Pro Football Historian (PFH) is a blog page written by Flint Given. Pro Football Historian or PFH is a page to inform people on prior NFL events that people might not know about. Learning about teams from the 1920s or even the first few NFL World Championships in the 1930s fascinates me. It's these kinds of events that I want to discuss in this blog. Hopefully you are interested and will continue to check up on my blogs.
Robert Bruce St. Clair was an American professional football player who was a tackle for 11 seasons with the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. He played college football for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane.
St. Clair was drafted by the 49ers in the third round of the 1953 NFL Draft. He played his entire 11-year professional career in San Francisco, making his year with the University of Tulsa the only season he did not play home games in Kezar Stadium.
He began his career by successfully holding out for a $6,000 rookie salary. In his first preseason, he earned his spot on the 1953 team by holding his own against defensive tackle Leo Nomellini in practice. Primarily an offensive tackle, he played alongside the Million Dollar Backfield, whose halfback Hugh McElhenny considered him a dominant blocker. He started every game for the 49ers from 1954 to 1956, when he also received his first Pro Bowl selection.
Due to his size, St. Clair was also an effective special teams player. He blocked 19 field goals over the course of his career, ten of which came in 1956, and was instrumental in Abe Woodson's 105-yard kick return touchdown in 1959.
His only postseason game came in 1957. After missing eight weeks with a shoulder injury early in the season, St. Clair returned as the 49ers ended the season with an 8–4 record, tying the Detroit Lions to force a one-game playoff, which Detroit won in a 31–27 comeback victory.
St. Clair once again started at least ten games in each of the 1958–1961 seasons, receiving Pro Bowl honors each year. He missed time due to an Achilles injury in 1962, but returned to play the entire 1963 season, for which he received the 49ers' Len Eshmont Award. During the 1964 preseason, he injured his other Achilles tendon during punt return practice, requiring career-ending surgery.
A perennial team captain, St. Clair was nicknamed "The Geek" by his teammates due to his eccentric off-the-field behavior, including a habit of eating raw meat, which he frequently used to intimidate 49ers rookies.
St. Clair was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990. On January 19, 2001, the city of San Francisco renamed the field at Kezar Stadium in his honor in recognition of the 189 home games he played there, and his number was retired by the 49ers later that year.
While still an active player, St. Clair was elected to Daly City's city council in 1958, which included a term as mayor from 1961 to 1962; one of his mayoral and council colleagues was his high school coach Joe Verducci. The 49ers made arrangements for him to fly back to Daly City for council business during road trips. He was the county supervisor for San Mateo County from 1966 to 1974. For many years he owned a liquor store at 24th and Sanchez in Noe Valley, which still bears his name.
St. Clair broke his hip in February 2015; complications led to his death in Santa Rosa, California, on April 20, 2015, at the age of 84.
Thomas Wade Landry was an American professional football coach, player, and World War II veteran. Regarded as one of the greatest head coaches of all time, he was the first head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League, a position he held for 29 seasons. During his coaching career, he created many new formations and methods, such as the now default defense the 4–3 defense that is used by a majority of teams in the NFL, and the "flex defense" system made famous by the "Doomsday Defense" squads he built during his tenure with the Cowboys. His 29 consecutive years from 1960 to 1988 as the coach of one team is an NFL record, along with his 20 consecutive winning seasons, which is considered to be his most impressive professional accomplishment.
In addition to his record 20 consecutive winning seasons from 1966 to 1985, Landry won two Super Bowl titles in Super Bowl VI and XII, five NFC titles, and 13 divisional titles. He compiled a 270–178–6 record, the fourth-most wins all-time for an NFL coach, and his 20 career playoff victories are the third-most of any coach in NFL history. Landry was also named the NFL Coach of the Year in 1966 and the NFC Coach of the Year in 1975.
From 1966 to 1982, a span of 17 years, Dallas played in 12 NFL or NFC Championship games. Furthermore, the Cowboys appeared in 10 NFC Championship games in the 13-year span from 1970 to 1982. Leading the Cowboys to three Super Bowl appearances in four years between 1975 and 1978, and five in nine years between 1970 and 1978, along with being on television more than any other NFL team, resulted in the Cowboys receiving the label of "America's Team", a title Landry did not appreciate because he felt it would bring on extra motivation from the rest of the league to compete with the Cowboys. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990 as a head coach.
He interrupted his education after a semester to serve in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II. Landry was inspired to join the armed forces in honor of his brother Robert Landry, who had enlisted in the Army Air Corps after the attack on Pearl Harbor. While ferrying a B-17 over to England, Robert Landry's plane had gone down over the North Atlantic, close to Iceland. Several weeks passed before the Army was able to officially declare Robert Landry dead. Landry began his basic training at Sheppard Field near Wichita Falls, Texas (now Sheppard AFB), and his preflight training at Kelly Field (now Kelly Field), located near San Antonio, Texas. Landry's first experience as a bomber was a tough one. A few minutes after takeoff, Landry noticed that the pilot seemed to be working furiously, causing him to realize that the plane's engine had died. Despite this experience, Landry was committed to flying. At the age of 19, Landry was transferred to Sioux City, Iowa, where he trained as a copilot for flying a B-17. In 1944, Landry got his orders, and from Sioux City he went to Liverpool, England, where he was assigned to the Eighth Air Force, 493rd Squadron in Ipswich. Landry earned his wings and a commission as a Second Lieutenant at Lubbock Army Air Field, and was assigned to the 493d Bombardment Group at RAF Debach, England, as a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber copilot in the 860th Bombardment Squadron. From November 1944 to April 1945, he completed a combat tour of 30 missions, and survived a crash landing in Belgium after his bomber ran out of fuel.
He returned to his studies at the University of Texas in the fall of 1946. On the football team, he played fullback and defensive back on the Texas Longhorns' bowl game winners on New Year's Day of 1948 and 1949. At UT, he was a member of the Texas Cowboys and Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (Omega Chi chapter). He received his bachelor's degree from UT in 1949. In 1952, he earned a master's degree in industrial engineering from the University of Houston.
Landry was selected in the 19th round (128th overall) of the 1948 AAFC Draft. He played one season in the All-America Football Conference for the New York Yankees, then moved in 1950 across town to the New York Giants.
Landry was also selected by the New York Giants in the 20th round (184th overall) of the 1947 NFL Draft.
