The NFL lost a pioneering innovator this week with the
passing of Hall of Fame defensive back Larry Wilson at the age of 82.
Though only 6-foot-0, 180 pounds, Wilson developed into one
of the most feared defenders of his era as the first safety to regularly rush
the quarterback in a play that became known as the safety blitz.
A two-way starter at the University of Utah, Wilson was
selected by the Chicago Cardinals in the seventh round of the 1960 draft (which
was conducted in November 1959). The team moved to St. Louis prior to the 1960
season and Wilson soon became a defensive pioneer.
As part of our celebration of the NFL at 100, Sports Then
and Now is finishing our list of the top 100 players in NFL history with picks
25-1.
One of the cool parts of the NFL celebrating 100 years is
remembering the great moments and players that have helped shape the history of
the game.
The NFL Network has been sharing their selections for the
top moments, game-changers, teams and characters. They also picked their
All-Time top 100 team, though they did not rank the players 1-100.
In a sport that has seen great change and evolution over 100
years, creating any comprehensive all-time list is going to be subjective and
open to interpretation.
That is likely even more pronounced when trying to choose
the top 100 players of the NFL’s first 100 years.
Some will certainly rely heavily on statistics as a guide,
but my opinion is that while individual season statistics and the number of
seasons leading the league in a statistical category can help identify
greatness, career and all-time statistics are not as helpful and can be
misleading when trying to pick an all-time team.
Whether it is related to the number of games played each
season, move from playing both ways to position specialization or rule changes
that impact offensive production, there has been enough change over the history
of the game that I believe reduce the importance of career statistics.
That is why for the
Sports Then and Now list of the Top 100 Players in NFL history we chose to give
greater emphasis to other factors. The things we looked at when choosing our
top 100 included All-Pro and Pro Bowl selections, number of times leading their
league in statistical categories, how they compared to other players from
within their era and peak performance. Team success was given greater weight in
ordering quarterbacks, but played only a minor role in selecting players from
other positions.
The result is a Sports Then and Now Top 100 list that includes
many of the players selected by NFL Network, but does have quite a few
differences. For our list, we made sure not to forget those players from the
1920s-1950s whose career statistics are well below players from future decades,
but who were clearly all-time greats.
The distribution of players by era for the ST&N Top 100
is very interesting: 1920s-1930s: 8; 1940s-1950s: 13; 1960s: 24; 1970s: 15;
1980s: 12; 1990s: 12; 2000s: 8; 2010s: 7. However, 14 of our top 20 played a
majority of their career after 1980.
You can read our players 100-76, 75-51 and 50-26 in previous articles.
25. Bulldog Turner – Chicago
Bears – 4 Pro Bowls; 7 time 1st Team All-Pro: A two-way star for the
Chicago Bears, Clyde “Bulldog” Turner helped lead the Bears to four NFL
Championships. As a rookie in 1940, he played center on offense and had an
interception return for a touchdown as the Bears defeated the Washington
Redskins 73-0. Playing primarily center
on offense and linebacker on defense, he was an eight-time first team All-Pro.
24. Mike Webster –
Pittsburgh Steelers – 9 Pro Bowls; 5 time 1st Team All-Pro: Considered
by many to be the greatest offensive center in NFL history, Mike Webster helped
lead the Pittsburgh Steelers to four Super Bowl titles. He played in 245 career
games, including 150 consecutive starts from 1976-86.
23. Merlin Olsen –
Los Angeles Rams – 14 Pro Bowls; 5 time 1st Team All-Pro: One of
five players in NFL history to have been selected to 14 Pro Bowls, Merlin Olsen
teamed with Deacon Jones to anchor the Los Angeles Rams Fearsome Foursome
defensive line during the 1960s. As a defensive tackle, Olsen was a stalwart
against the run. A durable player, Olsen missed only two games in his 15 year
career. He was the NFL rookie of the year in 1962 while earning the first of 14
straight trips to the Pro Bowl.
22. Chuck Bednarik –
Philadelphia Eagles – 8 Pro Bowls; 6 time 1st Team All-Pro: One
of the last of the two-way players, Chuck Bednarik earned All-Pro honors as an
offensive center and defensive linebacker during his career. Nicknamed “Concrete
Charlie”, Bednarik was known for his ferocious hits. In the 1960 Championship
Game he tackled Green Bay running back Jim Taylor at the 9-yard line on the
final play of the game to ensure a 17-13 Philadelphia victory.
