For the most part, the individuals profiled in this chapter rose to prominence in the 1980s and ’90s—an era when cable and satellite television helped speed the tremendous growth in popularity of the sport and when the NFL began to become the global business colossus it is today. As a result, players such as Walter Payton, Lawrence Taylor, Joe Montana, Dan Marino, and Jerry Rice have some of the most famous faces of all American athletes—a testament to just how prevalent the American brand of football has become, The following biographies of these players and more are arranged in order of year of induction into the Hall of Fame.
(b. April 4, 1951, Canton, Ga., U.S.)
John Hannah’s combination of size, strength, and athleticism helped him redefine the guard position. Hannah played for the New England Patriots from 1973 to 1985 and was named All-Pro on seven occasions.
Hannah was a notable multisport athlete in high school. In addition to being a star on the football team, he won the national heavyweight prep wrestling championship in 1967. He played collegiate football at the University of Alabama, where he was a three-year starter on the offensive line and a consensus All-American in his senior season. Hannah was chosen by the Patriots with the fourth overall selection of the 1973 NFL draft.
Hannah was immediately inserted in the starting lineup upon joining the Patriots. His 6-foot 2-inch (1.88-metre), 265-pound (120-kg) frame was considered to be exceptionally large at that time in football history, and his size was augmented by remarkable quickness and agility that made Hannah especially effective when blocking in space on runs downfield and when pulling to engage a defensive player at the end of the line. Hannah’s spectacular run blocking was a major factor in the Patriots’ setting the NFL single-season team rushing record by piling up 3,165 yards in 1978. He was also a standout pass blocker and is regarded by many observers as the greatest interior offensive lineman in league history.
After helping the Patriots franchise make its first Super Bowl appearance in January 1986 (a loss to the Chicago Bears), Hannah retired from the sport. He then became an investment banker and later launched a Christian-oriented corporate training company. A nine-time career Pro Bowl honoree, Hannah was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1991 and was named to the NFL’s 75th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1994.
(b. July 4, 1929, Brockton, Mass., U.S.)
As commissioner of the AFL, Al Davis was a key actor in the merger of the AFL with the NFL. Davis has been either a part owner or principal owner of the Oakland Raiders football franchise since 1966.
Allen Davis was raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., where his disciplinarian parents instilled a highly competitive disposition in him. After graduating from Syracuse University in 1950, he talked his way—despite having had no previous coaching experience—into an assistant coach position at Adelphi College (now Adelphi University), which he then parlayed into a job as the head coach of the U.S. Army football team based at Fort Belvoir, Va., in 1952. He made his first foray into the NFL in 1954 as a scout for the Baltimore (now Indianapolis) Colts before returning to college football as an assistant coach at the Citadel and at the University of Southern California.
In 1960 Davis was hired as an assistant coach for the AFL’s Los Angeles (later San Diego) Chargers, and three years later he became the head coach and general manager of the Oakland Raiders. In his first season he led the Raiders to a 10–4 record one year after the team had finished 1–13, and he was named the AFL’s Coach of the Year. He became AFL commissioner in April 1966, and, per Davis’s instructions, AFL teams immediately began signing away some of the NFL’s star players. Davis believed that the AFL was a better product than the NFL and could stand on its own, and his aggressive approach forced the NFL to recognize the growing influence of the younger league. Unbeknownst to Davis, the NFL and a number of AFL owners agreed to merge the two leagues just two months after Davis’s reign as commissioner began. Unhappy with the merged league, he resigned his post in July 1966 and became the Raiders’ director of football operations as well as a minority owner of the franchise.
Davis quickly built the Raiders into one of the most dominant teams in professional football. The team won the AFL title in the second season of his return and qualified for the play-offs in 10 of his first 12 years of guiding the team, including a Super Bowl victory in 1977. Davis bought out (and, in some cases, forced out) the other members of the Raiders’ ownership group over the course of the early 1970s until he gained sole control over the team in 1976. Davis’s impact on the team’s on-field production was mirrored by the effect he had on the Raiders’ lasting reputation. He coined the phrase “Just win, baby,” which came to serve as a rationale for the notoriously rough—and sometimes illegal—play that was a hallmark of the team in the ’70s. In addition, Davis’s tendency to dress in all black, which he complemented with dark sunglasses, was in keeping with the Raiders’ “bad boy” image.
In 1980, despite the fact that the Raiders had enjoyed a 12-year streak of home sellouts dating from 1968, Davis announced that he was moving the team to Los Angeles because he was unhappy with the conditions of the Raiders’ home stadium. The city of Oakland, the NFL, and Davis then entered into a prolonged legal battle over the fate of the team. Despite the off-field turmoil, the Raiders captured a second Super Bowl championship in 1981. In 1982 Davis won a landmark antitrust lawsuit against the NFL, and the Raiders relocated to southern California. The team won the Super Bowl in its second season in its new home, but Davis once again became disenchanted with the quality of his stadium over time, and he returned the Raiders to Oakland in 1995.
After the glory years of the Raiders in the 1970s and early ’80s faded, Davis’s reputation among football fans began to diminish. The team was one of the worst in the league in the early years of the 21st century, and Davis became known for habitual poor personnel moves and public clashes with players and coaches, which often stemmed from his tendency to assert undue influence over on-field decisions from his front-office position. However, he did make some significant personnel moves at this time, including the hiring of Art Shell as head coach in 1989, which made Shell the first African American head coach in the modern era of the NFL. Davis was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1992.