After the 1949 season, the AAFC folded, and the Yankees were not among the teams absorbed by the NFL. The New York Giants exercised their territorial rights and selected Landry in a dispersal draft. Under the guidance of Giants head coach Steve Owen, Landry got his first taste of coaching. Instead of explaining the 6–1–4 defense to the players, Owen called Landry up to the front, and asked him to explain the defense to his teammates. Landry got up, and explained what the defense would do to counter the offense, and this became Landry's first coaching experience. The 1953 season would be a season to forget, with the lowest point coming in a 62–10 loss at the hands of the Cleveland Browns. This loss would ultimately cost Coach Owen his job, and would again have Landry pondering his future. In 1954, he was selected as an All-Pro. He played through the 1955 season, and acted as a player-assistant coach the last two years, 1954 through 1955, under the guidance of new Giants head coach Jim Lee Howell. Landry ended his playing career with 32 interceptions in only 80 games, which he returned for 404 yards and three touchdowns. He also recovered 10 fumbles (seven defensive), returning them for 67 yards and two touchdowns.
For the 1954 football season, Landry became the defensive coordinator for the Giants, opposite Vince Lombardi, who was the offensive coordinator. Landry stayed on as a full-time defensive coordinator after his retirement, and led one of the best defensive units in the league from 1956 to 1959. The two coaches created a fanatical loyalty on a team that they coached to three appearances in the NFL championship game in four years. The Giants beat the Paddy Driscoll-led Chicago Bears 47–7 in 1956, but lost to the Baltimore Colts in 1958 and 1959.
In 1960, he became the first head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, a position he held for 29 seasons (1960–88). The Cowboys started with difficulties, recording an 0–11–1 record during their first season, with five or fewer wins in each of their next four. Despite this early futility, in 1964, Landry was given a 10-year extension by owner Clint Murchison Jr. It would prove to be a wise move, as Landry's hard work and determination paid off, and the Cowboys improved to a 7–7 record in 1965. In 1966, they surprised the NFL by posting 10 wins and making it all the way to the NFL Championship game. Dallas lost the game to Lombardi's Green Bay Packers, but this season was but a modest display of what lay ahead.
Landry developed the now-popular "4–3 defense" while serving as Giants defensive coordinator. It was called "4–3" because it featured four down lineman (two ends and two defensive tackles on either side of the offensive center) and three linebackers – middle, left, and right. The innovation was the middle linebacker. Previously, a lineman was placed over the center. But Landry had this person stand up and move back two yards. The Giants' middle linebacker was the legendary Sam Huff.
"Landry built the 4–3 defense around me. It revolutionized defense and opened the door for all the variations of zones and man-to-man coverage, which are used in conjunction with it today" which Sam Huff said.
When he came to Dallas, Landry refined the 4–3 even further, specifically to counter Lombardi's "run to daylight" strategy. Lombardi's offense was built around sending the running back through any open space, rather than a specific assigned hole. Landry reasoned that the best counter was a defense that blotted out the daylight. The result was the "Flex Defense," which assigned the defenders specific areas of the field to cover. When Landry first implemented it in 1964, fans were initially mystified when they saw the Cowboys defense not swarming to the ball. However, the skeptics were won over when ball carriers invariably ran right into the arms of one of Landry's defenders. The Flex Defense worked so well that Landry had to create an offense to score on it, one which disguised an otherwise simple play with multiple formations.
Landry produced a very large coaching tree. In 1986, five NFL head coaches were former Landry assistants: Mike Ditka, Dan Reeves, John Mackovic, Gene Stallings, and Raymond Berry.
While Tom Landry's Cowboys are known for their two Super Bowls against Chuck Noll and the Pittsburgh Steelers, Landry also led Dallas to three other Super Bowls, and they were a Bart Starr quarterback sneak away from representing the NFL in the second Super Bowl. Tom Landry was 2–3 in Super Bowls, winning both in New Orleans and losing all three at the Miami Orange Bowl.
Landry coached the Cowboys to their first Super Bowl win, defeating the Miami Dolphins 24–3, holding the Dolphins to a single field goal. The Cowboys won their first Super Bowl a year after losing to the Baltimore Colts. The Cowboys lost the first battle with the Steelers, in a game that is heralded as a classic. The rematch would be just as good, with the Cowboys being a Jackie Smith catch away from tying the Steelers and keeping pace early in the third quarter; instead, Pittsburgh scored twice in succession and put the game away. Before the Super Bowl XIII rematch, Cowboys linebacker Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson famously stated, "Terry Bradshaw couldn't spell c-a-t if you spotted him the C and the T." Landry recalled in his autobiography how he cringed when he heard that, because he did not feel that Bradshaw needed additional motivation in a big game like the Super Bowl.
During the 1980s, the Cowboys won two division championships, made five playoff appearances, and reached the NFC Championship Game in three consecutive seasons (1980–1982). However, they failed to reach the Super Bowl during the decade. The team's 1982 NFC Championship Game loss was Landry's final conference championship game appearance; the preceding week's win was his final playoff victory.
In 1984, Dallas businessman Bum Bright bought the team from Murchison. As the Cowboys suffered through progressively poorer seasons (their record falling from 10–6 in 1985 to 7–9 in 1986, 7–8 in 1987, and 3–13 in 1988), Bright became disenchanted with the team. Landry's game strategies and single-mindedness during these seasons left him open to public criticism.
Landry signed a three-year contract in the summer of 1987. However, general manager Tex Schramm brought in Paul Hackett as a new offensive coach in 1986, and in 1987, he hired offensive line coach Jim Erkenbeck and special-teams coach Mike Solari. Some suggested that Schramm's moves divided the coaching staff, a plan to first undermine and then dismiss Landry. Bright, who usually stayed behind the scenes, publicly criticized Landry after a home loss to the Atlanta Falcons in 1987, saying that he was "horrified" at the play-calling and complaining, "It doesn't seem like we've got anybody in charge who knows what he's doing, other than Tex." Bright's belief that former first-round draft picks Danny Noonan and Herschel Walker were not being used enough further put him at odds with the coaching staff. On the day after the Cowboys lost to the Detroit Lions, a team that had entered the game tied for the worst record in the NFL, Schramm said on his radio show, "There's an old saying, 'If the teacher doesn't teach, the student doesn't learn.'" Nonetheless, Bright maintained his hands-off approach on the team while Schramm retained his confidence in Landry.
Landry's Cowboys finished the 1988 season 3–13, the worst record in the league. His record as head coach fell to 270–178–6. It was the Cowboys' third consecutive losing season and the fourth time in five years that they had missed the playoffs. Nonetheless, Landry felt confident he could correct the mistakes he had been making in recent years. In February 1989, before the start of the 1989 season, as he dismissed or reassigned his assistants, he remained determined to coach into the 1990s "unless I get fired." Landry had one year left on his contract, which paid $1 million per season.
