Football
Football
Playing his college ball at the University of North Texas, Abner Haynes elected to stay in his home state, and he would sign with the Dallas Texans of the AFL as opposed to the Pittsburgh Steelers who chose him in the 5th Round in 1960. Haynes was the first breakout star of the new league winning their inaugural Rushing Title…
As the second draft pick of 1969, George Kunz had the fortune of playing for Notre Dame (when that mattered) and winning a National Championship there. He did not have the same luck when he was selected by the Atlanta Falcons.
Albert Lewis came to the Kansas City Chiefs as a 3rd Round Pick from Grambling State in 1983. Playing at Cornerback, Lewis took over the left side in his second season as a pro, and in the last half of the 80's he would emerge as one of the top Defensive Backs in the National Football League.
A lot of people talk about “Playstation” numbers whereby offensive stars put up offensive numbers that don’t seem realistic. John Hadl was putting up those types of numbers when Quarterbacks generally were more conservative and decades before the Madden craze took over.On three separate occasions, John Hadl eclipsed 3,000 yards passing. This is expected out of many Quarterbacks now, but…
The recipient of five straight Pro Bowls as a member of the San Francisco 49ers, Defensive End, Justin Smith was a major force of the Niners Defense and was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year by multiple publications in 2011. For a five-year stretch (2009-13), Smith was in the conversation for the top Defensive End in football, and…
Drafted in 2004 with the first overall pick by the San Diego Chargers, Eli Manning did not want to play for the Bolts, and he was quickly dealt to the New York Giants, where he would play his entire career. A four-time Pro Bowl Selection, he would take the Giants to two Super Bowl Championships, both against the heavily favored New…
Shannon Sharpe may be considered the best tight end of the 1990s, but a consensus number two would likely be Ben Coates. Coincidentally, the two would wrap up their careers at the start of the new millennium as teammates for the Baltimore Ravens in winning Super Bowl XXXV.
You don't expect an eighth-round pick to become one of the best at his position in his first four seasons, but Larry Brown, the afterthought from Kansas State, did exactly that. The new Washington Redskins Head Coach, Vince Lombardi pegged Brown, to become the starting Running Back, and he blossomed after Lombardi noticed that he was hearing impaired in one…
From the University of Pittsburgh, McCoy was phenomenal with the Panthers, winning the Big East Offensive Player of the Year (2008) and parlaying that into a Second Round Pick to the same-state Philadelphia Eagles in 2009. McCoy played his first six years with the Eagles, four of which would see the Running Back exceed the four-digit mark in Rushing Yards. The…
Not too many Punters get drafted but Shane Lechler was in the 5th Round out of Texas A&M in 2000 by the Oakland Raiders who would see quickly that it was an excellent choice. Lechler would play for the Raiders for 13 seasons and in six of those years he was named a First Team All Pro with seven seasons…
A member of the 100 Sack club, Robert Mathis proved time and time over his career that he was a certified beast on the pass rush.
Ruben Brown played the majority of his career with the Buffalo Bills, where the 1st Round Pick would be named to the All-Rookie team and followed that up with eight more seasons in Buffalo, all of which would see the Left Guard named to the Pro Bowl.
A 15th Round Pick from Widener, Billy "White Shoes" Johnson would become one of the most exciting players in the National Football League almost as soon as he arrived. Chosen by the Houston Oilers, Johnson played at Wide Receiver (accumulating 4,211 Yards with 25 Touchdowns over his career), but it was as a Returner where he excelled and made magic…
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Erich Barnes came out of Purdue when the Chicago Bears drafted him in 1958. The Cornerback played there for three seasons and went to the Pro Bowl in 1959. After that, Barnes had the best run of his career where he played for the New York Giants for four years and was named a Pro Bowl in each of them…
There was a time when a case could be made that Wilber Marshall was the best Linebacker in football. In 1985, he was a member of the most dominating team of the decade, the Super Bowl XX Champion, Chicago Bears. The year after, he was a First Team All-Pro, led the league in Approximate Value (23), and was a Pro…
Playing his entire career with the Washington Redskins, Jerry Smith was one of the new breed of Tight Ends who was redefining the position. Smith was a more than adequate blocker, but he was catching passes at the same rate of Wide Receivers, a trait that was not common in the 1960s and 1970s. Smith would help the Redskins reach…
Jack Kemp was a late-round (17th) pick in 1957 by the Detroit Lions, but he never played a down for them and would find back-up work with the Pittsburgh Steelers that year. Kemp would later be on the taxi squad for both the San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants but would not see any action, though this would change…
It was fitting that Harvey Martin played his entire pro career with the Dallas Cowboys. Martin was born in Dallas, played at East Texas State, and was drafted in the 3rd Round by the Cowboys in 1973 and joined and immediately contributed to what was already a dominating defensive unit.
A beast at Temple University, Francis Joseph "Bucko" Kilroy may not have been drafted but his hometown Philadelphia Eagles knew there was something special there and he made the team; albeit in a combined effort as in 1943 the Eagles merged with the Pittsburgh Steelers due to the depletion of talent due to World War II.