(b. July 25, 1954, Columbia, Miss., U.S.—d. Nov. 1, 1999, Barrington, Ill.)
Walter Payton’s productivity and durability made him one of the game’s greatest running backs. He retired in 1987 as the leading rusher in the history of the NFL, a title he held until 2002, when he was surpassed by Emmitt Smith.
Payton played football in high school and at Jackson State University in Mississippi. It was during his college years that he gained the nickname “Sweetness” for his affable personality and graceful athleticism. In addition to his role as starting running back, he was also an occasional kicker at Jackson State, and his four-year total of 464 points was a National Collegiate Athletic Association record. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears with the fourth overall selection of the 1975 NFL draft. Payton was named to the first of nine career Pro Bowls in his second season, and in 1977 he won the league’s Most Valuable Player award after leading the NFL in rushing yards (1,852; a franchise record) and rushing touchdowns (14). In the 1985 season he helped the Bears post a 15–1 record and win the franchise’s first Super Bowl title the following January. He retired after the 1987 season.
Besides being an outstanding rusher, Payton was a capable blocker, pass receiver, and even passer. He was best known, however, for his pinball running style, in which he often bounced off would-be tacklers. His rigorous off-season training regimen contributed to his durability; he started in more than 180 consecutive games in his career. Payton set NFL records—all of which have since been broken—for total career rushing yardage (16,726 yards), most combined career yards from scrimmage (rushing and pass receiving, 21,264 yards), most seasons with 1,000 or more yards rushing (10), most yards gained in a single game (275 yards), most games with 100 or more yards gained in a career (77), and most career touchdowns earned by rushing (110).
When Walter Payton retired from football in 1987 he held a number of records, including that of leading rusher in NFL history. Rogers Photo Archive/Getty Images
Payton was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993, and in 1994 he was named to the NFL’s 75th Anniversary All-Time Team. The Walter Payton Award, established in 1987, is presented annually to the top player in the Football Championship Subdivision of college football. During his final year of life, while suffering from a rare liver disease, Payton was credited with awakening national interest in organ donation.
(b. April 7, 1954, Rochester, Pa., U.S.)
Tony Dorsett is widely considered one of the best running backs in the sport’s history.
A four-year starter and three-time All-American at the University of Pittsburgh, Anthony Drew Dorsett set collegiate records for the most 100-yard rushing performances in a season (11) and a career (33), though both have since been broken. He was the first back in the history of the National Collegiate Athletic Association to rush for 1,000 yards or more in all four years of his college career, and the first to surpass 1,500 yards three times. After rushing for 1,948 yards in his senior season, Dorsett won college football’s most prestigious award, the Heisman Trophy, in 1976. He finished his collegiate career by establishing a new four-year rushing record of 6,082 total yards that stood until 1998.
The Dallas Cowboys selected Dorsett with the second overall selection in the 1977 NFL draft. He had little trouble adjusting to the professional game, winning the 1977 NFL Rookie of the Year award. Dorsett went on to establish himself as one of the NFL’s most prolific runners, collecting at least 1,000 yards in eight of his first nine seasons, falling short only in the strike-shortened campaign of 1982. His efforts helped lead the Cowboys to five NFC championship games and two Super Bowls, including a Super Bowl title in 1978.
Dorsett’s consistently outstanding statistics were a testament to his durability and versatility. He was chosen to play in the Pro Bowl four times (1978, 1981–83) and was named first-team All-Pro in 1981.
Dorsett retired in 1988 after spending his final professional season with the Denver Broncos. At the time of his retirement, he was the NFL’s second leading rusher of all time with 12,739 career yards. In his 12-year career, he accumulated 16,293 total yards (rushing and receiving) and scored 90 touchdowns.
After his playing days ended, Dorsett became a successful businessman. He was inducted into both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1994.
(b. Sept. 28, 1954, Tulsa, Okla., U.S.)
Considered one of the greatest wide receivers of all time, Steve Largent retired from the sport as the owner of all of the major career NFL receiving records.
Although he was a standout high school football player and all-around athlete, Stephen Michael Largent was not heavily recruited by college scouts, so he enrolled at the lesser-known University of Tulsa in his hometown. After graduating in 1976 following one of the most outstanding careers in the history of Tulsa’s football program, Largent was selected by the Houston Oilers in the NFL draft. He never appeared in a Houston uniform, however, as the Oilers dealt him to the Seattle Seahawks in a preseason trade.
Largent had an immediate influence with the Seahawks, catching 54 passes in his rookie season. What made him a great receiver was his excellent hands, the intelligence and ability to run crisp routes that got him into the open, and the strength to gain extra yards after catching the ball. It was this extra effort that earned the respect and admiration of opponents and fans alike. Largent’s incredible durability—he missed only four games due to injury in his first 13 seasons—made him an institution at the wide receiver position.
Over the course of his 14 seasons, Largent raised the bar by which other receivers were measured. He caught 70 or more passes six times and caught at least 50 in 10 seasons. He set a record by catching at least one pass in 177 straight games (broken in 1994) and led the NFL in receiving twice (1979 and 1985). He recorded 819 pass receptions for 13,089 total receiving yards and collected 100 receiving touchdowns, all of which were NFL records that have since been broken. Largent became a perennial AFC Pro Bowl team member, making the squad seven times. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1995.
