The modern Fullback appears to be a relic of football’s past, but when used correctly, it is a thing of beauty to watch.  Lorenzo Neal might be the game’s last great Fullback.

A traditional back at Fresno State, Neal was converted to a Fullback by the team that drafted him, New Orleans, to the position. In 1997, he set a record by blocking for 11 consecutive 1,000-yard rushers in history.  Playing for multiple teams, his best and most recognized run was in San Diego, where he paved the way for Hall of Fame Running Back LaDainian Tomlinson, and he was rewarded with multiple Pro Bowls and an All-Decade Selection. 

The odds of him getting enshrined into Canton are not strong, but his accomplishments set him apart from most of the Fullbacks from his time on.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL, and MLB. Once that is done, we will examine how each team honors its past players, coaches, and executives. As such, it is important to us that the Los Angeles Chargers will be inducting former owners, Alex and Faye Spanos to their franchise Hall of Fame.

This will bring a total of 43 members to the Hall.

Alex Spanos bought the San Diego Chargers in 1984 and oversaw the team until his death in 2018. His wife, Faye, died two months later.

The team is now owned and run by their son, Dean Spanos, who credited their parents for the vision of the team and that the team would not have relocated to Los Angeles.

Gary Johnson received the nickname of “Big Hands” innocently enough.  In eighth grade, Johnson grabbed a basketball in gym class, and the P.E. teacher yelled the following:

“Get your big hands off my basketball!”

Those meat hooks would be put to good use on the gridiron, first at Grambling, where he was a three-time Little All-American, and then for the San Diego Chargers, who drafted Johnson eighth overall in 1975.

An All-Rookie Selection, Johnson had his first double-digit sack year in 1977 (13.5).  As the Chargers offense improved by a decade’s end under Don Coryell and Quarterback Dan Fouts, the defensive corps also shaped up, making the Bolts serious AFC contenders. 

From 1979 to 1982, Johnson was named to the Pro Bowl, with First Team All-Pros coming his way in 1980 and 1981.  Johnson led the NFL in Sacks in 1980 with 17.5, but the Chargers were unable to get over the hump, and he was able to join the mighty San Francisco 49ers and help them win Super Bowl XIX, where Johnson got three Sacks in that postseason.

Russ Washington played both Offensive Tackle and Defensive Tackle at the University of Missouri, and the man who stood at 6’ 5” and nearly 300 pounds made the mouths water of NFL scouts.  the San Diego Chargers selected him fourth overall in 1968, where he was used as a Defensive Tackle over his first two seasons.  He did well, but the Chargers saw more value in him on the O-Line, and that is where he moved in 1970 and was their starting Right Tackle for 13 years.

Washington’s size was a better fit on offense, especially on pass protection.  When the team moved to a more pass-heavy offense under Don Coryell, Washington was in his element and it showed with five trips to the Pro Bowl in the second half of his career.  Rarely hurt, Washington played 200 Games for the Chargers and would enter their franchise Hall of Fame in 1985.

Ed White was a consensus All-American at the University of California and split his 17-year professional career in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings and San Diego Chargers.

White was a part of many successful Vikings teams that competed for their multiple Super Bowl attempts, and he was a large part of the protection of Fran Tarkenton and other offensive weapons.  The Guard was traded to San Diego, and helped protect another Hall of Fame Quarterback in Dan Fouts, and overall was rewarded with four Pro Bowls.

White played in 241 Games, and is one of the most tenured Offensive Lineman in NFL history.

Doug Wilkerson was all set to play college ball at Michigan State but an incident with another student in his senior year of high school led to its revocation.  It did not impact his path to the professional ranks, as even though he went to the small HBCU school of North Carolina Central, but shone so bright that he was a First Round Pick in 1970 by the Houston Oilers.  As a rookie, Wilkerson did not start and was also playing at Defensive End.  The Oilers traded the Guard to San Diego, and he would play a large part in the “Air Coryell” Offense of the Chargers. 

