Meet the Class of 2012 (Cont'd)

Today we meet the remaining three players to be inducted into the Hall of Fame today.  First, though, I’ll take a moment to explain how players are selected to the Hall of Fame.

The 2012 Hall of Fame Class

THE SELECTION PROCESS

A player, coach, or anyone associated with professional football is eligible for consideration for enshrinement five years after he has retired from the profession.  Anyone—fans, members of the media, other players or coaches—can send names to the Hall of Fame for consideration by the Hall of Fame’s Selection Committee (more on these people to follow).  The Committee screens, via mail ballot, these submissions to narrow them down to a list of 17 finalists:  15 candidates from the “modern” era; and two from the pre-1988 period (the so-called “senior nominees”), who are chosen by the Seniors Committee, composed of nine veterans of the Selection Committee.  Each year, at the time of the Super Bowl, the Selection Committee meets to select the inductees for that year; to be selected, the name must receive at least 80% of the Committee’s votes.  The Committee’s current rules provide that between four and seven new members are to be enshrined each year.

So, who are the people that make up the Selection Committee?  They are, for better or worse, members of the media:  one representative from each city with a professional football team (New York City gets two because it has two teams); one representative from the Pro Football Writers of America; and eleven at-large members—44 in all.  Much like the Supreme Court, all members (except for the PFWA rep) are on the Selection Committee until they retire or resign (or die); the PFWA rep is on for a two-year term.

Now, back to this year’s Hall of Fame class…

WILLIE ROAF

Along with Cortez Kennedy, Willie Roaf is a native of Arkansas (Pine Bluff).  Though not heavily recruited out of high school, Roaf received a scholarship to play offensive tackle at Louisiana Tech University.  Willie excelled at his position, receiving first-team All-American honors and becoming a finalist for the Outland Trophy, which is awarded to college’s best offensive lineman.  The New Orleans Saints drafted him early in the first round of the 1993 draft (eighth overall). 

Remember the attributes we discussed yesterday for what makes an offensive lineman stand out for Hall of Fame voters?  As for reputation, Roaf (nicknamed “Nasty”) was named to seven Pro Bowls while with the Saints, and earned that honor each of his four years with the Kansas City Chiefs.  He’s been named to the NFL’s All-Decade Teams for the 1990s and 2000s, and has already been elected to the sports halls of fame for Arkansas and Louisiana.  As for longevity and consistency, you can’t argue with a 12-year tenure and a games-played total of 189 (he was a starter in all of them).  For his presenter, Roaf picked his father, Clinton Roaf.  Willie says that his dad only missed one of his home games throughout college and the pros (the one miss was because Willie’s brother had a game the same day).

CHRIS DOLEMAN

Chris Doleman, a native of Pennsylvania, attended the University of Pittsburgh, where he was a star linebacker and defensive end.  He was drafted fourth overall by the Minnesota Vikings in the 1985 draft.  Chris spent most of his career with the Vikings, through the 1993 season.  Doleman originally played as a linebacker in the team’s 3-4 defense, and then as defensive end when the Vikings switched to a 4-3 defense.  At defensive end he hit his stride, recording 21 sacks in 1989 (a Vikings record that held for 22 years), which is fourth highest all-time in the NFL.

Doleman played for the Atlanta Falcons in the 1994 and 1995 seasons, then the San Francisco 49ers from 1996 through 1998.  He returned to the Vikings in 1999 and retired after the season.  In his 14-year career, Doleman had 150.5 sacks, eight interceptions and two touchdowns; he earned eight Pro Bowl selections, was named to the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team and has been named one of the 50 Greatest Vikings.  Chris’s son, Evan Doleman, will be his presenter at the enshrinement ceremony. 

