At first, this might seem like someone who doesn’t deserve a rank, but the more we look, the more we think he deserves a spot on this list.

Spec Sanders was chosen by the Washington Redskins as the 6^th Overall Pick in the 1942 NFL Draft, but as this occurred during WWII, Sanders would serve his country in the military until the end of the war.  Afterward, Sanders joined the New York Yankees of the AAFC, and arguably became the first unquestioned offensive juggernaut of the new league.  

In 1946, he was the inaugural Rushing Champion with 709 Yards and would also finish atop the AAFC leaderboard in Rushing Touchdowns (6) and All-Purpose Yards (968).  That was good, but Sanders would shatter that in 1947, when he would have 1,432 Rushing Yards and 18 TDs on the ground.  It would take over a decade for those single-season numbers to be eclipsed, as Jim Brown would rush for 1,527 Yards in 1958, and Jim Taylor would break his rushing Touchdown record in 1962.  Sanders was also one of the better passers in those two years, and his offensive prowess in the AAFC had few, if any, equals.

Knee issues forced his early retirement, but he returned in 1950 with the New York Yanks of the NFL, and while focusing on the defensive side of the ball, he set a then-record of 13 interceptions in a season.  That would be the last year that Sanders played pro football, but for a brief career, it certainly was spectacular!

What obviously hurts Sanders in his Hall of Fame quest is that the teams he played for no longer exist, and his best run happened in a league that was absorbed in 1950.  It is next to impossible for a legacy to get past those two obstacles.

Undrafted out of Louisville, Frank Minnifield quickly found a home in the USFL, where he briefly played for the Chicago Blitz and the Arizona Wranglers before suing his way out of the league to play for the Cleveland Browns.  

Minnifield blossomed into one of the best Cornerbacks in the NFL in the second half of the 1980s, earning Pro Bowl Selections each year from 1986 to 1989.  A First Team All-Pro in 1988, Minnifield anchored a strong Cleveland Secondary, but perhaps his most significant contribution was coining the term “Dawg Pound” along with fellow Browns Corner, Hanford Dixon.  That alone is Hall of Fame-worthy in the eyes of many on the North Coast.

Bill Lee was a college champion in 1934 at the University of Alabama, and five years later, he became an NFL champion in 1939 with the Green Bay Packers.  Lee was named to the Pro Bowl that year and the 1930’s All-Decade Team as a Tackle.  Before his stint with Green Bay, he played for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1935 to 1937, played for the Packers from '37 to 1942, and then served his nation during WWII.  He returned to play in 1946 and played 82 Games in the NFL.

We can't say enough about the AFL's Buffalo Bills defense of the 1960s, a unit that doesn't get the credit it should.  This team won the 1964 and 1965 AFL titles, but most people remember four straight Super Bowl failures in the early 90s.

We remember.

A member of the two back-to-back AFL Championships, Butch Byrd was a rookie on that first team, where the cornerback recorded 7 Interceptions and a career-high 179 Interception Return Yards.  Byrd would never have a season with less than four picks as a Bill, which is impressive considering that opposing QBs wanted nothing to do with him.

Byrd would be a Second Team All-AFL Selection and was a five-time AFL All-Star.  Also, the three-time First Team All-Pro is still the all-time leader in Interceptions and Interception Return Yards.