Largent retired from football in 1989 after spending his entire career in Seattle. He worked as a marketing consultant for the Sara Lee Corporation from 1991 to 1994 and, after a lifetime of community involvement and interest in politics, decided to run for national office. In 1994 Largent was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma’s first district. He was reelected on three occasions before leaving his office to mount an unsuccessful bid for the Oklahoma governorship in 2002. In 2003 he became the president of a cellular communications lobbying group.
(b. Jan. 4, 1930, Grand River, Ohio, U.S.)
As a head football coach, notably of the Miami Dolphins from 1970 to 1995, Don Shula won more games than any other NFL coach.
At Harvey High School (Painesville, Ohio) Donald Francis Shula was an all-around athlete, playing baseball and basketball as well as football, and at John Carroll University (JCU; Cleveland, Ohio) he played halfback and defensive back. He received his B.S. degree in 1951 from JCU and an M.A. in physical education in 1953 from Western Reserve University (now Case Western Reserve University, in Cleveland).
Shula played professionally for the Cleveland Browns (1951–52), the Baltimore Colts (1953–56), and the Washington Redskins (1957). He began coaching in 1958 as an assistant at the University of Virginia and, the following year, at the University of Kentucky. He was defensive backfield coach for the Detroit Lions (1960–62) before becoming head coach of the Baltimore Colts in 1963. His Baltimore teams won division championships in 1964 and 1968; the 1968 team went on to capture the NFL championship but lost the Super Bowl. Overall, the Colts under Shula won 71 games, lost 23, and tied 4 in seven regular seasons.
After becoming coach of the Miami Dolphins in 1970, he became the first NFL coach to win 100 regular-season games in 10 seasons (1963–72). In 1971 Miami won the conference championship but lost the Super Bowl. The Dolphins in the 1972 season became the first team to go undefeated through their entire schedule and the play-offs, culminating with a win in the Super Bowl. The team won a second Super Bowl the following season. Shula again guided the Dolphins to the Super Bowl following the 1983 and 1985 seasons, but the team lost both times. On Nov. 14, 1993, Shula scored his 325th career victory, breaking George Halas’s record. He retired after the 1995 season with a record of 347–173–6 (.665), including play-off games. He was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997.
(b. Aug. 19, 1958, Ontario, Calif., U.S.)
Anthony Muñoz is widely regarded as the greatest offensive lineman in the history of the NFL.
Muñoz attended the University of Southern California (USC), where he pitched for the school’s national-championship-winning baseball team during his sophomore year and was a two-time All-American (1978–79) in football. Despite concerns over the three knee surgeries he had undergone during his four years at USC, he was chosen by the Cincinnati Bengals with the third overall selection of the 1980 NFL draft and was inserted into the team’s starting lineup for the first game of his rookie season.
The 6-foot 6-inch (1.98-metre), 280-pound (127-kg) Muñoz was far more athletic and nimble than his linemen peers. As the passing game increased in prominence in the NFL during the 1970s, his combination of size and quickness helped redefine the left tackle position as an agile protector of the quarterback’s blind side. Muñoz earned Pro Bowl and All-Pro honours in his second season as the Bengals advanced to their first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history, a loss to the San Francisco 49ers. He was selected to the Pro Bowl in each season through 1991, and was named first-team All-Pro eight additional times over the course of his career. Muñoz and the Bengals again faced the 49ers in the Super Bowl in 1989, but they were once more left without a championship. He briefly retired after the 1992 season. His attempted comeback with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1993 ended with a preseason shoulder injury, after which Muñoz stepped away from the game for good. In 1994 he was named to the NFL’s 75th Anniversary All-Time Team, and in 1998 he became the first Bengal to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
(b. Oct. 9, 1958, Houston, Texas, U.S.)
A middle linebacker for the Chicago Bears from 1981 to 1992, the remarkably durable Mike Singletary played nearly every down and missed only two games in his 12-year career.
Michael Singletary’s father was an assistant minister whose strict adherence to rigid church doctrine prevented his son from playing football until he reached junior high. Although he was told that he was too small for the game, Singletary discovered a talent for delivering hard, decisive hits to ball carriers while playing linebacker for his high school team. In college at Baylor University, he averaged 15 tackles a game and was consensus All-American and Southwest Conference Player of the Year in both 1979 and 1980. Despite standing only 5 feet 11 inches (1.8 metres) tall, “Samurai Mike” established a reputation for hitting hard enough to break helmets—both his own and his opponents’—with his ferocious tackles.
Singletary was drafted by the Bears in the second round of the 1981 NFL draft. Despite not starting for the first seven games of the 1981 season, he still managed to earn NFL all-rookie team honours. Singletary secured his hold on the middle linebacker position from 1982 and, beginning in his breakthrough season of 1983, Singletary was the Bears’ first or second leading tackler in each of his last 10 seasons. He played in 10 consecutive Pro Bowls from 1983 through 1992 and was first-team All-Pro in seven of those seasons. He was the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year in 1985 and 1988, the former award coming after a season in which Singletary anchored what is often considered the greatest defensive unit in professional football history, as the 1985 Bears allowed just 12.4 points per game in the regular season and won their three play-off games by a combined score of 91–10 en route to a Super Bowl title.
Following the end of his playing days, Singletary spent time as a motivational speaker before turning to coaching. In 2003 he became the linebackers coach for the Baltimore Ravens, and two years later he accepted the same position with the San Francisco 49ers. When head coach Mike Nolan was fired during the 49ers’ 2008 campaign, Singletary was promoted to interim head coach. He led the team to a 5–4 record during the remainder of the season and was given the permanent head coaching position in 2009.