To give you an idea of how much being elected to the Hall of Fame means to these players, here is a video, shared by Doleman, of the moment when he and his family heard the announcement that he would be inducted:

JACK BUTLER

Our last member of the Class of 2012 is its most senior—in fact, he is the senior selection.  Yet another Pennsylvania native in the 2012 class, Jack Butler attended St. Bonaventure University, where he played both offensive and defensive end.  In 1951, Butler was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent.  As a member of the Steelers, Jack was a cornerback and sometimes played wide receiver.  Butler played for the Steelers for his entire eight-year career.  During that time, he led the league in interceptions for the 1957 season, was named to four straight Pro Bowls, and amassed 52 interceptions, which was the second highest all-time at the time of his retirement.  Butler was also named to the NFL 1950s All-Decade Team and the Pittsburgh Steelers Legends Team.

Induction to the Hall of Fame sometimes isn’t just about a player’s performance on the field; all of the individual’s contributions to the sport are considered.  After his retirement from the Steelers, Jack Butler spent 46 years (44 as director) with the BLESTO Scouting Combine.  He was involved with developing the vital Combine process that is used to evaluate draft-hopeful players coming out of college.  Over his career in scouting, Jack Butler scouted and evaluated over 75,000 college athletes.  Jack’s presenter at tonight’s ceremony will be his son, John.

I hope you’ve enjoyed learning about the 2012 class of Hall of Fame inductees.  Be sure to tune in tonight at 7:00 PM ET for the enshrinement ceremony on NFL Network.

Meet the Class of 2012

As we get ready for the start of the NFL's preseason this weekend, I wanted to introduce you to the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Enshrinement Class of 2012.  Today, you'll meet three of this year's inductees: a running back, a defensive tackle and a center.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio

CURTIS MARTIN

In the decades to come, Curtis Martin is probably not going to be one of those names that leap to mind when you talk about the game’s greatest running backs.  Though he accomplished a great deal in his career, he did so very quietly, without much fanfare.  Martin was a natural runner and football player, which is something you can say of many athletes to play his position.  What makes Martin’s talent more incredible, though, is the fact that he didn’t play football until his senior year of high school.  His mother urged him to play so that he would have an activity to keep him out of the crime and violence of his Pittsburgh neighborhood.  Incidentally, in his one high school season (during which he also played linebacker, special teams and, occasionally, quarterback), Curtis ran for 1,705 yards for 20 touchdowns.

Martin attended the University of Pittsburgh, where he never really had a chance to satisfy the high expectations about his abilities because of a string of injuries that kept him from establishing an on-field presence.  Instead of redshirting at Pittsburgh to play one more season after his senior year, Martin elected to go ahead and enter the NFL Draft in 1995.  Despite his inconsistent college career, he was selected by the New England Patriots in the third round.  It didn’t take long for the Pats to see a return on their investment:  in the ensuing season, Martin rushed for over 100 yards in nine games and would end his rookie year with 1,487 yards and 14 touchdowns, the most in the AFC that season.  He won Offensive Rookie of the Year and earned a Pro Bowl selection.

After the 1997 season, Martin joined the New York Jets as a restricted free agent, with a six-year contract of $36 million.  In contrast to his injury-plagued college career, Curtis was the model of reliability, missing only one game in his first seven seasons with the Jets.  He also earned Pro Bowl honors three more times with the Jets.  He narrowly missed becoming the first running back with eleven consecutive 1,000-yard seasons; a knee injury kept him on the sidelines for the last three games of the 2005 season.  However, he does have the distinction of being the oldest player to lead the league in rushing for a single season.  Martin’s 14,101 career rushing yards ranks fourth in NFL history.  Here’s a highlight video of Martin showcasing some of his signature moves:

Curtis Martin’s coach for most of his career was coaching great and Super Bowl winner Bill Parcells (right), who was head coach of the New England Patriots from 1993 through 1996 and of the New York Jets from 1997 through 1999.  Like Martin, Parcells was eligible for Hall of Fame enshrinement this year, but was not selected.  Many people consider Bill’s exclusion from the 2012 HOF Class a snub.  As for Martin, he's disappointed that his mentor isn't entering the Hall with him, telling reporters: "There's God and there's Parcells as far as the meaning they've had on my career.  If I did dream about anything, it would've been going into the Hall of Fame with the guy I feel is responsible for my career."  Parcells will be with him on Saturday, though, as he has accepted Martin’s request to be his presenter in the enshrinement ceremony on Saturday.  Keep the tissues handy!