Meanwhile, Bright had suffered major losses in his banking, real estate, and oil businesses; during the savings and loan crisis, Bright's Savings and Loan was taken over by the FSLIC. With most of the rest of his fortune tied up in the Cowboys, Bright was forced to put the team up for sale. Bright ultimately sold the team to Jerry Jones, who fired Landry on February 25, 1989, one day after closing on the purchase. Jones hired Jimmy Johnson, his former teammate at the University of Arkansas, who had been serving as head coach at the University of Miami. Schramm was in tears at the press conference that announced the coaching change; he was forced out as general manager shortly afterwards. Schramm and Landry had been together for 29 years, each being the only person to serve in their respective position since the Cowboys' inception in 1960. When Landry met with his players two days later to tell them how much he would miss them, he began to cry, and the players responded with a standing ovation. He had spent 40 consecutive years at field level in the AAFC and NFL: five as a player (1949–53), two as a player-assistant coach (1954–55), four as an assistant coach (1956–59), and 29 as a head coach.
Jones received immediate backlash for his decision to fire Landry, while the former coach received an outpouring of public support. Despite Landry's recent poor performance, Cowboys fans felt disillusioned that the only coach in the team's history had been removed so unceremoniously. NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle compared the firing to the death of former Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi. President George H.W. Bush, who had previously represented Texas in the House of Representatives, called Landry "an inspiration to all who ever watched or played the game of football."
Jones stated he never considered retaining Landry and that he would not have purchased the team unless he could hire Johnson as coach. In 1990, Bright said that he regretted the backlash that Jones had faced for firing Landry. Bright recounted that he had been willing to fire Landry himself as early as 1987, but that Schramm had told him that there was no suitable replacement who was ready to assume the job. By 1993, relations between Jones and Landry had improved, and Landry was inducted into the Ring of Honor at Texas Stadium.
Landry's last work in professional football was as a limited partner of the San Antonio Riders of the World League of American Football in 1992.
Landry died on February 12, 2000, after battling leukemia. Landry's funeral service was held at Highland Park United Methodist Church, where he was an active and committed member for 43 years. He was interred in the Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery in Dallas. A cenotaph dedicated to Landry, complete with a depiction of his fedora, was placed in the official Texas State Cemetery in Austin at the family's request.
The Cowboys wore a patch on their uniforms during the 2000 season depicting Landry's trademark fedora. A bronze statue of Landry stood outside of Texas Stadium, and now stands in front of AT&T Stadium since the Cowboys relocated in 2009. The section of Interstate 30 between Dallas and Fort Worth was named the Tom Landry Highway by the Texas Legislature in 2001. The football stadium in Landry's hometown of Mission, Texas, was named Tom Landry Stadium to honor one of the city's most famous former residents. Similarly, Trinity Christian Academy's stadium in Addison, Texas, is named Tom Landry Stadium in honor of Landry's extensive involvement and support of the school. An elementary school in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School district, very near the Cowboys former training facility in Valley Ranch, is also named in honor of Landry. The Tom Landry Welcome Center at Dallas Baptist University, where he was a frequent chapel speaker and award recipient, was posthumously dedicated to him in 2002.
In 2013, a major new biography of Landry was published, entitled The Last Cowboy.
John Harold Lambert is an American former football linebacker who played his entire 11-year career for Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League . Recognized by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990 as "the greatest linebacker of his era," Lambert was the starting middle linebacker on four Super Bowl-winning teams with the Steelers. He played college football for the Kent State Golden Flashes.
Lambert was selected by the Steelers in the second round of the 1974 NFL Draft, though many pro football coaches and scouts thought he was too small to play linebacker in the NFL. (Lambert played quarterback at Crestwood HS before switching to defensive end at Kent State.) While most of his pro career he was reported to be 6 feet 4 inches and 220 pounds in the program, he measured 6 feet 3+1⁄2 inches and 204 pounds as a rookie.
Lambert was the prototypical middle linebacker for what became the Tampa Two defense. Bud Carson, in his "Double-Rotating Zone" defense where safeties played back in a two-deep zone and the corner-backs played in two shallow zones or in bump-and-run coverage, instead of having the middle linebacker close to the line in run support, had the middle linebacker drop back into a middle zone to cover the seam between the safeties. Middle linebackers had not been tasked in such a way previously (Dick Butkus and Ray Nitschke being the epitomes of the run-support middle linebacker), but Lambert's size, speed, and talents facilitated the new role.
The Steelers took a chance on Lambert when he replaced injured middle linebacker Henry Davis. Lambert went on to earn the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award as a central figure on a great Steeler defense that went on to win their first Super Bowl by beating the Minnesota Vikings 16–6 in Super Bowl IX.
Lambert prided himself on his ability to hit hard and intimidate the opposition. He was the Steelers starting middle linebacker for eight seasons when the team primarily used the 4–3 defense & right inside linebacker for three seasons after the Steelers switched to the 3–4 defense, with Loren Toews being the regular starter at the other inside linebacker position late in Lambert's career though Lambert retained the "Mike" role as the team's signal-caller on defense. According to Steelers media guides, Lambert averaged 146 tackles per season through his 10th year. He recorded only 19 in his 11th and final season because of an injury.
Lambert amassed 28 career interceptions, 1,479 career tackles (1,045 solo), and (officially) 231⁄2 sacks. In a nine-year span, Jack Lambert was named to nine straight Pro Bowls and was NFL Defensive Player of the Year once.
Lambert's four upper front teeth were missing as a result of taking an elbow in basketball during high school. Although he had a removable partial denture he wore in public, he didn't wear it during games, and pictures of Lambert's toothless snarl became an iconic image of the famous Steeler defense.
In 1976, Lambert assumed the role as leader of the Steelers after star defensive tackle "Mean Joe" Greene missed several games due to a chronic back injury. After quarterback Terry Bradshaw, receiver Lynn Swann and several other starters went down with injuries, the Steelers struggled to a 1–4 record. At a "players only" meeting, Lambert made it clear that "the only way we are going to the playoffs to defend our title is to win them all from here out."[This quote needs a citation] In a remarkable nine-game span, the Steelers defense allowed only two touchdowns and a total of 28 points, including five shutouts. The Steelers won all of these games and finished at 10–4. The defense gave up only a record low 138 points for the entire season. Eight of the eleven defensive starters on the Steelers made the Pro Bowl that year. Jack Lambert was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1976.
During the 1984 season, a severe and recurring case of turf toe sidelined him, after which he retired. A bachelor throughout his NFL career, Lambert married after retirement.