In 1998 Singletary was awarded his sport’s highest honour when he was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
(b. Sept. 2, 1960, Sealy, Texas, U.S.)
Eric Dickerson is known as one of the leading running backs in NFL history.
Dickerson played his college football at Southern Methodist University in University Park, Texas, where he and Craig James formed a stellar backfield dubbed the “Pony Express” (after SMU’s mustang mascot). Named an All-American in his senior season, Dickerson was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams with the second overall selection of the 1983 NFL draft. In his rookie year in the NFL, he led the league in rushing and earned All-Pro and Offensive Rookie of the Year honours. In 1984 Dickerson rushed for a league-record 2,105 yards. He again led the NFL in rushing in 1986 and 1988—after being traded to the Indianapolis Colts in the middle of the 1987 season.
Later he played for the Los Angeles Raiders and the Atlanta Falcons. He retired soon after being traded to the Green Bay Packers in 1993, ending his 11-year NFL career after a damaged disk in his back made it too risky for him to play. He left the sport second only to Walter Payton as the leading rusher in NFL history up to that date, with 13,259 yards. Dickerson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1999.
(b. Feb. 4, 1959, Williamsburg, Va., U.S.)
Lawrence Taylor redefined the linebacker position during his 13-year NFL career. As a member of the New York Giants, he won Super Bowl championships following the 1986 and 1990 seasons.
Taylor, who did not play organized football until the 11th grade, attended the University of North Carolina, where he initially played defensive lineman before being moved to outside linebacker. With a rare combination of size and speed, Taylor, 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 metres) tall and weighing 240 pounds (109 kg), excelled as a linebacker, and he was named All-American in 1980.
Taylor entered the NFL draft in 1981 and was the second overall pick, selected by the New York Giants. By the end of his first professional season, he had 9.5 quarterback sacks (an unofficial number, since the NFL did not keep statistics on sacks until the following season) and a reputation for making hard, vicious hits. He was named Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, an honour that he received again the following season. In 1986 he led the league with 20.5 sacks, guided the Giants to victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXI, and was named Most Valuable Player of the NFL—the second defensive player in league history to receive the honour. Taylor and the Giants won a second championship in January 1991, defeating the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV.
All-Pro linebacker Lawrence Taylor made headlines for his accomplishments on the field and his troubles off it. Ken Levine/Getty Images
Often known simply as “L.T.,” Taylor revolutionized the play of outside linebacker, traditionally a “read and react” position (the linebacker would watch the play develop, then move to stop it). Taylor was an attacking linebacker who possessed the strength and speed to make plays anywhere on the field. He was the most disruptive defensive player of his era. During his 13-year career, he was named All-Pro six times (1981–87) and made 10 Pro Bowl appearances (1981–90 seasons). He retired from professional football after the 1993 season with career totals of 132.5 sacks (not including sacks from his rookie year), 1,088 tackles, 33 forced fumbles, and 9 interceptions. He was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1999.
Taylor’s life off the field was troubled both during and after his football career. He struggled with a cocaine addiction, and in 1988 he was suspended by the NFL for failing a drug test. Between 1996 and 1998 he was arrested three times on drug charges. After completing a rehabilitation program in 1998, he pursued a career in acting. Taylor’s LT: Over the Edge (2003; cowritten with Steve Serby) detailed his tumultuous past. In January 2011 he pleaded guilty to sexual misconduct and patronizing a prostitute—both misdemeanour charges—and was sentenced to six years of probation.
(b. May 8, 1959, Albuquerque, N.M., U.S.)
Ronnie Lott earned first-team All-Pro honours at all three defensive backfield positions during his standout 14-year NFL career. The preternaturally tough Lott is regarded as one of the hardest hitters in NFL history.
Ronald Mandel Lott attended the University of Southern California, where he was a consensus All-American safety in his senior year. He was selected by the San Francisco 49ers with the eighth selection of the 1981 NFL draft. Shifting from safety to cornerback, Lott started for the 49ers from the first game of his rookie year. He was named to both the Pro Bowl and All-Pro teams in his first year in the league as he helped the 49ers to their first Super Bowl title. Lott and San Francisco won a second Super Bowl in 1985, following a 15–1 regular season in which the 49ers’ defense allowed the fewest points in the league. During the 1985 regular season Lott switched to free safety, where his aggressive tackling and nose for the ball were put to better use. At the end of that year he endured an injury that became a part of NFL lore and established his tough-guy reputation. After crushing a finger while making a tackle, he opted to have the top of the digit amputated rather than miss playing time in order to have reconstructive surgery.
In his five seasons as a full-time free safety in San Francisco (1986–90) he earned first-team All-Pro honours four times, and he anchored a 49ers defense that helped the team win two additional Super Bowls (1989–90). In 1991 he signed with the Los Angeles Raiders. In his first year with the franchise, after switching to strong safety, he led the league in interceptions and was named All-Pro at a third position. Lott joined the New York Jets in 1993 for two seasons before injuries forced him to leave the sport in 1995. At the time of his retirement, Lott had the fifth highest career interception total in league history. He became a successful businessman after his playing days ended, and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000.
(b. June 11, 1956, New Eagle, Pa., U.S.)