CORTEZ KENNEDY

Cortez Kennedy played defensive tackle at the University of Miami and was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks as the third overall selection in the 1990 NFL Draft.  Kennedy spent his entire eleven-season career in Seattle.  Although the Seahawks were never championship contenders during those years (they never won more than nine games in a season during that span), Kennedy was one of the team’s consistent bright spots.  Having recorded 14 sacks in the 1992 season, he was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year.  His list of career accolades is long:  eight Pro Bowl selections, three first-team All-Pro selections, member of NFL 1990s All-Decade Team, member of the Seahawks’ Ring of Honor, and named best athlete (not limited to football players) to wear the number 96 by SI.com.  And now enshrinement into the Hall of Fame. 

While being named to the Hall of Fame is certainly the greatest honor the football community can bestow upon a player, it might not seem as big of a deal to Cortez, who has a stretch of U.S. Highway 61 near his hometown of Osceola, Arkansas named after him.  He’ll certainly accept the honor, though, and his presenter at the ceremony will be Dixie Fraley Keller.  Dixie is the widow of his agent, Robert Fraley, who died in 1999 in the plane crash that claimed the life of golfer Payne Stewart.  Kennedy credits Fraley for teaching him how to be a professional off the football field.

DERMONTTI DAWSON

Like Curtis Martin, Dermontti Dawson didn’t really start to focus on football until late in high school—as a junior.  For college, he stayed close to home, attending the University of Kentucky, where he played at center and guard.  He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round of the 1988 draft and became starting center (#63, below) in his second year with the team, after future Hall of Fame center Mike Webster left. 

As I mentioned in Naptime Huddle’s discussion of offensive line “Stars and Legends,” it’s difficult to pinpoint what makes an offensive lineman one of the best, much less Hall of Fame material.  I did, however, point out some of the “intangibles” that Hall of Fame voters might consider in casting their ballots:  longevity, consistency and the opinions of other players and coaches.  Dermontti was the model of longevity and consistency:  over his twelve-season career, he played in 170 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in Steelers history. 

When it came to the opinion of his peers, Dawson gets the checkmark again.  He quickly earned the nickname “Dirt” in reference to the way he would try to grind defenders into the turf.  Dermontti was known for being one of the first centers who was agile enough to pull on running plays, helping to create holes for the runner instead of just driving back the defenders.  He was named to the Pro Bowl every year from 1992 to 1998 and, along with Cortez Kennedy, was named to the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team.  Steve Parker, Dawson’s high school football coach, will be his presenter at the enshrinement ceremony.*

Come back tomorrow for profiles on the remaining member of the Class of 2012!

*Dawson is actually one of the former players who have sued the NFL over head trauma sustained during their careers—the concussion lawsuit.  It will be interesting to see if he mentions the suit in his speech on Saturday.

Citius, Altius, Fortius II

Welcome back to our look at NFL Olympians.  While our last post consisted solely of track and field competitors, you’ll find a little more variety in today’s assembly.

Ron Brown (born March 31, 1961)

Having said that, our first athlete was a runner.  And, like our other profilees so far, he was a successful one.  Ron Brown was born in LA and after attending Arizona State University, he returned to the City of Angels to play for the Los Angeles Rams from 1984 to 1989 at wide receiver.  He changed teams, but not cities, when he joined the (then) Los Angeles Raiders in 1990; he returned to the Rams for his last season in football, in 1991.  Over his career he caught 98 passes for 1,791 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Before his football career began, however, Ron Brown ran for the U.S. in the 1984 Olympics, which were held in—where else—Los Angeles.  Brown just missed the medal platform in the 100 meter dash, placing fourth.  However, he won gold as part of the American 4 x 100 meter relay team, which set a new world record of 37.83 seconds (Ron ran the second leg).  The story of these Games, though, was American star Carl Lewis, who needed the win to match Jesse Owens’ record of four golds in one Olympics.  By the time the relay came around, he had won three (in the 100 meter dash, the long jump and the 200 meter), so anticipation was high.  Here is a video of the men’s gold-medal race, with commentary by Al Michaels, a familiar voice to football fans:

