The top 51 HBCU players in pro football history – Touchdown Wire

Last year, at the end of Black History Month, I put together my list of the 51 best players in pro football history from HBCUs Historically Black colleges and universities and while it was an interesting exercise, there were four reasons I wanted to do it again.

First, I wanted to get it done BEFORE the end of Black History Month. While the end of the season and the start of free-agency and draft prep pushed this project to the side, it could also be said that theres never been a more important and relevant time to feature the contributions that Black players, coaches, and executives have made to the game. You can ask Brian Flores about that.

Second, theres one thing I have at my disposal now that I did not have a year ago Pro Football Reference now has sack totals going back to 1960, which brings a lot of defensive players from Historically Black colleges and universities into sharper focus.

Third, when looking back at last years list, there are some guys I just got wrong players I underrated, and I wanted to correct that.

Finally, the HCBU Legacy Bowl will be played this Saturday, featuring the best HBCU talent right now. Steve Wyche and Bucky Brooks from the NFL Network will be calling the game, and Steve had his own Top 10 an estimable list that had be re-thinking my own.

So, without further ado, heres Volume 2 of my 51 greatest players from HBCUs in pro football history.

For a very long time, most major college football programs wanted nothing to do with Black players. Although UCLA boasted a backfield of Kenny Washington, Woody Strode and Jackie Robinson (yes, thatJackie Robinson) in the late 1930s, that was the exception.

In 1959, Alabama was set to play Penn State in the Liberty Bowl. But Alabamas Board of Trustees threatened to boycott the game because Penn State had an integrated team. As late as 1970, when the Crimson Tide played USC, Alabamas team had no Black players. Alabama coach Paul Bear Bryant had allowed seven Black players to try out in 1967, but none made the team. As Bryant later said, neither the administrators nor the fan base would stand for an integrated team.

Sadly, this was par for the course in certain conferences. Some Southern schools had signed Black players, but even in 1966, although half the schools in the SEC (the Southeastern Conference) and SWC (the now-defunct Southwest Conference) had integrated their student bodies, there still were no Black players in either league. The SWC finally broke its ban when SMU and Baylor began recruiting Black players, but the SEC held out.

That changed after the Alabama-USC game, a 42-21 win for the Trojans in which USC running back Sam Cunningham ran up and down Alabamas defense, and USCs long-integrated team beat the daylights out of Bryants white team in general. In the end, for competitive reasons alone, those who had blocked Bryants calls for integration had to back down.

But before that, in the absence of opportunity at those major programs, Black players in the South found different ways to succeed. HBCUs, some of which had been playing football since the late 19th century, were able to bring in some of the greatest football talent ever seen.

While the major Southern programs insisted on institutional racism, HBCUs were able to recruit and benefit from the talents of athletes such as these:

The all-time leader in career receptions, receiving yards and career touchdowns (Jerry Rice, Mississippi Valley State). The player with the most sacks in a single season (Michael Strahan, Texas Southern). The only man to ever win both a Super Bowl ring and an Olympic gold medal (Bob Hayes, Florida A&M). And the namesake for the NFLs most prestigious honor (Walter Payton, Jackson State).

Nearly 10 percent of the players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame came from HBCUs, which is an amazing number given the relatively low number of those players who were allowed to break into the NFL after their college successes, given the NFLs own institutional racism. The NFL banned Black players from 1934 through 1946, and as late as the 1950s, a number of NFL teams wouldnt even send scouts to HBCUs, even though all teams were well aware of the talent available.

In 1959, Black players accounted for about 12 percent of NFL rosters. What opened the floodgates was the formation of the American Football League in 1960. The new league had no such ban or quota, and its teams signed the best players regardless of color. Still, per historian Charles K. Ross, of the 173 Black players who played in the NFL between 1946 and 1962, only 42 came from historically Black schools. And from 1946 through 1960, no player from an HBCU was selected higher than the fourth round.

In 1963, the AFLs Kansas City Chiefs became the first professional football team to select a player with the No. 1 overall pick when they drafted defensive lineman Junious Buck Buchanan from Grambling State. The NFL did not see fit to select Buchanan until the New York Giants picked him with the 256th overall selection in the 19th round.