One of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of the NFL, Joe Montana led the San Francisco 49ers to four Super Bowl victories (1982, 1985, 1989, 1990) and was named the Super Bowl’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) three times. He also ranks among football’s all-time leaders in passing yards (40,551) and touchdown passes (273). Montana was known for his ability to calmly bring his team to victory from the brink of defeat during the final moments of the game, earning himself the nickname “Joe Cool.”
Joseph Clifford Montana was raised in Monongahela, Pa., and excelled at baseball, basketball, and football in high school. He was offered a basketball scholarship to North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C., but instead went to the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., to play collegiate football. Montana began his junior year as the Fighting Irish’s third-string quarterback but was elevated to starter after coming off the bench to lead Notre Dame to a comeback victory in the third game of the 1977 season. He finished that season by guiding once-beaten Notre Dame to the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I-A national championship. After a successful senior year that ended with a Notre Dame victory in the Cotton Bowl, Montana was selected by the 49ers in the third round of the 1979 NFL draft.
Montana became the 49ers’ starting quarterback midway through his second season in San Francisco. His field vision and keen decision making were ideal for head coach Bill Walsh’s “West Coast offense,” which relied on a series of short, accurate passes to move the ball downfield. Montana led the 49ers to their first Super Bowl victory in January 1982, earning game MVP honours in the process. His team’s play-off run was highlighted by a game-winning touchdown pass from Montana to Dwight Clark with 51 seconds remaining in the NFC championship game, a play later known as “The Catch.” The 49ers won a second Super Bowl title (and Montana a second Super Bowl MVP award) in 1985, defeating the Miami Dolphins.
The following spring the 49ers drafted wide receiver Jerry Rice, who teamed with Montana for six seasons to form one of the most prolific passing combinations in NFL history. In 1989 Montana led a dramatic late-game drive against the Cincinnati Bengals to win a third Super Bowl. Despite losing Walsh to retirement in the off-season, the 49ers repeated as champions the following year while posting the largest margin of victory in Super Bowl history (45 points), and Montana took home his third Super Bowl MVP trophy. In addition to his postseason accolades, Montana was named NFL MVP in 1989 and 1990.
An elbow injury forced Montana to miss all but one game over the course of the 1991 and 1992 seasons, and by the time he was ready to return to the field, future Hall of Famer Steve Young was entrenched as the 49ers starting quarterback. In 1993 Montana was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs. He earned a trip to the Pro Bowl in his first year in Kansas City (his eighth and final career selection) and led the Chiefs to play-off berths in his two seasons with the team. Montana retired in 1995, finishing his career with 31 fourth-quarter comeback victories and 10 play-off appearances in his 11 full seasons as a starting quarterback in the NFL. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000.
Joe Montana is one of the most prolific and honoured quarterbacks in NFL history. Tony Duffy/Getty Images
(b. June 28, 1960, Port Angeles, Wash., U.S.)
John Elway led the Denver Broncos to two Super Bowl championships (1998, 1999).
Elway excelled at football and baseball in high school and was drafted by major league baseball’s Kansas City Royals in 1979. However, he instead attended Stanford University (B.A., 1983) on a football scholarship, where he set several school and conference passing records. He was the number one draft pick of baseball’s New York Yankees in 1981, and he played for a Yankees farm club over the following summer. In 1983 Elway was chosen by the Baltimore Colts as the first overall pick in the NFL draft, but he threatened to play baseball professionally if the struggling Colts did not trade him. The Colts complied, and Elway was dealt to the Denver Broncos, where he spent his entire 16-year career.
Elway impressed fans in the NFL with his throwing precision, cool leadership, and rushing ability. In his rookie year he led the Broncos to the franchise’s fourth playoff appearance in its 24-year history. While Elway rarely led the league in individual statistical categories, he was noted for his consistent production and his ability to rally his team to victory in the late stages of games. The most famous of his comebacks came in the 1986 AFC championship game against the Cleveland Browns when he led the Broncos on a 98-yard drive to score the tying touchdown in the game’s final seconds. The Broncos won the game in overtime to advance to the Super Bowl, and Elway’s feat became known as “The Drive.”
Elway’s Broncos teams were unsuccessful in their first three Super Bowl appearances (1986, 1987, 1989), losing by an average margin of 32 points. In 1998, however, they finally broke through as Elway led another late-game drive to beat the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXII. The Broncos repeated as Super Bowl champions the following year, Elway’s last. He retired with the NFL career records for most victories by a starting quarterback (148; which was broken by Brett Favre in 2007) and most fourth-quarter game-winning or game-tying drives (47). Elway was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004.
(b. July 16, 1968, Wichita, Kan., U.S.)
In his 10 seasons with the Detroit Lions (1989–98), Barry Sanders led the NFL in rushing four times and was selected every year for the Pro Bowl. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004.
In high school, Sanders’s small stature of 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 metres) discouraged coaches from playing him at running back until the last five games of his senior year. The startling 1,417 yards that he gained, however, were enough to earn him a football scholarship to Oklahoma State University (OSU). Sanders became the starting halfback in 1988 and rushed for 2,628 yards—the best single-season rushing performance in the history of the National Collegiate Athletic Association—winning the Heisman Trophy that year as the nation’s best college football player. When OSU was put on probation the next year, Sanders declared himself eligible for the professional draft and was selected by the Detroit Lions as the third overall pick.