21. Bronko Nagurski –
Chicago Bears – 0 Pro Bowls; 4 time 1st Team All-Pro: At
6-foot-2, 235 pounds, Nagurski was one of the largest running backs in the NFL
in the 1930s and larger than many linemen of the era. He threw a touchdown pass
to Red Grange to help the Chicago Bears defeat the Portsmouth Spartans 9-0 in
the first-ever NFL Playoff Game. Nagurski was a first or second team All-Pro in
each of his first seven NFL seasons. He retired following the 1937 season, but
returned to the team in 1943 and played tackle and fullback to help the Bears
win the NFL Championship.
There have been many great players in the 100 year history
of the NFL, but who are the greatest of the great? As part of our celebration
of the NFL at 100, we have been sharing our picks for the top 100 players in
NFL history.
We are breaking the selections into four groups of 25. You can read our players 100-76 and 75-51 in previous articles. This article is looking at players 50-26. We will be posting our top 25 picks in a subsequent post.
Below is a look at our picks 50-26 (the team listed is the
one they were most associated with during their career).
50. Willie Lanier – Kansas
City Chiefs – 8 Pro Bowls; 3 time 1st Team All-Pro: Much like was the case
on offense with the quarterback position, for many years there was a perception
that African American players couldn’t handle the defensive equivalent
leadership position of middle linebacker. That inaccuracy was crushed in the
1960s when the Kansas City Chiefs drafted Willie Lanier from Morgan State.
After playing outside linebacker as a rookie in 1967, Lanier became the
starting middle linebacker during his second season and immediately earned
first team All-Pro honors. In 1969 the Chiefs were number one in the AFL in
rushing defense, passing defense and scoring defense and reached Super Bowl IV.
Lanier had an interception in the game as Kansas City held the Minnesota
Vikings to only seven points in a 23-7 victory. Dominant against both the run
and pass, Lanier completed his 11 year career with 27 pass interceptions and 18
fumble recoveries.
49. Emlen Tunnell –
New York Giants – 9 Pro Bowls; 4 time 1st Team All-Pro: Though
not drafted out of college, Tunnell made an immediate impact at defensive back
for the New York Giants. He intercepted seven passes as a rookie and 10 during
his second season. A key component of the dominant Giants’ defense of the
1950s, Tunnell intercepted at least six passes in each of his first 10 seasons.
He helped the Giants win the NFL Championship in 1956 and then after moving to
Green Bay in 1959, helped the Packers win the Championship in 1961. Tunnell finished his career with 79
interceptions for 1,282 yards and four interceptions. At the time of his
retirement, Tunnell was the NFL’s career leader in interceptions and still
ranks second all-time. He was the first African American member of the New York
Giants and first African American inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
48. Dutch Clark –
Detroit Lions – 0 Pro Bowls; 6 time 1st Team All-Pro: A member
of the inaugural class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Dutch Clark was a
six-time NFL All-Pro and a three-time NFL scoring champion. He rushed for 2,772
yards and passed for 1,501 yards during his career. He also served as a kicker
and finished with 369 career points. He scored on a 40-yard touchdown run to
help the Detroit Lions win the NFL Championship in 1935.
47. Junior Seau – San
Diego Chargers – 12 Pro Bowls; 6 time 1st Team All-Pro: One of
the dominant defenders of his era, Junior Seau played 20 years in the NFL and
was a 12-time Pro Bowl selection. He recorded more than 1,800 career tackles,
56.5 sacks, 18 interceptions and 18 fumble recoveries. Seau helped the Chargers
reach Super Bowl XXIX and was also a member of the New England Patriots team
that was 16-0 in 2017 before losing to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII.
46. Roger Staubach –
Dallas Cowboys – 6 Pro Bowls; 0 time 1st Team All-Pro: Known as
“Captain America” during his decade as quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, Roger
Staubach led the Cowboys to four Super Bowl appearances (won two) and six NFC
Championship Games during his career. Famous for his late-game comebacks,
Staubach had a career record of 96-35 (74%) as a starter. An elusive runner, he
gained 2,264 yards with 20 rushing touchdowns during his career. At the time of
his retirement, Staubach was the NFL’s career leader in passer rating.
One of the cool parts of the NFL celebrating 100 years in
2019 is remembering the great moments and players that have helped shape the
history of the game.
The NFL Network and others have developed their own All-Time
teams or top 100 player lists.
Not to be out-done, we have also chosen Sports Then and Now’s
top 100 players in NFL history.
We are breaking the selections into four groups of 25. You can read our players 100-76 here. We will be featuring the top 50 in two subsequent posts.
In a sport that has seen great change and evolution over 100 years, creating any comprehensive all-time list is going to be subjective and open to interpretation. You can read more about the criteria we used to select our top 100 players.