He has been a long-time volunteer deputy wildlife officer and he now focuses on coaching youth baseball and basketball, tending to his land and maintaining his town's ball fields. He also played on a men's ice hockey team in nearby Harmarville, Pennsylvania.
Lambert was a member of the NFL on Westwood One as an analyst.
In 2004, the Fox Sports Net series The Sports List named Lambert as the toughest football player of all time.
While Lambert's number, 58, is one of many jersey numbers "unofficially retired" by the team (the Steelers have retired three jersey numbers-number 70, 75 and 32, worn by Ernie Stautner, Joe Greene and Franco Harris respectively), his jersey number has perhaps gotten the most attention out of all such jersey numbers. When Lambert retired, he reportedly told the equipment manager that he was not to issue number 58 again. Lambert later fought with the equipment manager outside of the facility because of a misunderstanding about his number.
Lambert was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990. Lambert was voted to the Pittsburgh Steelers 75th Anniversary team. NFL Network's countdown show, NFL Top 10, named Lambert the number 8 "Most Feared Tackler" and the number 5 "Pittsburgh Steeler" of all time.
Lambert remains popular among Steeler fans and was arguably the most feared defender on the team despite the fact that some have regarded Jack Ham as a better outside linebacker than Lambert as a middle linebacker during the Steelers dominance of the 1970s. This has been attributed to Lambert looking directly at the quarterback and vice versa before the start of plays. Adding to his mystique has been Lambert's reclusiveness in retirement; aside from his Hall of Fame induction and the Steelers last game at Three Rivers Stadium, Lambert has rarely made any public appearances related to football, preferring to live a private life.
Theodore Paul Hendricks, nicknamed "the Mad Stork", is a Guatemalan-born former professional American football linebacker who played for 15 seasons with the Baltimore Colts, the Green Bay Packers, and the Oakland / Los Angeles Raiders in the National Football League. He was a member of four Super Bowl-winning teams, and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990 after being elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1987. He is the first Guatemalan-born player in the NFL. He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes.
Hendricks began his pro football career as a second-round pick of the Baltimore Colts in the 1969 AFL-NFL Draft. He was initially listed as a defensive end, which is why he had the unusual number (for a linebacker) of 83. After coach Don Shula converted him to linebacker, he entered the starting lineup in the sixth game of his rookie 1969 season, the beginning of 69 consecutive starts with the Colts.[8] He made 32 tackles and 2 sacks on the quarterback and knocked down 2 passes and blocked a field goal (the first of 25 blocked kicks in his career).
He played a key role in the Colts' 1970 Super Bowl V-winning season. He was the starting strong-side linebacker and recorded 67 tackles and 1-1/2 sacks while intercepting a pass. He also recorded 2 blocked kicks and knocked down 5 passes. He and fellow linebackers Mike Curtis and Ray May anchored a unit that was one of the NFL's best in defending against the run; which was 102.8 yards per game – 6th in the NFL, and allowing only 2 rushing touchdowns all season (tied with the Los Angeles Rams for first in the NFL). They allowed only 234 points, 7th in the NFL.
He was chosen to the first of four All-Pro selections in 1971. He had 63 tackles and picked off 5 passes while batting away 7 passes. He also recorded 5 sacks and blocked 2 more kicks. The Colts defense was ranked #1 in the NFL in fewest rushing yards allowed and lowest rushing attempt. The Colts made the playoffs but did not advance to the Super Bowl, losing to the Miami Dolphins.
In 1972 Hendricks recorded 99 tackles, 6 sacks, knocked down 7 passes, intercepted two passes and blocked 2 field goals. The following season Hendricks made 86 tackles and 4 sacks (bringing his Colt total to 18-1/2) and picked off 3 passes (making his Colt total 11) for 33 yards, while batting away 7 passes for the third consecutive season and blocking a punt. He was second-team All-Pro in both 1972 and 1973. He played the last of five seasons with the Colts without signing a contract.
One week after signing to begin play in 1975 with the World Football League's Jacksonville Sharks, Hendricks was traded along with a 1975 second-round pick (28th overall–traded to Los Angeles Rams for John Hadl) from the Colts to the Green Bay Packers for Tom MacLeod and a 1975 eighth-round selection (192nd overall–Northwestern State running back Mario Cage) on August 13, 1974.
He was assigned jersey no. 56. Hendricks was then in the second straight option year of his NFL contract, and had one of his best seasons: five interceptions, seven blocked kicks (3 field goals, 3 punts and 1 extra point) and a safety, two sacks, 75 tackles, and two knocked down passes while again earning consensus All-Pro honors for the second time.
With the World Football League bankrupt, owner Al Davis of the Raiders sent two first round draft choices to the Packers for the rights to Hendricks, signing him as a limited free agent.
After the trade, Hendricks went on to nine seasons with the Raiders before retiring after the 1983 season. In his first year on the Raider team, coach John Madden used him sparingly, partly as a result of a feud Madden had with Al Davis. However, Madden eventually had him starting by the end of the 1975 season. Hendricks recorded only 27 tackles and 3 passes batted and 2 interceptions. He was used in the Raiders nickel defense and recorded 5 sacks in that role. He also recorded 4 sacks in a playoff win against the Cincinnati Bengals. Injuries limited the number of defensive lineman Madden had available so he used Hendricks as a stand-up defensive end, the position Hendricks played in college. At season's end the Raiders defense was among the NFL's top units, despite injuries to a few key defensive linemen. The Raiders led the NFL in interceptions and they ranked 2nd in the NFL in sacks, 7th in fewest points allowed, and were 3rd in total defense.
The next year Hendricks became a full-time player with the Raiders, and the Raiders switched to a 3–4 defense early in the season. Hendricks played the weakside linebacker, since All-Pro Phil Villapiano played Hendricks' strong-side; he made 57 tackles, 6 sacks, knocked down 5 passes while picking off one and blocking 2 punts. The Raiders defense was 6th in the NFL in sacks but did not finish in the top ten in points allowed or total defense. The Raiders won Super Bowl XI, the first in franchise history, and the first of three Super Bowl titles in seven seasons. Hendricks was second-team All-Pro for the first of three consecutive years.
In 1977, Hendricks moved back to the strong-side linebacker position due to Villapiano's injury and made 56 tackles, 2 sacks and knocked down 4 passes. The Raider defense was 7th in the NFL against the run and tied for 3rd in allowing the fewest rushing touchdowns. They also tied for third in the NFL with 26 interceptions.
