Nebraska football great gets social media celebration over B-day

Earlier this week, one of the greatest coaches in the history of college football and the greatest man to ever helm the Nebraska football program celebrated another trip around the sun. Former Husker head coach Tom Osborne had his 87th birthday and more than a few Husker fans on social media wanted to make sure they wished him well on the special day.

Osborne was the head coach of the Nebraska football team from 1973-1997, ending his career with a career record of 255-49-3. He took over after being the offensive coordinator for his mentor, Bob Devaney.

The two men won two National Titles in 1971 and 1972 and then the Huskers went on quite a drought while Osborne adjusted to the ever changing landscape of college football. Of course, while he adjusted, he was still able to make the Huskers one of the powers of the sport.

Osborne also came rather close to a National Title several times, including in the famed 1983 game against the Miami Hurricanes where a dropped two-point conversion had Nebraska fall just short of the title.

Tom Osborne's Nebraska football teams never won fewer than nine games a season, finished in the top 15 in the final AP Poll 24 out of 25 years, and were ranked for 304 out of his 307 games as a head coach.

After retiring following his second straight national title, he was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Nebraska’s 3rd district from 2001-2007. Osborne returned to Nebraska in 2007 and served as athletic director before retiring in 2013.

Thanks to helping to keep Nebraska football as one of the best teams in the history of the sport, Osborne was more than a little popular in the state. That showed when people went out of their way to celebrate his birthday.