Sanders set records for rushing more than 1,000 yards in 10 straight seasons, for rushing 1,500 yards or more in 5 different seasons (and the first to do so in 4 consecutive seasons), and for rushing more than 100 yards in 14 consecutive games. His most impressive season was 1997, when he became only the third back to rush for more than 2,000 yards; his 2,053 yards rushing and 305 yards in pass receptions, for a combined 2,358 yards, set a single-season record for running backs.
Like Jim Brown, Sanders left the game at or near his athletic peak. With 15,269 career rushing yards and 99 rushing touchdowns, Sanders was close to eclipsing Walter Payton’s all-time records. Instead, Sanders was forced to return more than $5 million of his most recent signing bonus to the Detroit Lions after his early retirement.
(b. Sept. 15, 1961, Pittsburgh, Pa., U.S.)
Dan Marino was one of the most prolific passers in NFL history.
Daniel Constantine Marino, Jr., was a high school All-American in Pittsburgh, where he established himself as another of the great quarterbacks to hail from western Pennsylvania, alongside such luminaries as Johnny Unitas, Joe Montana, and Joe Namath. Unlike those quarterbacks, Marino stayed home to play at the University of Pittsburgh, earning All-American honours in his junior year. After a disappointing senior season by Marino’s standards, his professional stock dropped, and he was chosen by the Miami Dolphins toward the end of the first round of the 1983 NFL draft.
Miami’s investment paid immediate dividends. Marino stepped in as the team’s starting quarterback six games into his rookie year. He then led the Dolphins to a play-off berth and was named to the Pro Bowl. In 1984 he became the first quarterback to pass for more than 5,000 yards in a single season (5,084) and the first to complete over 40 touchdown passes (48) in a season (his touchdown record has since been broken). Marino was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player, and at the end of that season he made the only Super Bowl appearance of his career; the Dolphins lost that game to Montana and the San Francisco 49ers.
Over the course of his career, he led the NFL in passing yards on four more occasions (1985, 1986, 1988, 1992) and in touchdown passes an additional two times (1985, 1986). Marino and the Dolphins appeared in the conference championship game in 1985 and 1992, but Miami advanced no further than that point in the postseason during his 17-year career. Although his teams were not as successful as those of other elite quarterbacks, Marino was nevertheless one of the most dominant players at his position: by the end of his final season (1999), he had set all-time records for passes completed (4,453 in 7,452 attempts), yards passing (55,416), touchdown passes (385), and a number of other categories. (Marino’s most prominent career marks were later broken by Brett Favre.)
He was a prominent pitchman for a number of products both before and after his retirement. Upon leaving the sport, he became a football commentator on television. A three-time All-Pro selection and nine-time Pro Bowl honoree, Marino was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005.
(b. April 10, 1936, Austin, Minn., U.S.)
Football coach and television commentator John Madden was one of the best-known personalities in NFL history. In addition to his accomplishments in the NFL, Madden lent his name to a series of video games, Madden NFL, that became a cultural sensation.
John Madden, 2006. Madden played football in college and coached in the NFL, but he is arguably better known as a commentator and pitchman. Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
Madden was raised in Daly City, Calif., where he was a standout high school football player. He played on both the offensive and the defensive line at California Polytechnic State University (at San Luis Obispo) and was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1958. However, a knee injury he suffered during his first training camp prevented him from launching a playing career in the NFL. He coached at Hancock Junior College in Santa Maria, Calif., from 1960 to 1963, and was the defensive coordinator at San Diego State University from 1964 to 1966. In 1967 Madden was hired by Al Davis as the Oakland Raiders’ linebackers coach. Madden was promoted to head coach in February 1969 at age 32.
In Madden’s first season at the helm, the Raiders posted a 12–1–1 record and lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFL championship game. After the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, the Raiders appeared in four AFC championship games over the course of six seasons but lost on each occasion. Just as criticism that Madden could not win the big game reached its peak, he led the Raiders to a one-loss season in 1976, which the team followed with victories over the rival Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC championship game and over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI. Madden stepped away from the Raiders following the 1978 season having never had a losing record in his 10 seasons as head coach. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006.
Though his coaching success had brought him fame, it was in his next career—as a football analyst for television—that Madden became an icon inextricably linked to the NFL. His first position as a colour commentator came in 1979 at CBS. In 1981 he was paired with play-by-play announcer Pat Summerall, with whom Madden would form a 21-year partnership that made the pair arguably the most famous sports broadcasting duo of all time; the two moved to the Fox Broadcasting Company in 1994. Madden’s idiosyncratic commentary—which included a willingness to explicate the most complicated or obscure details of a football game; his frequent use of, and subsequent popularization of, the Telestrator, a device that allows its user to draw on top of an image from a broadcast; and his penchant for sudden outbursts (most notably “Boom!”) while analyzing a play—endeared him to many viewers (while alienating some others) and helped Madden garner a record 16 Emmy Awards for outstanding sports analyst/personality. He was famous for a fear of flying that resulted in his traveling to all of his broadcast locations in a customized bus nicknamed the “Madden Cruiser,” which became something of a minor NFL icon itself. Madden was also known for selecting an annual “All-Madden” team made up of players he believed were the toughest and smartest in the game. After working for all four of the major American broadcasting networks over the course of his career, he retired in 2009.