As the AFL grew and became fully competitive with the NFL, the older, more established league finally had to realize that its own racism was keeping it from some of the best football talent. It was a long road from that 12 percent to today, when Black players compose over 70 percent of NFL rosters and goodness knows theres still a long way to go when it comes to the coaching and administrative sides of things but it was the HBCUs who held, fostered and perfected so much Hall of Fame talent while the bigger and more established schools turned away players of color. The HBCUs built the bridge Black players needed, and the list of players who competed at those schools because they had no other options is truly transcendent from a talent perspective.

With all that in mind, Touchdown Wire ranks the 51 best players in pro football history who attended historically Black colleges and universities. If youre not familiar with the history, prepare to be amazed at the names.

San Francisco 49ers, 1985-2000Oakland Raiders, 2001-2004Seattle Seahawks, 2004

Pro Football Hall of Fame, 2010 class. Selected with the 16th overall pick in the first round of the 1985 draft. 13-time Pro Bowler, 10-time All-Pro. 1987 PFWA NFL MVP, Super Bowl XXIII MVP, 1993 AP Offensive Player of the Year, Pro Football Hall of Fame All-1980s and All-1990s first teams, NFL 100 All-Time Team.

By the time Rice was eligible for the NFL draft, most pro scouting departments had finally eschewed the monumentally stupid practice of ignoring players from HBCUs. So Rice was coveted by several teams, including the Cowboys (who were ahead of the game in that department, as youll see on this list) and the 49ers. Bill Walsh had watched Rice do his thing for Mississippi Valley State on a hotel room television the night before his 49ers were set to play the Houston Oilers on Oct. 21, 1984, and thats all it took. Rice had set NCAA marks for receptions (102) and receiving yards (1,450) in 1983, and broke both records in 1984 with 112 and 1,845. He also had 27 touchdowns in 1984.

In the end, Walsh traded with the Patriots to jump ahead of Dallas and select Rice, which worked out pretty well.

Rice is the greatest and most productive receiver in NFL history by an unbreakably crushing margin, and if you were to argue that hes the best player in NFL history, you wouldnt get much pushback. Rice finished his career with 1,549 receptions for 22,895 yards and 197 touchdowns. He added 87 rushing attempts for 645 yards and 10 touchdowns. Rice also had 151 receptions for 2,245 yards and 22 touchdowns in the postseason. Rice led the NFL in receptions twice, receiving yards six times and receiving touchdowns six times.

Chicago Bears, 1975-1987

Pro Football Hall of Fame, 1993 class. Selected with the fourth overall pick in the first round of the 1975 draft. 9-time Pro Bowler, 5-time All-Pro. 1977 AP NFL MVP, 1977 AP Offensive Player of the Year, 1977 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year, 1985 Newspaper Enterprise Association NFL MVP, 1985 NFL Bert Bell Award (Player of the Year), Pro Football Hall of Fame All-1970s and All-1980s first teams, NFL 100 All-Time Team.

Payton received no offers from SEC schools despite his status as a high school star in Mississippi, which was par for the course at the time. Instead, he signed on with Jackson State, where he played with Jackie Slater and Robert Brazile. He gained 3,600 yards and scored 63 touchdowns on the ground over three seasons. After he was selected fourth overall in the 1975 draft, Payton ran eight times for zero yards in his first NFL game.

Suffice to say, things got a lot better from there. Despite a lack of talent around him or in front of him for his first few seasons, Payton gained over 1,000 yards every year from 1976 through 1981. In 1977, he led the league with 1,852 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns on 339 carries. That same season, he set the NFL single-game record against the Vikings with 275 rushing yards and he did so despite a 101-degree fever and the flu. That record stood for 23 years.

In 1984, Payton broke Jim Browns career record of 12,312 rushing yards, and Payton held the honor until Emmitt Smith broke Paytons mark of 16,726 yards in 2002. As is the case with Jerry Rice, its not difficult to state a compelling case for Payton as the greatest player in NFL history.

Los Angeles Rams, 1961-1971San Diego Chargers, 1972-1973Washington, 1974

Pro Football Hall of Fame, 1980 class. Selected with the 186th overall pick in the 14th round of the 1961 draft. 8-time Pro Bowler, 5-time All-Pro, Pro Football Hall of Fame All-1960s first team, NFL 100 All-Time Team.