Michael Carter  (born October 29, 1960)

Michael Carter was one of Ron Brown’s track and field teammates in the 1984 Games, but his specialty was shot put.  Though he won silver in the Olympics, his lasting legacy is an accomplishment from high school.  Michael set the national high school record of 81’ 3.5” in the 12-pound shot put in 1979.  No high schooler has come within four feet of his record.  He kept with the shot put in college at Southern Methodist University, and was part of the school’s championship team in 1983.

Despite his obvious skill at track and field, Carter actually focused on football, which had gotten him a scholarship at SMU.*  Carter played nose tackle and was selected in the fifth round of the 1984 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers.  He stayed with the Niners for his entire career, which ended in 1992.  During that time he was a three-time Pro Bowler and won a Super Bowl with the team in 1984—making him the only athlete to win an Olympic medal and a Super Bowl ring in the same year.**  

Incidentally, Carter’s daughter, Michelle, has followed in her father’s footsteps and, like her father, she has her own national high school record!  Michelle has competed on the world stage as well:  she finished 15th in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but has since medaled in the 2011 Pan American Games and 2012 World Indoor Championships, earning bronze at both.  And, yes, she’ll be part of Team USA in London.  The shot put competition takes place on August 6th.

Herschel Walker (born March 3, 1962)

Anyone familiar with college football history knows the name Herschel Walker, who carved out a permanent place for himself in the history books as a running back at the University of Georgia in the early 1980s.  No individual player before, or since, has created the kind of adoration and frenzy that Walker inspired with his dazzling performances and domination of every opponent he and the Bulldogs faced.  He wasted no time building his legacy at UGA:  he set the NCAA freshman rushing record with 1,616 yards and was the first true freshman to be named a first-team All-American (only two players have done it since). 


The ‘Dawgs went undefeated and won the national championship that year by beating Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl.  The only player to finish in the Heisman voting top three every season he played, Herschel won the award in his junior year.  He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999.  Here’s a teaser from the “SEC Storied” series installment about Herschel:

At the time, NFL rules prohibited players from entering the league before they graduated college.  After his junior year, Walker decided to sign with the New Jersey Generals, a team in the newly formed United States Football League (Donald Trump would buy the team the following year).  During his time in the USFL, Herschel set the pro football record for rushing yards in a single season, with 2,411 yards.  Sensing the end was near for the USFL, the Dallas Cowboys drafted Walker in the fifth round of the 1985 draft; Herschel joined the team when the league folded in 1986.  Herschel continued his phenomenal production with the Cowboys, with the 1988 season being his highpoint:  he played at seven different positions and amassed over 2,000 combined yards rushing and receiving (only the tenth man ever to accomplish that).    

In 1989, the Cowboys traded Herschel to the Minnesota Vikings in one of the most lopsided trades in football history.  For Walker, the Vikings gave Dallas five players and six draft picks—through which the Cowboys acquired future stars Emmitt Smith and Darren Woodson.  Resenting the price paid for this one-man show, the Vikings coaches never really shined to the idea of centering their offense around Walker.  After a monster debut against the Green Bay Packers, Herschel never quite lived up to the high expectations of the Minnesota faithful. 


He was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1992, where he earned some redemption.  In his first season with the team, he rushed for over 1,000 yards, and in 1994 he became the first player to have gains of 90+ yards rushing, receiving and returning kicks in a single season.  Walker retired after the 1997 season, having played for the New York Giants and again for the Dallas Cowboys.  Over his career, Herschel Walker amassed over 17,000 all-purpose yards:  8,000 rushing; 4,000 receiving; and 5,000 returning kicks.