Madden’s outsized personality made him an ideal pitchman for a vast number of products, from beer to hardware stores. In 1989 he gave his name to the computer game John Madden Football. The subsequent Madden NFL series expanded onto multiple gaming consoles and grew into the most popular sports title on the market by the early 2000s, with the annual release of an increasingly detailed and realistic new edition becoming a highly anticipated event among both football fans and NFL players. As a result of its massive popularity, the video game helped to increase football’s global audience and, in turn, Madden’s fame.
Madden authored (with cowriter Dave Anderson) a number of best-selling books, including Hey, Wait a Minute, I Wrote a Book (1984), One Size Doesn’t Fit All (1988), and All Madden: Hey, I’m Talking Pro Football! (1996).
(b. Dec. 19, 1961, Chattanooga, Tenn., U.S.—d. Dec. 26, 2004, Huntersville, N.C.)
Reggie White was one of the most dominant defensive linemen in the history of the sport. In his 15-year NFL career, he was selected to the Pro Bowl 13 consecutive times, and, at the time of his retirement in 2000, he was the NFL’s all-time career leader in sacks with 198.
Reginald Howard White played football at the University of Tennessee, where he was an All-American his senior year. The 6-foot 5-inch (1.96-metre), 300-pound (136-kg) defensive lineman began his professional career in 1984 playing for the United States Football League (USFL) Memphis Showboats, where he had 11 sacks and was named to the all-rookie team. After two seasons in the USFL, he was acquired in the NFL supplemental draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, for which he played from 1985 to 1992. In 1987 he recorded 21 sacks and was the league’s Defensive Player of the Year.
In 1993 the NFL instituted full free agency for the first time, and White became the most sought-after player on the market. He signed with the Green Bay Packers after a long courtship process. White’s dominant play continued with his new team, and he helped shape Green Bay into one of the premier defensive teams in the NFL. In 1997 the Packers made it to their first Super Bowl in 29 years, where they defeated the New England Patriots. White won his second Defensive Player of the Year award in 1998 after posting 16 sacks during the regular season, and he abruptly retired after Green Bay’s opening-round play-off loss in the following postseason. After one year away from the sport, he signed with the Carolina Panthers, where he recorded a career-low 5.5 sacks in his one season with the team.
White was an ordained Baptist minister, which was the source of his nickname, the “Minister of Defense.” Reggie White in the Trenches: The Autobiography appeared in 1996. White was posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006.
(b. June 18, 1963, Norfolk, Va., U.S.)
Defensive end Bruce Smith holds the NFL career record for quarterback sacks (200).
Smith played college football at Virginia Tech, where he was a consensus All-American and won the Outland Trophy as the best lineman in the country during his senior season. He was selected by the Buffalo Bills with the first overall pick of the 1985 NFL draft. Smith totaled 15 sacks in his second season, the first of 13 seasons in which he recorded at least 10 sacks. His rare combination of size (6 feet 4 inches [1.93 metres], 262 pounds [119 kg]) and quickness promptly made him one of the most difficult defensive players in the league to block: Smith was often too fast for offensive tackles and too powerful for tight ends and running backs.
In 1990 he had 19 sacks and a remarkable—for his position—101 tackles, which earned him the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award. That postseason he helped the Bills win the conference championship and advance to the Super Bowl. It was the first of four consecutive Super Bowl berths for Smith and the Bills, but the team lost the game each time. Smith was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year for a second time in 1996 after amassing 13.5 sacks.
After 15 seasons with the Bills in which he was named first-team All-Pro eight times and earned 11 Pro Bowl berths, he signed with the Washington Redskins in 2000. Smith spent four mostly nondescript years in Washington, the highlight of which came in 2003, when he broke Reggie White’s career sack record of 198. He then retired after the 2003 season. Smith was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009, his first year of eligibility for that honour.
Bruce Smith recorded 10 or more quarterback sacks in 12 of his 15 seasons with the Buffalo Bills. As of 2011, he held the record for most career sacks (200). Rick Stewart/Getty Images
(b. Oct. 13, 1962, Starkville, Miss., U.S.)
Jerry Rice is considered by most observers to be the greatest wide receiver in the history of the NFL. Playing primarily for the San Francisco 49ers, he set a host of NFL records, including those for career touchdowns (208), receptions (1,549), and reception yardage (22,895).
The son of a brick mason, Rice was celebrated for having developed strong, reliable hands by catching bricks that his brothers threw to him while working for their father. He attended Mississippi Valley State University in Itta Bena on a football scholarship. There he earned All-America honours and set 18 records in Division I-AA of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, including most catches in a single game (24).
Rice was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the first round of the 1985 NFL draft. He initially struggled to hold on to the ball as he concentrated on the intricate pass patterns of the San Francisco offense, but in his second season he caught 86 passes and led the league in reception yardage (1,570) and touchdown receptions (15). Rice thrived in San Francisco head coach Bill Walsh’s “West Coast offense,” which relied on a large number of short, quick passes by the quarterback and precise route running by the receivers. He set a single-season record for touchdown receptions (22) in 1987, even though a players’ strike limited the season to 12 games, and was named NFL Player of the Year. Standing 6 feet 2 inches (1.9 metres) tall, Rice was larger than the typical NFL wide receiver, and he used his size and strength to overmatch defenders. He was also an exceptional runner after making a catch.
