A 15^th Round Pick from Widener, Billy "White Shoes" Johnson would become one of the most exciting players in the National Football League almost as soon as he arrived.  Chosen by the Houston Oilers, Johnson played at Wide Receiver (accumulating 4,211 Yards with 25 Touchdowns over his career), but it was as a returner that he excelled and made magic happen. 

As a rookie (1974), he would lead the NFL in Return Yards (1,194), and he would finish in the top five in that stat the next three years.  Johnson would become known for his touchdown dances (he is believed to have been the first to do that) and bright white shoes (hence the nickname).

After his run with the Oilers ended in 1980, he played a season in the Canadian Football League, then returned to play five seasons with the Atlanta Falcons and another with the Washington Redskins.  Johnson would go to three Pro Bowls (two with Houston and one with Atlanta) and had 10,785 All-Purpose Yards over his career.

Johnson would be named to both the 1970s and 1980s All-Decade Team.  How many Hall of Famers can say that they have been selected to two of them?

While the Dallas Cowboys’ story didn't begin for many fans until the early '70s, they still had star power in the 1960s.  One such performer was Don Perkins, their Fullback from the University of New Mexico.

Perkins played eight years in the NFL, all of which were with the Dallas Cowboys, and he would secure a selection to the Pro Bowl in six of them.  He was a cerebral player in that he lacked speed but had bursts of quickness from the Line of Scrimmage and knew what to do to avoid tackles.  He would rush for over 6,000 Yards and be considered to be an above-average blocker.

Bob Gain was drafted 5^th Overall in 1951 by the Green Bay Packers, but that year he elected to play in Canada with the Ottawa Rough Riders instead.  

Mike Stratton was the leader of one of the best linebacking crews in the American Football League, though his accomplishments seem to have been forgotten in the game’s folklore.  A 13^th Round Pick from Tennessee in 1962, Stratton fit in immediately with the Buffalo Bills, settling in at Right Linebacker, and from 1963 to 1968, he was a perennial AFL All-Star with two of those years seeing him chosen for First Team All-Pro.  Stratton was a massive cog in the Bills’ AFL Championship wins in 1964 and 1965, and in the former, he made "the hit heard round the world,” taking San Diego Chargers Running Back Keith Lincoln out of the game and changing the momentum of a game that Buffalo was losing in the first half.  

Stratton would be named a Second Team All-AFL player and is recognized in the Bills Wall of Fame.