Jones moves up from fifth on my first list to third here, thanks to more official sack totals. At 6-foot-5 and 275 pounds, Jones was one of the first archetypes of the modern defensive end, with his size, strength, aggression, speed around the turn and ability to bull-rush blockers right out of the picture. The most infamous purveyor of the now-illegal head slap (I didnt invent it, but I perfected it, he was fond of saying) and the inventor of the term sack for quarterback takedowns, Jones totaled 173.5 sacks in his career. To this day, only Bruce Smith and Reggie Whitehave more career sacks.

Jones led the NFL in sacks in 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, and 1969, and the only thing that kept him from doing so in six straight seasons was the fact that George Andre of the Cowboys tallied 18.5 sacks to Joness 16.0 in 1966. Regardless, Jones total of 115.5 sacks from 1964 through 1969, in 14-game seasons against generally run-heavy offenses, is one of the most incredible sustained periods of excellence, regardless of position, pro football has ever seen.

Amazingly, Jones almost didnt get his chance. South Carolina State revoked Jones scholarship after he participated in a civil rights protest, and Mississippi Valley State took him in.Were it not from a tip to the Rams from Bill Nunn, the managing editor of the Pittsburgh Courier who annually selected the All-Black College Football Team and later stocked the Steelers rosters of the 1970s with Hall of Fame HBCU talent, Jones may have slipped through the cracks.

Oakland Raiders, 1968-1981Los Angeles Raiders, 1982

Pro Football Hall of Fame, 1989 class. Selected with the 80th overall pick in the third round of the 1968 draft. 8-time Pro Bowler, 2-time All-Pro. Pro Football Hall of Fame All-1970s first team, NFL 100 All-Time Team.

Shell is on a very short list of the best offensive tackles in pro football history, and he also holds the distinction of being the second Black head coach in NFL annals and the first in the modern era. (Fritz Pollard coached the Akron Pros in 1921 and 1925). From 1971 through 1973, Shell was part of a Raiders offensive line that included four future Hall of Famers Shell at left tackle, Gene Upshaw at left guard, Jim Otto at center and Bob Brown at right tackle. But it was Shell, among the ultimate combinations of technician and mauler, who set the tone.

Los Angeles Rams, 1976-1994St. Louis Rams, 1995

Pro Football Hall of Fame, 2001 class. Selected with the 86th overall pick in the third round of the 1976 draft. 8-time Pro Bowler.

Slater played at Jackson State with Walter Payton and Robert Brazile, and although his talent was obvious as he entered the NFL, it took three seasons before he was named a full-time starter. When that finally happened in 1979, the Rams made their first Super Bowl XIII against the Steelers. Though Los Angeles lost that game, Slater shut out Pittsburgh defensive end L.C. Greenwood in the sack column. Greenwood came into that game with five sacks in three other Super Bowls, including four of Roger Staubach in Super Bowl X.

As a pro, Slater broke the NFL record for the most seasons with one team (20), and he blocked for seven running backs who gained at least 1,000 yards in a season.

Kansas City Chiefs, 1967-1977

Pro Football Hall of Fame, 1986 class. Selected with the 50th overall pick in the second round of the 1967 draft. 8-time Pro Bowler, 3-time All-Pro, NFL 100 All-Time Team.

Before Lanier, it was considered gospel in pro football that Black players simply werent intelligent enough to play certain positions specifically quarterback and middle linebacker, the shot-callers on both sides of the ball. Over an 11-year career in which he became one of the AFLs and NFLs most formidable tacklers and intercepted 27 passes for 440 return yards and two touchdowns, Lanier destroyed that myth. He recorded seven tackles and an interception in the Chiefs Super Bowl IV win over the Minnesota Vikings, and he easily could have been named the games Most Valuable Player.

Cincinnati Bengals, 1969-1983

Selected with the 135th overall pick in the sixth round of the 1969 draft. One-time All-Pro.

Riley has the most interceptions of any player on this list with 65 in the regular season, and he added three more in seven postseason games. His regular-season mark ties him for fifth all-time in NFL history with Charles Woodson (a Hall of Famer) behind only Paul Krause, Emlen Tunnell, Rod Woodson and Dick Night Train Lane all Hall of Famers. Not only is Riley the only top-five interception artist who isnt in Canton, he somehow was named to just one Pro Bowl roster, and no All-Pro teams, in his career. Riley finally broke that logjam in his final season of 1983, when he picked off eight passes for 89 return yards and two touchdowns at age 36. Hes also one of 26 cornerbacks in pro football history to play in at least 200 games.

