Bugsy Engelberg

Bugsy Engelberg
Personal information
Born(1946-04-19)April 19, 1946
Waycross, Georgia, U.S.
DiedJuly 29, 1987(1987-07-29) (aged 41)
Oviedo, Florida, U.S.
Career information
High schoolWaycross (Waycross, Georgia)
CollegeEast Tennessee (1965)
Career history
Coaching
Operations

Lewis "Bugsy" Engelberg (April 19, 1946 – July 29, 1987) was an American football coach and executive who was the general manager of the Orlando Renegades of the United States Football League during their only season (1985).

Biography

Engelberg was born in Waycross, Georgia on April 19, 1946. He played guard for the East Tennessee State Buccaneers football team until a knee injury ended his playing career. He then transferred to Florida State University, where he was a student assistant for the Seminoles. Specializing in kicking, he helped develop Grant Guthrie.

In 1968, Engelberg was the kicking coach for the Oakland Raiders. At 22, he was the league's youngest coach and his kicker, George Blanda, was the league's oldest player. That season, Blanda broke the American Football League single season record for field goals. He followed Raiders coach John Rauch to the Buffalo Bills and spent two seasons (1969 and 1970) as their kicking coach. In 1973, he worked with the kickers of the Rauch-coached Toronto Argonauts during training camp.

In 1974, Engelberg moved to the front office as director of player personnel for the Jacksonville Sharks of the World Football League. After the league folded, he moved to Orlando, Florida and started American Recovery Service, a commercial collection agency. He returned to football in 1982 as acting director of player personnel for the Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League. He was responsible for assembling the team's roster and convincing owner John F. Bassett to hire head coach Steve Spurrier. In 1984, he became the general manager of the Orlando Renegades, a position he held until the league folded.

After the USFL folded, Engelberg remained involved in sports as a booster for University of Central Florida athletics. The school's head football coach, Gene McDowell, was a childhood friend and high school teammate of Engelberg. On July 29, 1987, Engelberg was found dead in his car in McDowell's garage from apparent carbon monoxide poisoning. His death was ruled a suicide.

References

  1. 1 2 "Bugsy Engelberg". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved November 4, 2026.
  2. 1 2 Montville, Leigh (November 29, 1970). "Bugsy Engelberg (who?) a Buffalo Bills coach at 24". The Boston Globe. ProQuest 661571902.
  3. 1 2 3 "Former USFL general manager kills himself in boyhood friend's garage". UPI. July 30, 1987. Retrieved November 4, 2026.
  4. ↑ Levine, Al (December 17, 1968). "Two Young Coaches Out To Turn Kicking Game Into A Science". Miami News. ProQuest 2075868929.
  5. ↑ MacLeod, Rex (June 19, 1973). "Getting kicks out of Bugsy". The Globe and Mail. ProQuest 1239990455.
  6. ↑ Clark, Bill (February 6, 1974). "Jax, Tampa Court Sharks But No Word For Here". Sentinel Star. ProQuest 2483304730.
  7. ↑ McEwan, Tom (August 5, 1982). "Tampa's USFL Entry Is Named - Surprise! - 'Bandits"". The Tampa Tribune. ProQuest 2236609595.
  8. ↑ McGrotha, Bill (June 5, 1983). "Engleberg is a Budda is Bandits' clothing". Tallahassee Democrat. ProQuest 2090957657.
  9. ↑ Mizell, Hubert (May 15, 1983). "Spurrier, McKay offer contrasting styles to Bay area football fans". St. Petersburg Times. ProQuest 2052931824.