Andy Robustelli was a late-round pick from Arnold (the only player ever drafted from there), and he made the team at defensive end, where he would help the Los Angeles Rams win the 1951 championship. He blossomed into one of football's top defensive players and was a first-or second-team All-Pro for the next four years. It should have continued, but Robustelli clashed with Rams management over their refusal to let him take time off to be with his new child. He was traded to the New York Giants and went on to have a Hall of Fame career. Maybe they should have let him take a couple of days off, don’t you think?

The path to the Rams began in the 19th round of the 1951 NFL Draft. The tiny Arnold College in Connecticut had never produced an NFL player, and Robustelli—a two-way end who had also been offered a minor-league baseball deal—was a pure long shot. Drafted as a receiver behind established stars like Tom Fears and Elroy Hirsch, he shifted to defensive end, made the roster, and contributed immediately. As a rookie, he played on the team that beat the Cleveland Browns for the 1951 NFL championship. Over the next four seasons, he became one of the league’s best ends: second-team All-Pro in 1952 and 1954, first-team All-Pro in 1953 and 1955, and a Pro Bowl selection in 1953 and 1955. He missed only one game in those five years and recovered 13 fumbles while starting nearly every contest.

After the 1955 season, with a new child at home in Connecticut and a sporting-goods business to tend, Robustelli asked for a couple of extra days before training camp. Coach Sid Gillman refused. When Robustelli held firm, the Rams traded him to the New York Giants in July 1956 for a first-round draft pick (used on Del Shofner). Robustelli later said he would have taken the whole season off rather than leave his family early. The move worked out just fine for him.

With the Giants, he became a cornerstone of one of the era’s great defenses, winning another championship in 1956, earning five more first-team All-Pro honors, seven total Pro Bowls, and the 1962 Bert Bell Award. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971.

The Rams got five strong seasons and a championship contribution out of a 19th-round flyer from a school that no longer exists. They also got the short end of a family-time dispute that sent a future Hall of Famer east. A couple of extra days with a newborn might have been the cheaper option.