I could go on and on about Walker and his many exploits outside of football:  his brief stint with the Fort Worth Ballet, his recent entry into mixed martial arts, his sprinting competitions, a season of Celebrity Apprentice, his successful food company….  What’s relevant for our purposes, though, is that in 1992, he joined the U.S. bobsled team.  He made the team and competed in the 1992 Olympics in Albertville, France, at the age of 29.  In the two-man bobsled, he and partner Brian Shimer placed seventh overall. 

James Jett (born December 28, 1970)

James Jett attended West Virginia University, where he was a starting wide receiver all four years.  He excelled in track and field as well, earning All-American status seven times in that sport.  For his impressive track record (no pun intended) at WVU, Jett was inducted into the West Virginia University Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.  The high mark of Jett’s track career was his gold medal run in the 4 x 100 meter relay team in the 1992 Olympics held in Barcelona, Spain.

In 1993, Jett signed with the L.A. Raiders as an undrafted free agent.  The gamble on an undrafted player paid off for the Raiders right away:  in his rookie year, James led the NFL with 23 yards per reception.  However, he wouldn’t become a starter for the team until the 1996 season, when he started every game.  When he retired in 2002, he finished with 256 career receptions for 4,417 yards, 30 touchdowns and an average of 17.3 yards per reception.

Stephen Neal (born October 9, 1976)

Our last athlete didn’t actually make the U.S. Olympic team, but I wanted to include him because he was a true star in his second sport.  Stephen Neal represents the Fortius element of the Olympic motto:  “Stronger.”  A letterman in five sports in high school (football, wrestling, swimming, tennis and track and field), Neal became one of the top wrestlers in the country during his college years at California State University, Bakersfield.  During college, he earned four All-American titles and compiled a 151-10 record.  He won NCAA Division I titles in both his junior and senior years.  In 1999, Neal won the U.S. Freestyle Championship, the Pan-American Games and the World Championship.  All this led up to the trials for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.  He was edged out for a spot on the team and retired from wrestling.   


In 2001, Neal was signed by the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent, despite the fact that he did not play football in college.  He joined the team as a guard, but remained on the Pats’ practice squad for most of his rookie season.  With a shoulder injury in his first start in the 2002 season, Stephen did not see action again until the 2004 season, when he started the last 14 games of the regular season.  He had a complete season in 2005, but after that season, and until his retirement in 2011, his career suffered several pauses due to injury.  In all, Neal started 81 games, but earned three Super Bowl rings.


I hope you've enjoyed our look at NFL Olympians, and that it's inspired you to cheer on Team USA as they strive to be Faster, Higher and Stronger than their competitors in London!

*SMU had a strong football program until 1987, when their entire season was cancelled by the NCAA as punishment for multiple serious violations of NCAA rules and regulations regarding paying players.  The impact of the penalty was devastating for the SMU football program.  The University did not field a team again until 1989 and it took twenty years for the school to play in a bowl game.  It’s record since 1989 is 66-169-3.

**You’ll remember from our last post that Bob Hayes is the only athlete to win a gold medal and a Super Bowl ring.

Citius, Altius, Fortius

In honor of the start of the Games of the XXX Olympiad in London this Friday, Naptime Huddle will be introducing you this week to some of the NFL players who have represented the United States in the Olympics.  It just so happens that the players we'll look at today exemplified the first part of the Olympic motto, Citius--which means "Faster."

Jim Thorpe (May 28, 1888 - March 28, 1953)

 

Jim Thorpe has been the focus of several NH posts, so I won’t go into much more detail about his football career today.  To learn more about Thorpe and his many contributions to football (and other sports), click here, here, and here.  What’s important for our purposes is that one of Thorpe's most significant achievements was his participation (and domination) in the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden.  He competed in four track and field events: long jump, high jump, pentathlon and decathlon.  At the 1912 Games, the pentathlon consisted of the long jump, javelin throw, discus throw, 200-meter dash and 1500-meter run.  The decathlon's events were pole vault, shot put, javelin throw, discus throw, 120-yard hurdles and races of 100 yards, 220 yards, 440 yards, 880 yards and one mile.

