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The Birth of the New NFL: How the 1966 NFL/AFL Merger Transformed Pro Football by Larry FelserThe Lyons Press 2008ISBN: 978-1-59921-151-0
Despite the stodgy prose this is a comprehensive history of the merger between the American Football League and th…
NFL history has a long line of men who were feared each time they stepped onto the field. Men that would make opponents sweat in hopes of surviving 60 minutes against them.
This is a list of the very best players ever to strike fear in opponents. Though there are several more to add to the list, these are the men generally considered the scariest for various reasons.
We start first with the pioneer of this definition. Bronko Nagurski.
Nagurski joined the Chicago Bears after a legendary collegiate career with the University of Minnesota. He once scored a touchdown and intercepted a pass while playing with cracked vertebrae.
At 6’2″ 226, he was one of the largest running backs of his era. His strength carrying the ball was legendary. He ran over four players while playing in Wrigley Field, then smashed against the brick wall after scoring.
“That last guy hit me awfully hard,” said Nagurski.
He got hurt carrying the ball, so the Bears used his blocking prowess by inserting him at offensive tackle.
He was a All-Pro player at fullback, defensive tackle, and offensive tackle, making him the only player ever to be named to the All-Pro at three different positions.
Nagurski was also a professional wrestler when he wasn’t playing football. He did it to supplement his income, because NFL players were paid little in his era. He won three world championships as a wrestler.
Nagurski is considered one of the greatest defensive tackles in college football history.
Not only is there an annual award named after him that goes to the top defender in college football, but he is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and the starting defensive tackle on Sports Illustrated’s NCAA Football All-Century Team.
He is also an charter member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, a member of the 1930′s All-Decade Team and NFL 75th Anniversary Team.
As a professional player, he was truly feared on both sides of the ball. Whether he was carrying it, blocking, or tackling, Nagurski made a huge impact.
He retired after 1937, but returned in 1943 to help Chicago win a championship by scoring a touchdown in the title game. The Bears retired two of the numbers he wore.
When Hall of Famers like Jim Brown, Marion Motley, John Riggins, Earl Campbell, and Larry Csonka were seen dragging around defenders into the end zone, history must pay tribute to the man who did it first.
Bronko Nagurski was a winner who scared opponents each time he stepped on the gridiron.
Of the 19 linebackers who are currently inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, just nine played outside linebacker. That includes Ricky Jackson, who is part of the newly annointed 2010 Induction Class.
When a player reaches the Seniors Committee part of the process, his chances grow slimmer. The committe is only allowed to nominate two players yearly at the most, and there have been several occasions that none of their selections were nominated.
Most of the outside linebackers on this list are now in the seniors pool, still waiting on their proper respect. Players waiting in a talent pool where the Seniors Committee has to wade through over 150 candidates a year in hopes to reduce it to two each time. The numbers increase yearly for these voters.
Here is a list of the very best outside linebackers still awaiting their call from Canton.
Just a little foreword-
This article is rather long and wordy. It is essentially a copy of an essay I recently wrote for one my college courses. While it is soundly based upon football, it diverts frequently to topics based upon history outside of football. This is in an effort to put into pespective how each dynasty represented their respective decade’s culture. Just wanted you to know what you were getting into… Enjoy
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Throughout the history of professional sports, specific teams have differentiated themselves from others through their dominating performances over great lengths of time.
This domination is personified through their unparalleled level of success, juxtaposed against the relatively lacking performance of their competition. The fantastic spectacle of supremacy exhibited by these select entities leads to their cementation in sport’s history; they are considered dynasties.
Specifically, the NFL has seen five dynasties come to fruition since 1966, the year league officials began hosting the Super Bowl. On a broad scale, the cycle of success in the NFL has followed an unwavering pattern – a steady exchange of torches from one dynasty to the next, as one decade sets and the dawn of anew settles in.
These five teams garner special attention as they have differentiated themselves from other sports dynasties by representing more than athletic prowess and mental fortitude. Each dynasty mirrored their respective decade’s culture by representing its evolving social, political and economic norms.