Cleveland Browns, 1958-1959Green Bay Packers, 1960, 1969

Pro Football Hall of Fame, 1981 class. Selected with the 181st overall pick in the 15th round of the 1956 draft. 5-time Pro Bowler, 5-time All-Pro. Pro Football Hall of Fame All-1960s Team.

We could start and end Davis credentials for the top 10 on this list with the fact that hes supposedly the only player Vince Lombardi never yelled at. You want more? Sure. The Browns selected Davis in the 1956 draft, but he didnt play until 1958 due to military commitments. Cleveland traded Davis to Green Bay in 1960, which really got the ball rolling for the future Hall of Famer. He had been a bit player under Paul Brown, but Lombardi immediately saw what Davis could be and talked Davis out of going into teaching because he didnt want to play in what he called the NFLs Siberia.

Official sack totals dont yet cover Davis first two seasons in 1958 and 1959, but hes now credited with 99.5 regular-season sacks, and 5.5 in the postseason, including 1.5 in Super Bowl I, and 3.0 in Super Bowl II. Davis was the focal point of a series of defenses that led the Packers to five NFL titles and wins in the first two Super Bowls. Packers center Bill Curry once called Davis the finest combination of leader and player that I ever saw.

San Diego Chargers, 1967-1968Miami Dolphins, 1969-1980

Pro Football Hall of Fame, 1993 class. Undrafted free agent. 5-time Pro Bowler, 5-time All-Pro, Pro Football Hall of Fame All-1970s first team.

Little was a three-time All-Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference player as an offensive and defensive lineman. But he went undrafted in both the NFL and AFL, and after getting interest from the Chargers, Dolphins and Colts, he signed with San Diego because the Chargers were offering the biggest signing bonus $750! San Diego traded Little to the Dolphins in 1969, which marked his first of five Pro Bowl selections. By the early 1970s, a Dolphins offensive line filled with undrafted players and castoffs from other teams was ready to be the force multiplier for the NFLs best rushing attack and one of the key cogs in the only undefeated season in NFL history in 1972.

Pittsburgh Steelers, 1970-1983

Pro Football Hall of Fame, 1989 class. Selected with the 53rd overall pick in the third round of the 1975 draft. 5-time Pro Bowler, 2-time All-Pro. 1975 AP Defensive Player of the Year, Pro Football Hall of Fame All-1980s first team, NFL 100 All-Time Team.

A general rule of player evaluation: If the NFL creates a rule to lessen your effectiveness, and that rule is named for you over time, you were probably pretty good at your job. That was the case for Blount, whose ability to erase and intimidate receivers with aggressive (to say the least) press coverage all over the field was a hallmark of Pittsburghs legendary defenses of the 1970s.

The Mel Blount Rule, enacted in 1978, decreed that defenders can only make contact with receivers within the first five yards of the line of scrimmage. It created a serious uptick in offensive production, but it didnt stop Blount from picking off 22 regular-season passes and two more in the postseason from 1978 on. In total, Blount had 57 regular-season picks and four more in the postseason, including a league-leading 11 in 1975.

Denver Broncos, 1990-1999Baltimore Ravens, 2000-2001Denver Broncos, 2002-2003

Pro Football Hall of Fame, 2011 class. Selected with the 192nd overall pick in the seventh round of the 1990 draft. 8-time Pro Bowler, 4-time All-Pro. Pro Football Hall of Fame All-1990s first team.

Though greats like John Mackey, Ozzie Newsome and Kellen Winslow had already freed the tight end position from the realms of yeah, he blocks a lot and catches a few passes, Sharpe was also one of the first tight ends in NFL history who could legitimately line up at the Y iso position the primary receiver detached from the formation and nuke defenders all over the field.

Despite his success in college, Sharpe wasnt considered a great prospect when he left Savannah State. In a conceit that would be considered hilarious today, he was thought of as too big to be a receiver and too small to be a true tight end. Survey says? Oops. By the time his career was over, Sharpe had set the all-time records for a tight end in receptions (815), receiving yards (10,060) and receiving touchdowns (62). He was also the first tight end to pass 10,000 receiving yards.

As Newsome once said of Sharpe when Newsome was the Baltimore Ravens general manager: I think hes a threat when hes on the field. He has to be double-teamed. Hes a great route-runner. Hes proven that he can make the big plays. Thats what separates him. Hes a threat.