In the 1978 season Hendricks recorded a stellar season with 78 tackles, 6 sacks, 3 interceptions, 8 passes defensed and 2 fumble recoveries. The defense tied for 4th in most interceptions in the NFL and scored 4 defensive touchdowns which tied them for 2nd most in the NFL. They were tied for 10th in fewest points allowed as well.
A vote among Raider coaches showed that all of them had voted to release Hendricks at season's end. However, owner Al Davis insisted on keeping Hendricks. Hendricks ended up making 76 tackles with a career-high 8-1/2 sacks, 3 interceptions (bringing his career total to 26) while batting 16 passes and blocking 3 kicks. The defense rebounded to #5 against the run in the NFL, #1 in intercepting passes, and were 3rd in sacking opponents quarterbacks, and 11th in the NFL in total defense and 10th in fewest points allowed. In 1980 he was a consensus first-team All-Pro for the first time since 1974 and he helped the Raiders to their win in Super Bowl XV while going to another Pro Bowl.
Hendricks was All-Pro and All-AFC in the strike-shortened 1982 season as Hendricks made 28 tackles and seven sacks in just nine games while he deflected 2 passes. The Raiders were 8–1 but were stunned in a playoff loss to the New York Jets. The Raider defense was as good as there was in the NFL for the 1982 season. They were 2nd in fewest rushing yards allowed and 2nd in sacking the opposing quarterback.
In his final campaign, 1983, Hendricks played less than at any point since 1975 but still made his eighth Pro Bowl and was second team All-AFC while recording 41 tackles, two sacks and deflecting four passes. He also blocked the 25th kick of his career and was a part of the Raiders Super Bowl XVIII victory. The defense was 4th in the NFL against the run, again tied for 2nd in sacking the quarterback, and fifth in total defense and 13th in allowing the fewest points allowed while being eighth in allowing the fewest touchdowns from scrimmage.
Hendricks was a member of four Super Bowl-winning teams (three with the Raiders and one with the Colts) and was a Pro Bowl selection eight times, at least once with each of his three NFL teams.
Hendricks played in 215 consecutive regular-season games. He also participated in eight Pro Bowl games, seven AFC championships, and four Super Bowls (V with the Colts, XI, XV and XVIII with the Raiders). Hendricks was named All-Pro as a Colt in 1971, as a Packer in 1974, and twice as a Raider in 1980 and 1982. He also earned second-team All-Pro honors five other times (1972, '73, '76, '77, '78). He also earned All-conference honors in 1971, '72, '74, '76, '80, '81 and '82, while being named 2nd-team All-AFC in 1973, '78 and '83.
Hendricks was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990, his second year of eligibility. In 1999, he was ranked number 64 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.
He currently works on behalf of ex-players as part of the Hall of Fame Players Group. His Ted Hendricks Foundation supports health, education and research programs. The Annual Ted Hendricks Defensive End of the Year Award is presented to the most outstanding collegiate player each year. He has been named as one of the members of the NFL's all time 75th anniversary team in 1994. During the commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the NFL, Ted Hendricks was named 82nd in "Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players" of all time.
He has been awarded the Order of the Quetzal, the highest award for civilians, by his native Guatemala.
Ted Hendricks Stadium in Hialeah, Florida is named in his honor.
Franco Harris was an American football running back who played in the National Football League for 13 seasons, primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions and was selected by the Steelers in the first round of the 1972 NFL Draft. Harris spent his first 12 seasons with Pittsburgh, earning nine Pro Bowl selections, and was a member of the Seattle Seahawks in his last.
A four-time Super Bowl winner with the Steelers, Harris was the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of Super Bowl IX. He also scored the "Immaculate Reception" touchdown, one of professional football's most famous plays, which gave the Steelers their first playoff win. Harris was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990.
Harris was selected 13th overall in the first round of the 1972 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers despite assistant personnel director Bill Nunn and head coach Chuck Noll preferring Robert Newhouse. In his first season with the Steelers (1972), Harris was named the NFL Rookie of the Year by The Sporting News and NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press. In that season he gained 1,055 yards on 188 carries, with a 5.6 yards per carry average. He also rushed for 10 touchdowns and caught one touchdown pass. He was popular with Pittsburgh's large Italian-American population: his fans, including "Brigadier General" Frank Sinatra, dubbed themselves "Franco's Italian Army" and wore army helmets with his number on them.
During his rookie season, Harris was a key player in one of professional football's most famous plays, dubbed the "Immaculate Reception" by Pittsburgh sportscaster Myron Cope. In the first round of the playoffs, the Oakland Raiders were leading the Steelers 7–6 with 22 seconds to play when a Terry Bradshaw pass was deflected away from intended receiver John "Frenchy" Fuqua as defender Jack Tatum arrived to tackle him. Harris snatched the ball just before it hit the ground and ran it into the endzone, resulting in the Steelers' first playoff win.
Harris was chosen for nine consecutive Pro Bowls (1972–1980), and was All-Pro in 1977. Harris rushed for more than 1,000 yards in eight seasons, breaking a record set by Jim Brown. The running back tandem of Harris and Rocky Bleier combined with a strong defense to win four Super Bowls following the 1974, 1975, 1978, and 1979 seasons. On January 12, 1975, he was the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl IX; in that game he rushed for 158 yards and a touchdown on 34 carries for a 16–6 win over the Minnesota Vikings. Harris was the first African American as well as the first Italian-American to be named Super Bowl MVP. Harris was a major contributor for the Steelers in all of their first four Super Bowl wins. His Super Bowl career totals of 101 carries for 354 yards are records and his four career rushing touchdowns are tied for the second-most in Super Bowl history.
Harris claimed that he extended his career and thus his contribution to the team's objectives (including four Super Bowl victories) by avoiding unnecessary contact.
With the retirement of O. J. Simpson after the 1979 season, Harris became the career rushing leader among active players. Following the 1983 season, Harris and Walter Payton were both closing in on Jim Brown's NFL rushing record, and Harris asked the Rooney family for a pay raise. Believing that Harris was on the downside of his career, they refused and Harris threatened to hold out. The Steelers released him during training camp in 1984 and he then signed with the Seattle Seahawks during the 1984 season. He played just eight games with the team, gaining only 170 yards before retiring (192 yards short of Jim Brown's record).
In his 13 professional seasons, Harris gained 12,120 yards (then 3rd all-time) on 2,949 carries, a 4.1 yards per carry average, and scored 91 rushing touchdowns (then also 3rd). He caught 307 passes for 2,287 yards, a 7.4 yards per reception average, and nine receiving touchdowns. Harris's 12,120 career rushing yards rank him 12th all time in the NFL, while his 91 career rushing touchdowns rank him 10th all time tied with Jerome Bettis.
