gold star for USAHOF
Site Admin

Site Admin

345. George Andrie

Playing his college ball at Marquette, George Andrie played his entire 11-year career with the Dallas Cowboys. 

Except for his final season, Andrie was Dallas’ starting Defensive End (nine years on the right side) and compiled a five-year streak of Pro Bowls (1965-69).  Andrie was a physical marvel, with the size and strength to stuff the run and the speed to rush the passer.  Dallas credits him with 97 Sacks, though again, we have to say this is unofficial as that stat did not exist until 1982.  Late in his career, Andrie competed in two Super Bowls, the first where the Cowboys lost to Baltimore, but he had a great game where he knocked out the Colts' Quarterback, Johnny Unitas.  Andrie and the Cowboys would win Super Bowl VI the year after.

210. Gary Anderson

Gary Anderson made a lot of history as a Place Kicker, the first of which was becoming the first South African to play a game in the NFL.  Anderson would not just play a game or two; he would play 353, which, as of this writing, places him third all-time.

Obviously, when you play that many games, you are a pretty good player, and Anderson was.  Consistently considered among the better kickers since he debuted in 1982 (with Pittsburgh), Anderson would be a four-time Pro Bowl Selection.  His best year (and as will be discussed, most infamous) came in 1998 when, as a Minnesota Viking, Anderson became the first Kicker to go perfect in both Field Goals and Extra Points in a season.  Anderson played until 2004, and at the time of his retirement, he led the league in Points and Field Goals Made.

What hampers Anderson's Hall of Fame candidacy badly is that Place Kickers are known for their clutch kicks or critical misses.  Despite the vast amount of field goal attempts he had, Anderson will always be remembered for missing a 38-Yard Field Goal in the 1998 NFC Championship (the year he was perfect in the regular season) that would have put them in the Super Bowl. 

When you are a Kicker, that is all it takes to keep you out.

265. Troy Vincent

A defensive superstar from the University of Wisconsin, the Miami Dolphins drafted Troy Vincent 7th Overall in 1992.  Vincent immediately became the starting Left Cornerback and played well for Miami over his four seasons there.  That was a good start, but it was later as a Philadelphia Eagle that he shined.  

With Philadelphia, Vincent earned five straight Pro Bowl selections (1999-03) and was a First Team All-Pro in 2002.  That year he was also named the Walter Payton Man of the Year, a testament to the character he showed on and off the field.  Vincent would finish his career with 47 Interceptions.

189. Abe Woodson

Abe Woodson’s regular role was at Cornerback where he would accumulate 19 Interceptions over his career, but it was his returning ability that would see him gain five straight Pro Bowls Selections (1959-63)

Drafted in the 2nd Round from the University of Illinois, Abe Woodson's best seasons were with the San Francisco 49ers.  Woodson, who was also a two-time First Team All-Pro, would record 6,850 Return Yards and would average a whopping 28.7 Yards per Kick Return.  He would have four straight years where he had at least 1,000 All-Purpose Yards.