This is the second of four posts announcing the ST&N Top
100. This one includes players 75-51 (the team listed is the one they were most
associated with during their career).
75. Shannon Sharpe – Denver
Broncos – 8 Pro Bowls; 4 time 1st Team All-Pro: The most
dominant tight end of his era, Sharpe was a key weapon for John Elway during
the 1990s. He caught 80 or more passes three times and also had three 1,000
yard seasons. He helped the Broncos win back-to-back Super Bowls in 1997 and
1998 and then caught 67 passes to help the Baltimore Ravens win the Super Bowl
following the 2000 season.
74. Ernie Nevers – Chicago
Cardinals –5 time 1st Team All-Pro: A four-sport college star at
Stanford, Nevers played five seasons in the NFL (1926-27 with the Duluth Eskimos
and 1929-31 with the Chicago Cardinals) and was a first team All-Pro as a
fullback each season. In 1929 he established an NFL record that still stands when
he scored all 40 points (six touchdowns and four extra points) in a 40-6 win
over the Chicago Bears. He was an inaugural inductee of the College Football
Hall of Fame in 1951 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963.
73. Paul Warfield –
Miami Dolphins – 8 Pro Bowls; 2 time 1st team All-Pro: One of
the greatest deep-threat receivers in NFL history, Warfield averaged 20.1 yards
per reception for his career. With 85 career touchdown catches out of 427
career receptions, he averaged a touchdown for every five receptions throughout
his career. He helped the Cleveland Browns win the NFL Championship during his
rookie season and then proved to be a key addition for the Miami Dolphins as
they went to three straight Super Bowls and won consecutive titles in 1972 and
1973.
72. Randall McDaniel –
Minnesota Vikings – 12 Pro Bowls; 7 time 1st team All-Pro: One
of the top offensive linemen of the 1990s, McDaniel was a first-team All-Pro
guard seven times and second-team twice between 1990 and 1998.
71. Randy Moss –
Minnesota Vikings – 6 Pro Bowls; 4 time 1st team All-Pro: Few
players have created the immediate buzz that Moss did as a rookie with the
Minnesota Vikings in 1998. He caught 69 passes for 1,313 yards and a league-high
17 touchdowns as the Vikings went 15-1. He eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards 10
times during his career and had nine seasons with 10 or more touchdown
receptions. In 2007 with the New England Patriots, he established an NFL record
with 23 receiving touchdowns to help the Patriots finish 16-0 during the
regular season.
70. Steve Largent –
Seattle Seahawks – 7 Pro Bowls; 1 time 1st team All-Pro: The
first Superstar of the Seattle Seahawks franchise, Largent was one of the most
prolific receivers of his era. He had 70
or more catches six times in his career and eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards
eight times, including twice leading the league. He had double digit touchdown
receptions three times and was the first player in NFL history with 100
touchdown receptions. At the time of his retirement he was the NFL career
leader in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.
69. Jonathan Ogden –
Baltimore Ravens – 11 Pro Bowls; 4 time 1st team All-Pro: A
dominant left tackle, Ogden was selected to the Pro Bowl in each of the final
11 seasons of his career. He was called for only 15 holding penalties in 12
seasons.
68. Ray Nitschke –
Green Bay Packers – 1 Pro Bowl; 2 time 1st team All-Pro: A key
member of the Green Bay Packers five championship teams in the 1960s, Nitschke
was a two-time first team All-Pro and three time second team All-Pro at middle
linebacker. He had 25 interceptions and recovered 23 fumbles during his career.
One of the cool parts of the NFL celebrating 100 years in
2019 is remembering the great moments and players that have helped shape the
history of the game.
The NFL Network has been sharing their selections for the
top moments, game-changers, teams and characters. Soon they will be unveiling
their list of the top 100 players in NFL history.
In a sport that has seen great change and evolution over 100
years, creating any comprehensive all-time list is going to be subjective and
open to interpretation.
That is likely even more pronounced when trying to choose
the top 100 players of the NFL’s first 100 years.
Some will certainly rely heavily on statistics as a guide,
but my opinion is that while individual season statistics and the number of
seasons leading the league in a statistical category can help identify
greatness, career and all-time statistics are not as helpful and can be
misleading when trying to pick an all-time team.
Whether it is related to the number of games played each
season, move from playing both ways to position specialization or rule changes
that impact offensive production, there has been enough change over the history
of the game that I believe reduce the importance of career statistics.
