back in 1970 and for Webb it was challenging to balance work, school and football. Work came in the form of working at his family dairy farm, where Webb still lives today. Working on the family dairy farm both before and after school would lay the foundation which would carry Webb through life.
“My father taught me how to do things right,” he said. “It wasn’t about just one thing, it was about everything. I was raised that anything doing is worth doing right, it was a philosophy that I have carried my entire life.”
Reaching out to his former teammate, Rusty Krauss, about what kind of player Webb was, it was easy to understand what made Webb so special as a player.
“He was a quiet leader. He was very dedicated to the team and was the hardest worker I have ever seen,” Krauss said. “We lined up against each other almost every day at practice and it was intense. We were best friends off the field, but on the field, it was always a battle. He lived on the farm next to mine, so we spent a lot of time together. He was a great player and is a great person.”
Following graduation from Milford, Webb would attend Shepherd College. He was a walk-on to the football team for one season, before turning his attention to his studies. Webb would earn his bachelor’s degree in education in 1975. After trying teaching for a year, Webb would go to work for Mid-Atlantic Farm Credit, rising to the role of Senior Vice President before retiring after 35 year.
“I figured out pretty quickly that teaching wasn’t for me,” Webb said. “I was blessed when I went to work for Mid-Atlantic, I was working and helping farmers and making a difference in their lives.”