In 1990, Harris and his former Penn State teammate Lydell Mitchell founded Super Bakery (renamed RSuper Foods in 2006), which produced nutrition-oriented food for schoolchildren. Harris and Mitchell also partnered in 1996 to rescue the Parks Sausage Company in Baltimore, the first African-American–owned business to go public in the U.S.
In 2007, Harris was chosen by Forest City Enterprises to lead a charitable foundation they created, related to the development of a casino for downtown Pittsburgh that would be managed by Harrah's.
In August 2008, Harris attended the 2008 Democratic National Convention, in Denver, Colorado, as part of the Pennsylvania delegation. Harris voted for Barack Obama on December 15, 2008, as one of Pennsylvania's 21 Democratic presidential electors.
In January 2011, Harris became co-owner of the Pittsburgh Passion. Also in 2011, Harris briefly worked with The Meadows Racetrack and Casino, before the casino suspended the relationship after his comments in support of Joe Paterno, his coach while at Penn State, during the Penn State child sex abuse scandal.
In 2019, Harris starred in the NFL's 100th Anniversary commercial recreating the Immaculate Reception with Terry Bradshaw.
Harris was married to Dana Dokmanovich. They had one son together: Franco "Dok" Harris, who ran as a third-party candidate in the 2009 Pittsburgh mayoral election and finished in second place with 25% of the vote. Franco’s brother, Pete Harris, played football for Penn State and died of a heart attack on August 15, 2006, at age 49.
Harris served as part of the advisory board of Penn State's Center for Food Innovation, and in the fall of 2009 was named a Conti Professor by Penn State's School of Hospitality Management. He was involved in, and provided funding to, Penn Staters for Responsible Stewardship, a group aimed at ousting the members of Penn State's board of trustees.
Harris died in his sleep at his home in Sewickley, Pennsylvania, on December 20, 2022, at age 72, three days before the 50th anniversary of the "Immaculate Reception". Harris's death was considered sudden, as he had been active on social media just days before his death and had spoken to visitors at the Heinz History Center the day before his death including a live interview with KDKA-TV from the Heinz History Center. He was set to attend a ceremony at halftime during a Steelers game against the Las Vegas Raiders on December 24, 2022, to retire his jersey number. Hours before his death, Harris recorded an interview with Steelers defensive end Cameron Heyward for his podcast in what would be his last public interview, during which he ironically commented about how he was "feeling good" and happy to have made it to the 50th anniversary of the "Immaculate Reception". His cause of death was later ruled as natural causes.
Immediately after his death, many gave public tributes. Terry Bradshaw, who had found out about Harris's death from his wife after seeing a text message from Mel Blount, had just seen Harris two weeks prior, filming material related to the Immaculate Reception's anniversary and was in a "state of shock". Bradshaw praised Harris, saying that "as a teammate, he was just the best." Steelers president Art Rooney II, who like the rest of the Rooney family was close to Harris, said through a statement by the team that "From his rookie season, which included the Immaculate Reception, through the next 50 years, Franco brought joy to people on and off the field. He never stopped giving back in so many ways. He touched so many, and he was loved by so many." In addition to Penn State itself, two Penn State alumni with connections to the Steelers—Harris's former teammate Jack Ham and current Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth—also paid their respects to Harris. Other tributes would later come out by current and former Steelers as well as other Pittsburgh celebrities such as Joe Greene, Jerome Bettis, Najee Harris, Ben Roethlisberger, Hines Ward, Tony Dungy, T. J. Watt, Trai Essex, Arthur Moats, James Conner, current Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, Charlie Batch, Kurt Angle, Mark Madden, Tony Dorsett, Darrelle Revis, Billy Gardell, and Joe Manganiello; the Penguins and Pirates also paid tribute. The December 27, 2022, episode of Pittsburgh Dad covering the aforementioned Steelers-Raiders game (a 13-10 Steelers win) featured a tribute to Harris from the titular character.
Despite only playing briefly with the Seahawks, the team also acknowledged Harris's passing; other tributes from the NFL came from the Raiders, Baltimore Ravens, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, Shannon Sharpe, Eric Dickerson, O. J. Simpson, Barry Sanders, Larry Csonka, Jack Youngblood, and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Longtime ESPN personality Chris Berman paid tribute to Harris. Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama also paid tribute to Harris. U.S. Senator-elect John Fetterman released a statement mourning Harris, who supported his 2022 candidacy.
The Steelers held a public viewing for Harris at Acrisure Stadium on December 27, 2022, prior to the family holding a private funeral service.
In 1984, Harris received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement. In 1999, he was ranked number 83 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. In 2006, The Heinz History Center, home of the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum, installed a life-size figure of Harris in the grand concourse of Pittsburgh International Airport, which recreates the "Immaculate Reception". He was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2011. On December 24, 2022, the 50th anniversary of the "Immaculate Reception", Harris became the third Steeler to have his number (32) retired; the first two were Ernie Stautner (70) and Joe Greene (75).
Robert Allen Griese is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for the Miami Dolphins of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League. He earned All-American honors playing college football with the Purdue Boilermakers before being drafted in 1967 by the Dolphins of the AFL. Widely regarded as one of the greatest quarterbacks of the 1970s, Griese led the Dolphins to a then record three consecutive Super Bowl appearances, including two Super Bowl victories in VII and VIII, the first of which capped off Miami's undefeated and untied 1972 season, the only such season in NFL history. Griese was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and the Indiana Football Hall of Fame in 1984 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990. He later worked as a television commentator, calling NFL games for NBC Sports and college football for ESPN and ABC Sports. Griese is one of three quarterbacks from Purdue to win the Super Bowl (along with Len Dawson and Drew Brees).
Griese was selected by the AFL's Miami Dolphins as the fourth player in the 1967 Common Draft.[20] Griese threw for 2,005 yards and 15 touchdowns his rookie year.
Griese was an AFL All-Star his first two years with the Dolphins, and earned AFL All-Star or AFC-NFC Pro Bowl honors in six additional seasons. While he never put up huge numbers, his leadership played an important role in helping the Dolphins compete in three consecutive Super Bowls, winning the latter two contests.
Griese started the season as the team's second-string quarterback behind John Stofa. When Stofa broke his ankle in the first quarter of the first game of the 1967 season, Griese stepped in and led the Dolphins to a 35–21 victory against the Denver Broncos. The 1967, 1968, and 1969 seasons were tough for the expansion Dolphins. After a difficult 1969 season that was worse than the 1968 season, coach George Wilson was fired.
