Football
Football
Ox Emerson was a member of the NFL All-Decade 1930's Team. He started his professional football career in 1931 with the Portsmouth Spartans. In his second season, he was selected to his first of five straight First Team All-Pros. Despite being ironically nicknamed due to his height of under six feet and weight of less than 200 pounds, Emerson used…
What points do you get for being one of the best players to come out of Vermont? Okay, not that much, but regardless of what state Steve Wisniewski came from, there was no doubt that he was one of the finest Offensive Linemen of the 1990s.Steve Wisniewski was the de facto leader of the Silver and Black’s O-Line for over…
Does longevity mean more than greatness? We ask this question about Jim Marshall who had a solid twenty-year career but only made the Pro Bowl twice.
Many entries on this list discuss the difficulty of comparing offensive statistics from the 1960s and 1970s to today's inflated numbers. This is even more accurate when looking at the stars of the 1950s. Charlie Conerly, the Quarterback of the New York Giants during the 1950s, was on the final ballot multiple times but dropped off seemingly for good after…
Steve Smith is considered one of the most talented offensive players in the history of the Carolina Panthers. In seven seasons as a Panther, he managed to achieve over 1,000 yards in Receiving Yards. Smith's best season was in 2005, when he won the Wide Receiver's "Triple Crown" by leading the NFL in Receptions, Receiving Yards, and Receiving Touchdowns. Smith…
Making an instant statement with the Minnesota Vikings after being drafted ninth overall from Oklahoma State, Kevin Williams recorded 10 Quarterback Sacks in each of his first two seasons. The Defensive Tackle would become one half of the famed “Williams Wall” with Pat Williams for the Vikings and was named to the First Team All-Pro roster five times, including a…
Much like our entry with Terrell Davis, we wonder what kind of career numbers Sterling Sharpe would have put up had a neck injury not prematurely ended his career in his prime in 1994. It is not out of the realm of possibility to think that he could have in the top ten in every major receiving category had he…
Considered a shutdown Cornerback before there was such a term, Louis Wright would play his entire career with the Denver Broncos. Drafted in the 1st Round (17th Overall) from San Jose State, Wright paid immediate dividends by being named to the First Team All-Rookie squad. Denver was developing a reputation for their Orange Crush Defense, but if anyone got past…
During the early 1960s, the Los Angeles Rams had a terrible reputation. This began to change when Roman Gabriel became their quarterback. By the late 60s, Gabriel had become one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL. He won the NFL's Most Valuable Player award in 1969 and helped the Rams become a respectable team that was considered a legitimate…
If the Football Hall of Fame was based solely on excitement there should be no doubt that Randall Cunningham would have been inducted on the first ballot. His nickname of the “Human Highlight Reel” was well deserved and he was hands down the most entertaining Quarterback of his era.Randall Cunningham could beat you with his throwing arms or with his…
In the first incarnation of our Football list, how could we we forget about a legendary Atlanta Falcon? Granted, there have not been that many in the past history of the Falcons, but we may very well have forgotten about a solid Linebacker in Tommy Nobis who was easily the first bright spot of the Southern franchise. As one of…
As one of the men who used to eagerly wait for the final undefeated team to lose every NFL season, Bob Kuechenberg was a staple on the famed Miami Dolphins O-Line. As part of the Dolphins' two consecutive Super Bowl champions, Kuechenberg actually enjoyed better individual seasons after. Although he looked like a reject from the Longest Yard Prison Team (the…
Very few players could be viewed as the total athletic package. Neil Smith may have been one of those rare exceptions as scouts felt with his skills there was little he couldn’t do on the football field. Those scouts would be right.Neil Smith was a multi-faceted Defensive End who was equally adept at stuffing the run as defending against the…
Jahri Evans was unique in that he did not play competitive football until he was in high school, and what a career he would have!
As much as football changes, there are some statistics that will always remain critical to the game. One such stat is the Interception, which is one of the biggest game-changers regardless of era. In the ’60s, Bobby Boyd was one of the masters of the pick.
Before the Dallas Cowboys truly became “America’s Team”, they had to establish themselves as a true force in the National Football League. A big part of that emergence was their defense, of which Linebacker; Lee Roy Jordan played a key role.
One of the early stars of the Green Bay Packers, Verne Lewellen, was an all-purpose Back who did it all for Green Bay. The product of Nebraska (the state and the University) would be named to four straight First Team All-Pro squads (1926 to 1929) and was a large part of their three consecutive NFL Championships (1929 to 1931).
Offensive linemen are often the unsung heroes of football, but one group of linemen bucked that trend: the "Hogs" of the Washington Redskins. The "Hogs" were a legendary offensive line that played together in the 1980s and early 90s, and they were known for their toughness, physicality, and dominance on the field. One of the linemen who stood out from…
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…