Few truer words have ever been spoken, and Newsome would certainly know.

Houston Oilers, 1995-1996Tennessee Oilers, 1997-1998Tennessee Titans, 1999-2005Baltimore Ravens, 2006-2007

Selected with the third overall pick in the first round of the 1995 draft. 3-time Pro Bowler. 2003 AP NFL MVP (Co-MVP with Peyton Manning).

The University of Florida offered McNair a scholarship to play running back, but McNair wanted to play quarterback, which is why he chose Division I-AA Alcorn State instead also the preferred college of longtime Packers receiver Donald Driver and current Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier. McNair threw for over 15,000 yards in college, and as a senior he totaled 6,281 combined yards (5,377 passing yards and 904 rushing yards) and was responsible for 56 touchdowns. He won the Walter Payton Award as the top I-AA player and finished third in the 1994 Heisman Trophy voting behind Rashaan Salaam and Ki-Jana Carter.

The Houston Oilers selected McNair with the third overall pick in the 1995 draft, and despite the fact that he was the quarterback in a bunch of run-first offenses, he finished sixth in passing attempts (4,544), fifth in completions (2,733), fifth in passing yards (31,304) and tied for sixth in passing touchdowns (174) in his era. McNairs banner year was 2003, when he led the league in yards per attempt, adjusted net yards per attempt and passer rating. He also was named Co-MVP with Peyton Manning that season. McNairs Titans also were famously one yard away from a chance to tie the St. Louis Rams on the final play of Super Bowl XXXIV.

Denver Broncos, 1963-1966Oakland Raiders, 1967-1978

Pro Football Hall of Fame, 1984 class. Undrafted free agent. 9-time Pro Bowler, 5-time All-Pro. AFL Hall of Fame All-1960s first team, Pro Football Hall of Fame All-1970s first team, NFL 100 All-Time Team.

The Houston Oilers signed Brown out of Grambling as an undrafted free agent but cut him in training camp, which has to go down as one of the more remarkable personnel blunders in American Football League history. Instead, Brown was signed by the Denver Broncos, for whom he amassed 15 interceptions over four seasons.

But it was the trade to the Oakland Raiders before the 1967 season that formed a perfect marriage between player and scheme. Brown was one of the best bump-and-run cornerbacks in AFL or NFL history, and the Raiders of the time were as aggressive with that particular technique as any team youll see in any era of pro football. Over 12 years with the Raiders, he grabbed 39 regular-season interceptions for 277 return yards and two touchdowns, adding seven more interceptions for 96 return yards and three more touchdowns in 17 postseason games. Browns best-known play came in the Raiders win in Super Bowl XI a 75-yard pick-six of Fran Tarkenton that iced Oaklands 32-14 win.

Kansas City Chiefs, 1963-1975

Pro Football Hall of Fame, 1990 class. Selected with the first overall pick of the 1963 AFL draft. Selected with the 256th overall pick in the 19th round of the 1963 NFL draft. 8-time Pro Bowler, 4-time All-Pro. AFL Hall of Fame All-1960s second team, NFL 100 All-Time Team.

In 1967, the Oakland Raiders selected Texas A&M-Kingsville offensive guard Gene Upshaw with the 17th overall pick in the draft. The primary reason for this, legend tells us, is that the Raiders had no answer for one Junious Buck Buchanan, who kept pummeling Oaklands quarterbacks in their preferred bombs-away offense. At 6-foot-7 and 270 pounds, Buchanan was a nightmare for all opposing offensive linemen as an occasional defensive end and primary defensive tackle.

Buchanan is credited with 16 batted passes in the 1967 season alone. He also had 70.5 regular-season sacks, adding 3.5 in the postseason, but Buchanan was about more than sacks. The first Black college player selected with the first overall pick in any professional football league, Buchanan was one of the most dominant players of his era.

Houston Oilers, 1967-1972Washington, 1973-1980

Pro Football Hall of Fame, 1986 class. Selected with the 214th overall pick in the ninth round of the 1967 draft. 12-time Pro Bowler, 2-time All-Pro. Pro Football Hall of Fame All-1970s first team, NFL 100 All-Time Team.

