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No Redskin on this list? No Darryl Green? No John Riggins? Regardless, how in the hell can you compare a bunch of football players from different eras playing different positions anyway? This is a silly poll!
For pure endurance I'd pick Chuck Bednarik pf the Philadelphia Eagles.
I still remember a picture of him sitting in the locker room with a victory cigar in his mouth , hair dripping wet, after he played the entire game at center on offense and linebacker on defense. ( I think it was around 1960 )
Stanley Henderson Jr. is my pick !!!.....Not a famous, marquee name, but read on......
A standout center, a terrific athlete and all - around likeable good guy, he played football for the love of the game in the 30's, not the money.....He was the last player to win the Harvey Jones award, before the name was changed officially to what is known today as the Heisman trophy....An expert at many card games, had an invitation to play poker with the guys one Friday, but elected to work at a local soup kitchen instead...It was that very game that Art Rooney Sr. won the franchise for what has become the Pittsburgh Steelers....Art sent Stan a thank you note every year from that date, thanking him for bowing out of that game & giving him a chance to finally win a hand.....Everyone knew him as "Aw shucks !" & he started several charities & raised millions helping to fight poverty & disease...He would spend any free time visiting hospitals, nursing homes & helping disaster victims around the country... Every Christmas he would dress up like Santa Claus, ride a horse drawn sleigh through a major city & hand out money to the needy & homeless....The same was true of all major holidays ( On easter, he was the Easter bunny, Valentines Day, he was Cupid, etc... ) Every training camp, he would invite a new boy scout troop as his guests to help out on the field...After his football days were over, he became a famous singer, playing gigs in all the major venues ( New York, L.A., Las Vegas ) & became personal friends with Ol' Blue eyes & the rest of the Rat Pack...His friendship with these celebs helped his career & he blossomed into one of the most successful talent agents in the industry....After a few years, his business was acquired by Warner Brothers & by shrewdly investing the millions of dollars that befell him, he took from that money & turned to his real love - inventing !...He garnered patents on many popular everyday items, like the microwave, crock pot, self lighting charcoal, all season tires, v-neck shirts, the dimpled golf ball, the spork, self coiling garden hoses, solar panels, bendable straws, Tupperware, the internet and many many more items to list !!!! He always boasted to anyone within an ear shot that he never took any type of prescribed pain medication or illegal drugs & still managed to play in numerous games with various injuries, most remarkeably, the Championship game of 39' when only 2 days after a major automobile accident in which he had to be rescued from the side of a cliff, on the side of a mountain outside of Denver... Upon his rescue, he was found to be in a coma, had a broken arm, 3 broken ribs & temporarily lost sight in his left eye...He awoke from his coma & insisted on playing in the game... To this day his ability to make such an amazing recovery, his outstanding play in the game & his choice as MVP by his peers while playing through unimaginable pain stands as one of the true triumphs in the annals of ALL sports legends......
After that impressive feat, a little known sports writer in a small midwest town called " Despair ", penned the term " Role Model" while describing Stan, & the rest is history...That term lives on today & is usually heard constantly during games & newscasts.....
Upon the outbreak of WW-2, without a second thought, Stan enlisted in the U.S. Army & was eventually sent to take part in the Normandy invasion....Turning a blind eye to the oncoming hail of bullets & bombs, he managed to single-handedly overtake a key enemy machine gun nest that had caused the deaths of hundreds of soldiers & slowed the invasion to a crawl....
The only surviving soldier from his platoon, he returned to a heroes welcome & the acceptance of the Medal of Honor for his actions above & beyond the call of duty....
But of all his extraordinary accomplishments, he was most proud of the simple things in life - being faithful to his lovely wife of 54 years, his 12 children, 38 grandchildren & 17 great great grandchildren that he nurtured, tutored & took care of until his untimely demise in a tragic fund raising, skydiving accident at the youthful age of 98 years.... Never arrested, never in rehab, always faithful & true.... Stanley Henderson Jr.....On and off the field ----
A GREAT ROLE MODEL & THE BEST PLAYER EVER !!!No resemblance to today's players.......
With as much beating he has taking love him or hate him... Bret Favre has had so many 200 + straight starts in his career. and a super bowl ring. also throw Deacan Jones and Roger Staubach into the mix.
Last edited by Jamerschris; 05-08-2010 at 10:54 PM..
For pure endurance I'd pick Chuck Bednarik pf the Philadelphia Eagles.
I still remember a picture of him sitting in the locker room with a victory cigar in his mouth , hair dripping wet, after he played the entire game at center on offense and linebacker on defense. ( I think it was around 1960 )
Marmac is right. It amazes me every time I think about his career. The last of the two way players; plus the fact that he is on both the offensive and defensive lines and only coming out of a game at the end of the half! The guy was tough as nails.
I also have respect for him for his service to our country. I enjoy the ESPN's documentary series Sports Century, of which they done a one hour bio on him. They described his tour of duty in WW-II as being involved in the "shooting gallery."
Jim Brown or Barry Sanders.People forget or maybe don't know that Brown did what he did in 12 and 14 game seasons.
You also have to realize that as the years went on, there were more specialists on offense and defense and less mediocre players.
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