As a rookie, Melchionni was a champion with the Philadelphia 76ers, where he provided reasonable effort off the bench.  He stayed there for two years and then plied his trade for Trenton in the Eastern League, where he was a starter, and he, remained in state joining the Nets of the then ABA.  

The first thing we have to say is: Is there a better name for a Wide Receiver than Mike Quick?

Of course not!

A member of the Philadelphia Eagles for all ten seasons, Quick's best season came in 1983, when he led the NFL in Receiving Yards (1,409).  Quick was named a First Team All-Pro that year and again in 1985, when he had 1,247 Yards.  He was named to the Pro Bowl in five consecutive seasons (1983-87) and would accumulate 6,464 Receiving Yards with 61 Touchdowns.

In terms of Centers, there are few Professional Football players who can say that they are as successful as Bart Oates.

After going undrafted out of BYU in 1983, Oates joined the Philadelphia Stars of the USFL and won championships with them in 1984 and 1985.  When the USFL folded, he signed with the New York Giants, where he would become their starting Center, and was named an All-Rookie.  The following season would see Oates win another title, this time a Super Bowl Ring when the Giants won Super Bowl XXI.  In 1990, Oates and the Giants won another Super Bowl (XXV), but for the first time, he made the Pro Bowl.

This began his most successful individual run, as he earned that honor in 1991 and 1993.  He would sign with the San Francisco 49ers for 1994, where he played two seasons and went to his fourth and fifth Pro Bowls.  He would win another title when he assisted the Niners in their win in Super Bowl XXIX.

Five pro rings are pretty damned good, don’t you think?

It took a long time before Rich Gannon really had his chance in the NFL and/or found his groove, but once he did, he had a stretch where he was amongst the best Quarterbacks in the National Football League.

From the University of Delaware, the New England Patriots drafted Gannon in 1987 and wanted to convert him to a Running Back.   That never transpired, and he was traded to the Minnesota Vikings, where he was a backup for three years until winning the starting job in 1990.  Gannon did okay for a few years but lost the starting job and was traded to the Washington Redskins, where a similar pattern would happen.  It would all change in 1999 when he signed as a Free Agent with the Oakland Raiders.

Under Jon Gruden's West Coast Offense, Gannon became a star.  He would be named to the Pro Bowl in four consecutive seasons (1999-02) and was a First Team All-Pro in 2000 & 2002.  In those two All-Pro campaigns, Gannon won the Bert Bell Award and was the AP MVP in the latter year, where he led the NFL in Passing Yards (4,689).  In all of those four years, he was in the top five in Touchdown passes.  He would be injured early in 2003 from a helmet-to-helmet collision and was out of football for two years.

What kills Gannon’s chances is that when he did make it to the Super Bowl, he was picked off five times, though it can be argued that it did not help that Gruden was now coaching the opposing Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  Had that gone differently, we expect that Raiders fans would be championing his cause as opposed to (or in addition to Jim Plunkett.

If only!