Gene “Big Daddy” Lipscomb enlisted in the military and played football at USMC Camp Pendleton, so if you think the teams of the NFL lightly recruited him, you would be right!

The 300-pound Lipscomb would, however, sign with the Los Angeles Rams in 1952 and would win the starting Right Defensive Tackle job in 1953, but went on to greater success when he was traded to the Baltimore Colts.  "Big Daddy" helped anchor the Colts to the 1958 and 1959 NFL Championships, and, not so coincidentally, he was named a First Team All-Pro for his efforts.  Lipscomb went to Pittsburgh in 1961 and went to his third Pro Bowl in 1962, but that would be his final year in Pro Football, as sadly, his career ended when he died of a heroin overdose in May of 1963. 

We can only imagine how much more he would have accomplished had he been focused, clean, and, more importantly, alive, but what he did on the gridiron cannot be overlooked.

In the 1980s, the Dallas Cowboys had a slew of excellent defensive players, so cracking the main roster as an undrafted Free Agent was not too likely, though that is exactly what Everson Walls did in 1981. 

Drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1943, Al Wistert would play his entire nine-year career in Eastern Pennsylvania.  Playing at Tackle (on both sides of the ball), the former Michigan Wolverine would be named a First Team All-Pro by the Associated Press four years in a row (1944-47).  Wistert would be named to the Pro Bowl in 1950 and was an integral part of Philadelphia's back-to-back NFL Titles in 1948 and 1949.  It is hard to fathom the Eagles winning those championships without Wistert, their team captain, an excellent blocker for Steve Van Buren, and the leader of their defense.

The Eagles had a dynamic force in Wistert, but that has yet to translate into a Hall of Fame berth for the Tackle.  The 1940s All-Decade Selection faces a tough road, as recent years have made it seem the Hall is done with pre-1960 players. 

Anybody who follows football at all knows that there is nothing quite as exciting as college football rivalries. The adrenaline is pumping not only for the teams playing, but also for the fans watching on the sidelines or at home. No matter which college team you root for when it comes time for those matches against your team’s all-time rivals, it is “game on.”