Thorpe didn’t medal in the long jump or high jump.  We’ll forgive him, though, since he crushed the competition in the pentathlon and decathlon, winning gold in both events.  Of the combined fifteen individual events, he won eight; his 8,413 points in the decathlon set an Olympic record.  He also won two “challenge prizes” that were donated by King Gustav V of Sweden (decathlon) and Czar Nicholas II of Russia (pentathlon).*  Perhaps the most amazing aspect of Thorpe’s victories at the Stockholm Games was that he achieved them wearing shoes that weren’t his!  Someone had stolen his shoes as the events were about to begin, so he had to rummage through a trash bin to find replacements (see picture); one was too big and he had to wear extra socks to make them fit.

Sadly, Thorpe’s medals were stripped in 1913 when a newspaper reported that he had played professional baseball—for a mere pittance—in 1909 and 1910.  The Amateur Athletic Union asked the International Olympic Commission to revoke Thorpe’s amateur status.  Though they violated their own procedures (protests such as these had to be made within thirty days of closing ceremonies), the IOC rescinded Thorpe’s amateur status and took back his medals.

Ollie Matson (May 1, 1930 - February 19, 2011)

An accomplished runner, Ollie Matson represented the U.S. in the 400-meter race and 4x400-meter relay team in the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland.  Ollie won the bronze medal in the 400 meters and his relay team won silver. 

Ollie was a drafted third overall in the 1952 NFL Draft by the then-Chicago Cardinals.  In his senior year at the University of San Francisco, Matson led the nation in rushing yards and touchdowns and was selected as an All-American.  He enjoyed a long and successful career playing for the Cardinals (1952-1958), the Los Angeles Rams (1959-1962), the Detroit Lions (1963) and the Philadelphia Eagles (1964-1966).  Over his 14-year career, he earned six Pro Bowl selections (winning MVP honors in the 1956 Pro Bowl), seven All-Pro selections and was named to the NFL 1950s All-Decade Team.  When Matson retired, his 12,799 career all-purpose yards were second only to rushing legend Jim Brown.  Ollie Matson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1972.

Ollie Matson died in his Los Angeles home where he and wife Mary had lived since his time with the Rams; it’s been determined that Matson suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), as a result of the blows to the head he endured during his career.

Bob Hayes (December 20, 1942 - September 18, 2002)

“Bullet” Bob Hayes has the distinction of being only the second Olympic gold medalist (along with Jim Thorpe) to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame; he was inducted into the Hall in 2009.  He is also the only man to win both Olympic gold and a Super Bowl ring (take that Tom and Eli!).  A two-sport athlete at Florida A&M University, where he set several track records, Hayes was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the seventh round of the 1964 draft.  This was a gamble by the Cowboys because Hayes was an unproven football player; he had been a backup halfback in high school and had focused on track in college.

Before he could prove his worth on the football field, however, Hayes represented his country in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.  Bullet Bob gave a memorable performance at the Games, earning himself the title “World’s Fastest Human.”  He won gold in the 100-meter dash and, in a Thorpean twist, Hayes ran that race in borrowed spikes--he didn’t realize until he got to the event that he had misplaced one of his shoes.  Even more amazing, though, was his leg in the gold-winning running of the 4x100-meter relay, for which the U.S. team set a World Record at 39.06 seconds.  The victory is all the more sweet because it was his final track race, as he made the switch to football after those Games.

Lucky for us, the race is on YouTube—Hayes had the anchor leg:

So, how did the Dallas experiment work?  Brilliantly.  His success on the track enabled him to transition flawlessly to the role of wide receiver.  He led the NFL in receiving touchdowns in each of his first two seasons; he is credited for spurring the development of zone defenses since no one man could cover him.  In addition to being a receiving threat, he also punished opponents on punt returns.  In addition to being a part of the Cowboys’ Super Bowl win in 1972, Bob Hayes was named to three Pro Bowls and set numerous team records in his ten-year career with the Cowboys, ten of which still stand today. 