That is why for the
Sports Then and Now list of the Top 100 Players in NFL history we chose to give
greater emphasis to other factors. The things we looked at when choosing our
top 100 included All-Pro and Pro Bowl selections, number of times leading their
league in statistical categories, how they compared to other players from
within their era and peak performance. Team success was given greater weight in
ordering quarterbacks, but played only a minor role in selecting players from
other positions.
The result is a Sports Then and Now Top 100 list that I
fully expect to look very different than the list that will be unveiled on the
NFL Network beginning on November 22nd. For our list, we made sure
not to forget those players from the 1920s-1950s whose career statistics are
well below players from future decades, but who were clearly all-time greats.
The distribution of players by era for the ST&N Top 100
is very interesting: 1920s-1930s: 8; 1940s-1950s: 13; 1960s: 24; 1970s: 15;
1980s: 12; 1990s: 12; 2000s: 8; 2010s: 7. However, 14 of our top 20 played a
majority of their career after 1980.
This is the first of four posts over the next couple weeks
announcing the ST&N Top 100. This one includes players 100-76.
100. Larry Wilson –
St. Louis Cardinals – 8 Pro Bowls; 5 time 1st Team All-Pro: The
creator of the safety blitz, Wilson was a hard-nosed player who was one of the
top defensive players of the 1960s. He registered 52 career interceptions and
scored seven defensive touchdowns during his career.
99. J.J. Watt –
Houston Texans – 5 Pro Bowls, 5 time 1st Team All-Pro: When
healthy, J.J. Watt has clearly distinguished himself as an all-time great. He
has earned first-team All-Pro in each of the five seasons in which he has been
healthy throughout the year and was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year
three times in his first four years. Unfortunately, a recent injury that has
ended his 2019 season marks the third time in the last four years that he has
played in eight or fewer games.
98. Adrian Peterson –
Minnesota Vikings (primary team) – 7 Pro Bowls; 4 time 1st team
All-Pro: A three-time NFL rushing champion, Adrian Peterson was the most
dominant running back in the NFL during his 10 seasons in Minnesota. After
suffering a major knee injury in 2011, the next season he rushed for 2,097
yards, which is the second highest single season total in NFL history.
97. Derrick Brooks –
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 11 Pro Bowls; 5 time 1st team All-Pro:
Often over-shadowed by more flamboyant teammates, Derrick Brooks was the steady
leader of a Tampa Bay defense that was among the best in the league for nearly
a decade. In their Super Bowl winning season in 2002, Brooks was the NFL
Defensive Player of the Year as he returned three interceptions for touchdowns
during the regular season and had another score in the Super Bowl.
As the National Football League prepares for its 100th
season, the top NFL betting sites
are making predictions for which team will lift the Lombardi Trophy at the end
of Super Bowl LIV.
Given that they have appeared in each of the last three
Super Bowls (winning two), you can never go wrong putting your money on the New
England Patriots.
Conventional wisdom tells us that at some point the amazing
reign of the Patriots will end, but every time it looks like the magic run is
over, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick pull another rabbit out of the hat. In a
league where parody and volatility from year-to-year is the norm, New England
has posted double digits victories for 16 straight years and won 10 straight
division titles.
Even though Brady is 41-years old and will be without one of
his favorite targets in recently retiree Rob Gronkowski, there is little reason
to doubt that the Patriots offense will again be among the best in the NFL.
Last year they scored the fourth most points in the league and ranked in the
top 10 in both passing and rushing yards.
Solid defense is typically a key to the success of the
Patriots. Last year they were seventh in the league in points allowed, but
ranked 22nd in passing yards allowed. In a conference that boasts
some great quarterbacks, the Patriots have to improve their pass defense this
season.
Most prognosticators are jumping on the band wagon of the
team guided by one of those young quarterbacks, the Kansas City Chiefs. Pat
Mahomes nearly led the Chiefs past the Patriots in the AFC title game last
season and appear to be positioned to make another run in 2019.
The Sports Then and Now Vintage Athlete of the Month is one of the most celebrated pitchers in Detroit Tigers history and will forever be remembered for his heroic performance in the 1968 World Series.
Mickey Lolich is remembered for his durability, resilience, and ability to deliver in clutch situations. Known for his powerful left arm and an almost superhuman capacity to pitch complete games, Lolich etched his name in baseball history with his stellar performance in the 1968 World Series, leading the Tigers to a championship. His career, spanning from 1963 to 1979, was defined by consistency, longevity, and an unyielding competitive spirit. Lolich may not have the same level of fame as some of his contemporaries, but his achievements on the mound have earned him a lasting legacy in the annals of Major League Baseball.