Editing Howie Long (section)

==Early life==

Born in [[Somerville, Massachusetts]], Long was raised in [[Charlestown, Boston]],<ref>{{cite web|last1=Doherty|first1=Bob|title=The Somerville Times Historical Fact of the Week – January 8|url=http://www.thesomervilletimes.com/archives/45620#more-45620|website=[[The Somerville Times]]|access-date=November 15, 2016|date=January 8, 2014}}</ref> primarily by his uncles and maternal grandmother.<ref name=sivpz85>{{cite magazine |url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1985/07/22/the-long-way-up |magazine=Sports Illustrated |last=Zimmerman |first=Paul |author-link=Paul Zimmerman (sportswriter)|title=The long way up |date=July 22, 1985 |page=60}}</ref>

He attended [[Milford High School (Massachusetts)|Milford High School]] in [[Milford, Massachusetts|Milford, Worcester County, Massachusetts]],<ref name=sivpz85/> and is a member of the Milford Hall of Fame. Long was an all-around athlete, playing football (lettered three years and was named to the Scholastic Coach All-America team as a senior, although he had never played football until age 15), basketball (lettered three years as a forward), and track (lettered three years, competing in the [[shot put]], [[discus]], and javelin). Long also set state records in the shot put and discus.{{citation needed|date=May 2023}}