Willie Gault (born September 5, 1960)

 

Willie Gault attended the University of Tennessee and was drafted in the first round of the 1983 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears.  While at Tennessee, he was a member of the world record-setting 4x100 meter relay team; he also ran the 110 meter hurdles.  He would have been part of Team USA in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Russia.  Unfortunately, Gault's Olympic dream became a victim of Cold War politics—the United States boycotted the Moscow Games and Willie would focus on football after being drafted by the Bears.  However, he did compete, and medal, in the Liberty Bell Classic—an alternative to the Olympics held in Philadelphia by the countries boycotting the 1980 Games.  Gault’s relay team earned a gold medal, and he won the bronze in the 100 meter race.

That wouldn't be Willie Gault's only championship hardware.  He won a Super Bowl ring when the Bears won Super Bowl XX.  Over his 11-year NFL career (with the Bears from 1983 to 1987 and the Los Angeles Raiders from 1988 to 1993), he amassed 333 receptions for 6,635 yards and 44 touchdowns.  Today, Willie Gault is very active in Masters Athletics, which is an avenue for track and field veterans to continue to compete in various age classes. 



Don't miss our next post for a look at more "Faster, Higher, Stronger" NFL players!

Kickin' It Old School: Stars on the Pitch and the Gridiron

So today my son, who’s two years old, is finishing his first week-long soccer class.  OK, so he spent more time chasing bees and picking dandelions than he did kicking the ball, but it’s the experience that counts.

To commemorate this remarkable achievement (by me, who spent the week of chasing him down for an hour a day), I thought we’d take a look at the few athletes who made names for themselves in both the NFL and professional soccer.  Plenty of NFL current and former players played soccer at some part in their youth. 

Take Morten Andersen, for example.  Born in Denmark, Morten Andersen grew up playing soccer and narrowly missed making the Danish junior national soccer team.  He came to America during high school as an exchange student, and, on a whim, tried out for the school’s football team as a kicker.  He only played one season, but his performance was so incredible that he received a scholarship to attend Michigan State University.  He set numerous records while at Michigan State and continued his record setting ways in the NFL, including the record for most points scored in a career (with 2,544).  Andersen played for six teams over his 25-year career, finally retiring in 2008 at the age of 48.

And, as NFL wide receiver Chad Ochocinco will tell you, soccer is a great way for players to stay in shape.  In the spring of 2011, during the player lockout, Chad tried out for the MLS team in Kansas City, Sporting KC.  Though it was obvious that he lacked the skills needed to play, the team gave him an honorary spot on its reserve team; he wasn’t given a contract or money.  It worked out for all parties involved:  Chad had a professional-level workout regimen, and the Kansas City team, and Major League Soccer generally, got some free publicity.  Click the following link for more on the Ochocinco soccer odyssey:  http://www.nfl.com/videos/cincinnati-bengals/09000d5d81eea388/Kickin-it-with-Ochocinco?module=HP_video

Below, though, are those who took their devotion to The Beautiful Game much further, actually turning pro in both soccer and “American football” (as the rest of the world calls it, since they call soccer “football”).  As you might expect, each of these players were kickers in the NFL.

THE BAHR BROTHERS

Brothers Chris and Matt Bahr have soccer (and the State of Pennsylvania) in their blood:  their father is Walter Bahr (right), who is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.  Their brother Casey played professional soccer, and was a member of the 1972 U.S. Olympic soccer team (their sister, Davies, didn’t play soccer but was an All-American gymnast at Penn State). 

Chris attended Penn State and was the first round draft pick of the 1975 North American Soccer League Draft.  He played for the Philadelphia Atoms for one impressive season before leaving the pitch for the NFL.  He also made the 1976 U.S. National Team and scored the team’s only two goals in their win over Bermuda in the Olympic qualifiers.  Chris joined the Cincinnati Bengals, for whom he played from 1976 until 1980, when he was signed by the Oakland/L.A. Raiders.  His tenure with the Raiders was when he hit his stride, becoming second on the Raiders’ all-time scoring list (with 817) and setting a career field goal record (162) that stood until 2007; he also earned two Super Bowl rings with the Raiders.  He finished out his career with the San Diego Chargers in 1989.