Dolphin owner Joe Robbie brought in Don Shula from the Baltimore Colts in 1970, and the team's personality and fortunes turned quickly. The Dolphins found a new discipline, and learned what it took to become a winning team. They went from a 3–10–1 record in 1969 to 10–4 in 1970, making the playoffs.
In 1971 the Dolphins made it to the Super Bowl, losing 24–3 to the Dallas Cowboys. Griese was named the 1971 Newspaper Enterprise Association NFL Most Valuable Player award, and was awarded the Jim Thorpe Trophy.
The 1972 season began with the Dolphins winning their first four games. In the fifth game of the season, Bob Griese was tackled hard by Deacon Jones and Ron East of the San Diego Chargers, and went down with a broken leg and dislocated ankle. Earl Morrall, fresh off the waiver wire from Shula's former team, the Baltimore Colts, guided the Dolphins through the rest of the regular season, and maintained an unbeaten record in the process. Morrall also led the NFL in five passing categories during this time, including passer rating. As the playoffs began, the Dolphins were not as strong as they needed to be to go deep into the postseason, barely winning against the Cleveland Browns, a team that they should have beaten easily. The second game of the playoffs the team got off to a slow start against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Shula asked Griese to relieve the ailing Morrall, simply asking Griese at halftime, “Are you ready?” Griese replied with, “Yes, I'm ready.” Griese took the field and completed 3 of 5 passes for 70 yards as the Dolphins beat the Steelers by a score of 21–17 to clinch their second straight Super Bowl appearance.
Despite their unbeaten season, the Dolphins were listed as two point underdogs to the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII. Staying with the system that got them there, the Dolphins offense played a perfect ball control game. Griese connected on 8 of 11 passes for 88 yards and a touchdown, and Larry Csonka rushed for over 120 yards. Washington's only score was on a returned blocked field goal, and Miami won the game 14–7.
In 1973 Griese led another strong Dolphins team, but they did not make it through the season undefeated. They reached the Super Bowl for the third consecutive season and defeated the Minnesota Vikings 24–7.
In 1974, Griese and the Dolphins had an 11–3 regular-season record, but lost to the Oakland Raiders in the divisional round of the playoffs.
In 1975, Griese and the Dolphins started strong, but late in the season in a game against the Baltimore Colts, Griese suffered a broken toe and was out for the rest of the season. The Dolphins finished a respectable 10–4, but missed out on the playoffs for the first time in the Shula era.
In 1976, the Dolphins had many injuries, and the team finished the season at 6–8, the first time Don Shula ever suffered a losing season in his career.
1977 was a rebound year for both Griese and the Dolphins; he began to wear eyeglasses on the field.[38] On Thanksgiving, 1977, Griese threw six touchdown passes in three quarters to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals 55–14. The Dolphins would set a franchise record for most points scored in one game with 55. Of note, the Dolphins would score eight touchdowns and accumulate 34 first downs. He again led the AFC in touchdown passes thrown but the Dolphins rebound to a 10–4 record was again not enough to get the team into the playoffs.
The following year, Griese tore ligaments in his knee in a preseason game. However, when he came back, he was just as strong a passer as he had been the previous year. In one game against the Houston Oilers (nationally telecast as a marquee matchup on ABC's Monday Night Football), Griese dueled with Oiler running back Earl Campbell in an offensive slugfest. Griese threw for over 300 yards and Campbell rushed for nearly 200. The Oilers won the game 35–30. For the year, Griese completed a league-leading 63% of his passes, as the Dolphins went 11–5, losing again to the Oilers in the playoffs.
In 1979, he suffered from some nagging leg injuries that affected his throwing ability. He was not as effective, and he began to hear some criticism. However, he was able to lead the Dolphins to a 10–6 record. The Dolphins then found themselves dominated by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Divisional round of the playoffs.
In 1980, Griese found himself on the bench due to the emergence of Don Strock and rookie David Woodley. However, Griese came off the bench for several games in a row to lead comeback wins. Griese won back the starting spot in the fifth game of the season, but was tackled hard by Mike Ozdowski of the Baltimore Colts. The tackle tore up his shoulder, and he was out for the rest of the year. The injury eventually led to Griese's decision to retire from the game at the age of 35. Griese was eventually elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990.
He had established his reputation as the “Thinking Man's Quarterback,” as he brilliantly called his own plays throughout his career. Dolphin owner Joe Robbie called him “the cornerstone of the franchise,” around whom the Miami Dolphins were built. Robbie elected to ask Griese to stay on for another year as assistant coach, which he did for the 1981 season, helping Strock and the young Woodley as they teamed to become the famous “Woodstrock.” After the year ended, he decided that he did not like the hours required to be an assistant coach, hoping to devote more time to his family, yet he still enjoyed being part of the game. (Sources for Pro Football Career found in Undefeated, by Bob Griese, 2000, and The Winning Edge by Don Shula, 1974.)
The Miami Dolphins had the highest winning percentage in all professional sports in the 1970s, and Bob Griese was its starting quarterback throughout the decade, except when he was injured for several games in 1972, 1975, and 1978.
In Griese's 14 pro seasons, he threw for 25,092 yards and 192 touchdowns. Griese also rushed for 994 yards and seven scores. Griese was a six-time Dolphins' MVP and was All-Pro in 1971 and 1977. He played in two AFL All-Star games and six Pro Bowls.
The Dolphins retired his number 12 during a Monday Night Football game in 1985, telecast on ABC, the network which would prominently be featured in his post-football career.
To stay in touch with the game, in 1982 Griese decided to take a job as an announcer for NBC Sports, teaming with Charlie Jones for NFL games. While there, he called Super Bowl XX.
In 1987, Griese was hired by ABC Sports, where he began to provide color commentary for college football games.
While at ABC, Griese called the 1999, 2001 and 2005 BCS National Championship games.
At ABC Griese had many opportunities to watch his son Brian Griese play for the Michigan Wolverines. ABC was at first reluctant to let Griese broadcast Michigan games, fearing a conflict of interest. But when they decided to give it a try, Bob remained as impartial and professional as he could be, even referring to his son as “Griese,” rather than Brian, and pointing out errors when he felt necessary.
On January 1, 1998, Bob got to broadcast the Rose Bowl game, the last college game of his son's career. Brian was named MVP of the game, leading his Wolverines to an undefeated season and the national championship title with their Rose Bowl victory. Bob and Brian were emotional at that moment, as they thought of Bob's wife Judi, who had died from breast cancer in 1988 but whom they both felt was there at that special moment. Bob and Brian later wrote a book, entitled Undefeated (ISBN 0-7852-7021-3), which discussed not only their football connection, but also their love for Judi.