Wilkerson was San Diego’s starting Left Guard from 1971 to 1984, and with the arrival of Dan Fouts in 1973 and Coryell’s arrival in 1978, Wilkerson became the protector of the Chargers offense.  Fouts was routinely throwing for unprecedented passing yards at the time, and Wilkerson was one of the top guards who rarely got his due with the exception of the San Diego media.  Wilkerson was finally rewarded with three straight Pro Bowls (1980-82) with a First Team All-Pro in 1982.  Arguable one of the best Offensive Linemen in Chargers history, Wilkerson is part of the Chargers Hall and Black College Hall of Fame.

Former Quarterback, John Hadl, who played most notably with the San Diego Chargers, passed away at the age of 82.

A College Football Hall of Famer from the University of Kansas, Hadl played 11 years for the Chargers and was a three-time AFL leader in Passing Yards, compiling 33,503 Yards with 244 Touchdown Passes.  He also played for the Rams, Green Bay and Houston, and was a six-time AFL All-Star/Pro Bowl Selection.  

In our latest Notinhalloffame list of those to consider for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Hadl was ranked at #92.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the fans, friends and family of John Hadl.

Joey Bosa was a beat at Ohio State, earning two All-American honors, the Nagurski-Woodson Defensive Player of the Year and winning the National Championship.  The Chargers used their Third Overall Pick on the Buckeye, and it proved to be the correct decision.

Philip Rivers did an incredible job at NC State, winning the ACC Offensive Player of the Year and ACC Player of the Year in 2003, while also winning three bowl MVPs.  His success with the Wolfpack, earned him the fourth overall spot in the 2004 draft, and he arrived in San Diego as part of a draft day trade for Eli Manning, the top pick who made it known he would not play for the Chargers.

Spending his first two seasons as Drew Brees’ backup, Rivers took over in 2006 and would routinely finish each season at or near the top of the major passing categories.  An eight-time Pro Bowl selection, Rivers led the NFL in Passing Yards in 2010 (4,710) and had 12 other seasons where he cracked the 4,000 Yard mark.  Rivers also led the NFL in Touchdown Passes in 2008 (34) and he never had a year where he had less than 21 TDs as a starter.

Rivers never made it to the Super Bowl, but in 2007 he took the Chargers to the AFC Championship Game, a loss to New England.  San Diego may have lost the game, but Rivers was commended for his performance as he competed with a torn ACL. 

The Chargers were looking to move on, and Rivers played one more season in 2020 with the Indianapolis Colts, still performing at an elite level and guiding the Colts to the playoffs.

Rivers finished his career fifth all-time in Passing Yards (63,440) and Touchdown Passes (421).

A Second Round Pick from Rice in 1989, Courtney Hall won the starting job at Center as a rookie with the San Diego Chargers and save for his sophomore season where he was moved to Left Guard, which is precisely where he stayed.

From Washington State, Keith Lincoln elected to sign with the San Diego Chargers, as opposed to the Buffalo Bills, who chose him in the 1961 Draft.

One of the most unlikely defensive stars in the early days of the Chargers was Dick Harris, an undrafted player from McNeese State.

From Bethune-Cookman, Lee Williams played in the USFL for the L.A. Express before traveling south to San Diego, who chose him in the 1984 Supplemental Draft.

Vincent Jackson did not have a rocket-like start in the NFL as the Northern Colorado Wide Receiver missed half of his rookie season (2005) due to injury and the Second Round Pick barely played in the games, he did appear him.

Ernie Wright was an original member of the Los Angeles Chargers when they were an inaugural member of the American Football League in 1960, and the Ohio State Buckeye made the most of the opportunity.

A forgotten Quarterback in the annals of Chargers' history is Stan Humphries, who to date is the only pivot to take the organization to the Super Bowl.

In the second year of the Chargers’ existence, Washington Linebacker, Chuck Allen was a very late Draft Pick (28^thRound), so for him just to make the team was a bit of a long shot.  Allen would accomplish a lot more than that.

The professional career of Dave Kocourek began in 1959 when the Wisconsin Badger joined the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League.

Melvin Ingram was a First Round Pick in 2012 who was used as a backup Linebacker in his rookie year.  A torn ACL in his second training camp kept him out most of the year, but he returned and methodically worked his way into one of the better defensive players of the year.

Kenny Graham made his professional debut with the San Diego Chargers, the season after the Bolts won their lone AFL Championship.  Graham might have missed out on a title, but the Washington State Cougar would become one of the most productive defensive players for San Diego for the rest of the 1960s.