Brother Matt also went to Penn State and, like his brother, entered the world of professional soccer after graduation.  He played for teams in the North America Soccer League and American Soccer League in 1978 and 1979, until he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the sixth round of the 1979 NFL Draft.  Between 1979 and 1995, Matt kicked for six different teams.  Don’t let his nomadic career fool you into thinking he wasn’t a success, though.  He won a Super Bowl ring in his rookie year (he kicked one field goal and three extra points) and single-handedly won the 1990 NFC Championship Game for the New York Giants, kicking five field goals to beat the San Francisco 49ers 15-13.  One week later, he kicked the winning field goal for the Giants in Super Bowl XXV (he scored two field goals and two extra points).* 

CLIVE ALLEN

How most of the world knows Clive

Clive Allen has the distinction of playing for more London-based clubs than any other soccer player in history.  He started his career in 1978 with the Queens Park Rangers at the age of 17.  He had a stellar two years with QPR, prompting soccer club Arsenal to offer his team £1.25 million for his services.  Strangely, Allen spent only two months with Arsenal and never played a single match.  He likely never bought a house during his whole career, ultimately changing jobs ten times over his seventeen-year career.  Long after his playing career was over, Allen became manager of Tottenham Hotspur’s reserve team.  So, how does Clive Allen make this list?  Glad you asked.  In 1997, he was a kicker for the London Monarchs, a team in NFL Europe.

ALDO DONELLI

Aldo T. “Buff” Donelli only played soccer professionally.  He was an excellent college football player, but he earns a spot on this list for his brief career as an NFL coach.  Donelli attended college at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, where he played halfback and punter.  Although he had respectable success in football, he excelled at soccer and enjoyed a thirteen-year career playing for five different clubs between 1925 and 1938.  His crowning achievement on the pitch, however, was his selection to the U.S. team for the 1934 World Cup.  The United States beat Mexico 4-2 in their qualifier; Donelli scored all four U.S. goals, making him the first American to score his first three international goals in the same match (the next person to do that was Sacha Kljestan in 2009). Aldo scored the only U.S. goal in the World Cup tournament, in their 7-1 loss to Italy in the first round; no other American would score on Italian soil for 58 years.  Donelli’s achievements in soccer led to his induction into the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1954.

After his soccer career ended, Aldo returned to football as a coach—first for his alma mater, Duquesne (pronounced “dew KAYN”).  Over his four seasons as head coach, the Dukes had a 29-4-2 record and finished in the Associated Press top ten twice.  In 1947, he became the head coach at Boston University where he stayed until 1956 and had a 46-34-4 record.  His next stop was Columbia University, earning the Lions their only Ivy League championship in 1961.**

It was during his tenure at Duquesne, though, that he first dipped his toe in the NFL coaching pool.  In 1941, Pittsburgh Steelers co-owner Bert Bell resigned as head coach after the Steelers lost its first two games.  Donelli was asked to replace Bell, and was allowed to continue coaching the Dukes, who were on their way to a perfect season.  He would coach the Steelers in the mornings (while classes were going on) then commute to school to coach in the afternoons.  After five games, the NFL made him choose between the two teams, and Donelli chose Duquesne.  It was probably for the best—the Steelers lost all five games under his stewardship.  This juggling act earned Aldo the distinction of being the only man to coach a college and NFL team at the same time—not a feat likely to be repeated.  Aldo would experiment with the pro game one more time, coaching the Cleveland Rams to a 4-6 record in 1944.

*Super Bowl XXV is also remembered for Whitney Houston’s inspiring rendition of the Star Spangled Banner.  Click here to see a video of that performance.

**The hole in Donelli’s coaching resume was caused by World War II; he was drafted into the Navy in 1944.