Brian became a professional quarterback and broadcaster himself, playing for the Denver Broncos and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and later commentating games for ESPN and ABC.
During the 2009 and 2010 seasons, Griese served as the lead commentator for ESPN's noon college football broadcasts. He retired from ESPN on February 3, 2011.
Griese married Purdue classmate Judi Lassus in June 1967,[43] following their graduation, and they had three sons. A nurse, Judi lost a six-year battle with breast cancer at age 44 in early 1988. He now resides with his second wife, Shay, in Jupiter, Florida, and Banner Elk, North Carolina. His youngest son is Brian Griese (b. 1975), who also played quarterback in the NFL. His grandson, Jack Griese, is a running back for the University of Virginia.
In 2006, Griese made an appearance on the game show, Wheel of Fortune: he won the $100,000 grand prize and donated his $114,310 total winnings to Judi's House.
In 1975, Griese received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.
Junious "Buck" Buchanan was an American professional football player who was a defensive tackle with the Kansas City Chiefs in the American Football League (AFL) and in the National Football League. Buchanan was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990. Buchanan was massive for his era, standing at 6'7", and weighing 270 pounds. His height gave him a big advantage against lineman in the trenches.
The 6 foot 7 inch, 287 pounds Buchanan was selected in both the NFL and AFL drafts in 1963. The New York Giants took him 265th overall in the 19th round of the 1963 NFL Draft, while he was the first overall selection in the AFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. Eddie Robinson, his coach at Grambling State, where he had been an NAIA All-American in 1962, called him "the finest lineman I have seen." Buchanan was the first black number one draft choice in Professional Football.
Others who had watched Buchanan in action were equally enthusiastic. Buchanan had the physical size and athletic instincts to be exceptionally successful. He was particularly effective at intimidating the passer and in 1967 batted down 16 passes at or behind the line of scrimmage. He was clocked at 4.9 in the 40-yard dash and 10.2 in the 100-yard dash at Grambling State, allowing him to range from sideline to sideline to make tackles.
In spite of the weekly pounding he took on the line of scrimmage, Buchanan was extremely durable. He played in 182 career games that included a string of 166 straight. After dabbling briefly at defensive end as a rookie, Buchanan settled down to his permanent job as the Chiefs' defensive right tackle. He was named to his first AFL All-Star Game after his second season and played in six AFL All-Star games and two AFC-NFC Pro Bowls.
He teamed with Curley Culp, Aaron Brown and Jerry Mays to establish a dominant front four for the Chiefs, culminating in their victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV, when they allowed Viking runners only 67 yards rushing in 19 carries and 172 net passing yards, Buchanan in particular dominating the opposing center, Mick Tingelhoff, a 5-time AP first-team All-Pro selection up to that 1969 season, as handily as the left guard, Jim Vellone.
He was selected to the second-team of the AFL All-Time Team, and was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1987 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990. Two years later, he died from lung cancer at the age of 51.
In 1999, he was ranked number 67 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, right behind his former Chiefs teammate Bobby Bell. The Chiefs also retired his uniform number 86.
Buchanan was diagnosed with lung cancer a week before his Hall of Fame induction and died at age 51 in his Kansas City home on July 16, 1992.
William Vernell Wood Sr. was an American professional football player and coach. He played as a safety with the Green Bay Packers in the National Football League (NFL). Wood was an eight-time Pro Bowler and a nine-time All-Pro. In 1989, Wood was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Wood played college football for the USC Trojans, becoming the first black quarterback to play in what is now the Pac-12 Conference. Undrafted out of USC, he was granted a try-out with Green Bay. Wood changed his position to safety in his rookie year, and played for the Packers from 1960 to 1971, winning five NFL championships. He later coached in the NFL, World Football League (WFL), and Canadian Football League (CFL).
Wood was not selected in the 1960 NFL draft, and wrote a letter to head coach Vince Lombardi to request a tryout; the Packers signed him as a rookie free agent in 1960. After a few days with the quarterbacks, he requested a switch to defense and was recast as a free safety, and was a starter in the season. He started until his retirement in 1971.
Wood won All-NFL honors nine times in a nine-year stretch from 1962 through the 1971 season, participated in the Pro Bowl eight times, and played in six NFL championship games, winning all except the first in 1960.
He was ejected for bumping back judge Tom Kelleher while protesting a call during the third quarter of the 1962 NFL Championship Game vs. the New York Giants
Wood was the starting free safety for the Packers in Super Bowl I against the Kansas City Chiefs and Super Bowl II against the Oakland Raiders. In Super Bowl I, he recorded a key interception that helped the Packers put the game away in the second half. In Super Bowl II, he returned five punts for 35 yards, including a 31-yard return that stood as the record for longest punt return in a Super Bowl until Darrell Green's 34-yard return in Super Bowl XVIII. He led the NFL in interceptions and punt return yards in 1962.
Wood finished his 12 NFL seasons with 48 interceptions, which he returned for 699 yards and two touchdowns. He also gained 1,391 yards and scored two touchdowns on 187 punt returns. He holds the record for the most consecutive starts by a safety in NFL history.
Wood retired as a player after the 1971 season; he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989, and the Packers Hall of Fame in 1977.
After retiring as a player in January 1972, Wood became the defensive backs coach for the San Diego Chargers. In 1975, he was the defensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Bell of the WFL and became the first African-American head coach in professional football of the modern era in late July, days before the first game of the season. The Bell's season lasted only 11 games when the league folded in October.
Wood was later an assistant coach for the Toronto Argonauts in the CFL under Forrest Gregg, a Packer teammate. When Gregg left after the 1979 season for the Cincinnati Bengals in the NFL, Wood became the first black head coach in the CFL, but after an 0–10 start in 1981, he was fired.
His son, Willie Wood Jr., played for (1992–1993) and later coached the Indiana Firebirds in the Arena Football League, after coaching at Woodrow Wilson High School in Washington, D.C. Wood Jr. also served as the wide receiver/defensive backs coach and special teams coordinator for the Cleveland Gladiators of the Arena Football League.
Wood later lived in Washington, D.C., and underwent replacement knee surgery. In his later years, he had dementia. Wood died of natural causes on February 3, 2020, at an assisted living facility in Washington, D.C., at the age of 83. An autopsy conducted by a Boston University neuropathologist found that Wood had severe (stage 4) chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease linked to repeated hits to the head. He is one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with this disease.
In March 2012, a block of N Street NW in D.C. was named "Willie Wood Way."