Rice played on three Super Bowl championship teams with the 49ers (1988, 1989, and 1994 seasons), and he, along with quarterback Joe Montana and defensive back Ronnie Lott, became virtually synonymous with the team. He was named the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XXIII (1988 season), and he set numerous Super Bowl records. Rice was named to the annual Pro Bowl from 1986 through 1998. In a controversial move to develop younger players, the 49ers traded Rice to the Oakland Raiders before the 2001 season. The following season he became the first player to register more than 200 career touchdowns as he helped the Raiders reach Super Bowl XXXVII, where they were defeated by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In 2003 he made his 13th Pro Bowl appearance. Midway through the 2004 season, Rice was traded to the Seattle Seahawks, but he was released by the team at the end of the season. After an unsuccessful attempt to become a starting receiver for the Denver Broncos the following year, he signed a ceremonial one-day contract with San Francisco and retired as a 49er. Rice was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010.
(b. May 15, 1969, Pensacola, Fla., U.S.)
In 2002 Emmitt Smith became the all-time leading rusher in NFL history. He retired after the 2004 season with 18,355 yards rushing, and also holds the record for most rushing touchdowns in a career, with 164.
Smith excelled early in football, starring in youth leagues and, by the time he finished high school, earning national Player of the Year honours from Parade magazine, among other publications. He played collegiate football at the University of Florida (in Gainesville), where he amassed 58 school records before leaving the school after his junior year.
Selected in the first round of the 1990 NFL draft by the Dallas Cowboys, Smith soon established himself as one of the league’s premier running backs. He was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1990 and the following season ran for 1,563 yards to capture the first of his four NFL rushing titles (the other three came in 1992–93, 1995). With quarterback Troy Aikman and wide receiver Michael Irvin, Smith was part of a formidable Dallas offense that helped the Cowboys win consecutive Super Bowls over the Buffalo Bills in 1993 and 1994. He rushed for 1,486 yards during the 1993 regular season—averaging a tremendous 5.3 yards per carry—and was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player. Smith won a third Super Bowl championship in 1996. His rushing totals began to fall off in the late 1990s, and the Cowboys released him after the 2002 season. Smith then signed with the Arizona Cardinals, finishing his career with two relatively nondescript seasons in Arizona.
Though Smith was relatively small—he stood only 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 metres) tall and weighed 212 pounds (96 kg)—and lacked great speed, he thrived in the NFL by relying on his strength, determination, and superb conditioning. He ultimately proved to be one of the NFL’s most durable players at any position; between 1990 and 2002 he failed to start in only two games. An eight-time Pro Bowl selection over the course of his career, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010.
(b. Aug. 9, 1967, Fort Myers, Fla., U.S.)
Football and baseball player Deion Sanders is the only person to have played in both a Super Bowl and a World Series. Known for his flashy personality and outspokenness, which garnered him the nicknames “Prime Time” and “Neon Deion,” Sanders was a middling professional baseball player but is widely considered the best man-to-man cover cornerback in NFL history.
Sanders was a multisport star in high school and earned a scholarship to Florida State University, where he was a member of the school’s football, baseball, and track teams. He first brought his brash attitude to national attention as a two-time All-American in football. Sanders quickly became a sports media favourite, and his tremendous on-field achievements were sometimes overshadowed by his braggadocio, his penchant for gaudy jewelry, and his self-promotion, which included his tuxedo-attired arrival in a white stretch limousine at a 1988 game against the rival University of Florida. NFL teams were not put off by his cocky persona, however, and Sanders was selected by the Atlanta Falcons with the fifth selection of the 1989 NFL draft.
Sanders played primarily in the New York Yankees’ minor league system in 1989 but was called up for 14 games in the majors that summer. After posting a .158 batting average in 57 games with the Yankees in 1990, he was released and then signed by the Atlanta Braves. The speedy outfielder had the best season of his baseball career in 1992, batting .304 with a league-leading 14 triples as he helped the Braves reach the World Series (a six-game loss to the Toronto Blue Jays). He was traded to the Cincinnati Reds during the 1994 season and then to the San Francisco Giants during the 1995 season. After not playing in 1996, Sanders had one-year stints with the Reds in 1997 and 2001 before retiring from baseball.
In his much more successful professional football career, Sanders made an immediate impact. He intercepted five passes in his rookie season, was a full-time starter in his second, and was named to his first of eight Pro Bowls in his third. He signed a one-year contract with the San Francisco 49ers for the 1994 season, during which he was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year after making six interceptions (returning three for touchdowns) and helped the team to a decisive victory in Super Bowl XXIX. In 1995–96 he won another Super Bowl title in his first season with the Dallas Cowboys, with whom he played for four more seasons before moving to the Washington Redskins for the 2000 season. Sanders then retired for three years only to return for a two-season stint with the Baltimore Ravens before permanently leaving the sport in 2006.
That his interception totals were lower than those of most other elite cornerbacks is attributable to the fact that opposing teams often simply avoided throwing the ball in his vicinity. On the other hand, noting that Sanders’s tackling and run-stopping abilities were often lacking, some have said that he was not a complete cornerback. Sanders’s speed and elusiveness made him one of the best kickoff and punt returners of all time, as well as an effective occasional receiving option on offense, with 60 career receptions (three for touchdowns) to his credit. The 19 non-offensive touchdowns (combining kickoff, punt, interception, and fumble returns) he scored over the course of his career were an NFL record at the time of his retirement.
After his playing days ended, Sanders spent time as a television football analyst and starred in a short-lived reality television series. His eventual alienation from his freewheeling lifestyle was documented in Power, Money & Sex: How Success Almost Ruined My Life (1998; cowritten with Jim Nelson Black). Sanders was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011.