Nobody on this list has more Pro Bowl nods than Houston, who was selected for that honor every season from 1968 to 1979. He had to endure some lean years with the Oilers early on, but that didnt diminish his effectiveness in 1971, for example, Houston picked off nine passes for 220 return yards and matched his teams win total (four) in interception return touchdowns.

A fine punt and kick returner as well, Houston was an early version of the modern do-it-all safety who could play the strong and free positions with equal effectiveness. Houston finished his career with 49 regular-season interceptions for 898 return yards and nine touchdowns, adding one more pick in five postseason games.

Kansas City Chiefs, 1966-1978

Pro Football Hall of Fame, 2008 class. Undrafted free agent. 5-time Pro Bowler, one-time All-Pro.

Thomas was one of the primary catalysts of the great Chiefs defenses of the late 1960s and early 1970s, and he was also one of many players from HBCUs given to head coach Hank Stram by Lloyd C.A. Wells, the newspaperman and member of Muhammad Alis entourage who was the first full-time Black scout in any pro football league. Wells brought Thomas, Willie Lanier, Buck Buchanan and Otis Taylor (all four are on this list) and many more to the Chiefs. Now that Bill Nunn is in the Hall of Fame, Wells needs to be next.

In any event, Thomas totaled 58 interceptions for 937 return yards and five return touchdowns in his great career, including a league-leading 12 picks for 214 yards and two return touchdowns in 1974. He added five more interceptions in the postseason, including four in the Chiefs 1969 Super Bowl run. A longtime assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach after his playing career was over, Thomas last coached for the Chiefs in 2018. He was the coach tasked to hold the Atlanta Falcons together in 2007 in the infamous aftermath of the Bobby Petrino era.

New York Giants, 1993-2007

Pro Football Hall of Fame, 2014 class. Selected with the 40th overall pick in the second round of the 1993 draft. 7-time Pro Bowler, 4-time All-Pro. 2001 AP Defensive Player of the Year, Pro Football Hall of Fame All-2000s first team.

Lightly regarded as a high-school prospect because he spent most of his childhood in Germany (his father was an Army major who once beat Ken Norton in a boxing match), Strahan played just one year of American high-school football and received a scholarship offer from Texas Southern. He set a school record with 41.5 sacks, and was named to the Black College Hall of Fame in 2014.

The Giants got a steal with Strahan in the second round; he had by far the most sacks in his era with 141.5 (Simeon Rice, Jason Taylor, John Randle and Bruce Smith finished behind him), and he added 9.5 more sacks in 10 postseason games, including two Super Bowls and one Super Bowl win. Strahan also holds the single-season sack record (now tied with Pittsburghs T.J. Watt) with 22.5 in 2001 in that season, he also led the NFL in forced fumbles with six and tackles for loss with 24. He led the NFL in sacks once again in 2003 with 18.5, and that was another season in which he also led the league in tackles for loss with 23.

Chicago Bears, 1983-1993San Francisco 49ers, 1994Chicago Bears, 1995Indianapolis Colts, 1996Philadelphia Eagles, 1997

Pro Football Hall of Fame, 2011 class. Selected with the 203rd overall pick in the eighth round of the 1983 draft. 4-time Pro Bowler, 1-time All-Pro. Super Bowl XX MVP.

Dent was a great player throughout his career, but his 1985 season stands out as one of the single greatest seasons any defensive end has ever had. In the Bears Super Bowl year, Dent had two interceptions with a pick-six, a league-high seven forced fumbles and a league-high 17 sacks. He then helped to define one of the greatest defensive seasons a team has ever enjoyed with six more sacks in three postseason games in which Chicago pitched shutouts in the divisional round against the Giants and in the NFC Championship Game against the Rams, and leveled the Patriots, 46-10, in Super Bowl XX.

Dent finished that all-time season off with a Super Bowl MVP award. In that game, he had 1.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and a deflected pass. Not bad for a guy who had to sit through 202 draft picks in 1983 to hear his name called in the eighth round which doesnt even exist anymore.

New York Giants, 1953-1965

Pro Football Hall of Fame, 1975 class. Selected with the 322nd overall pick in the 27th round of the 1953 draft. 9-time Pro Bowler, 6-time All-Pro. Pro Football Hall of Fame All-1950s Team, NFL 100 All-Time Team.

A prodigy from the word go, Brown found himself advancing a few grades in school very early.

I was always a big boy, Brown told the New York Times in 1964. When I was 6, my mother put me in school and I took a test. I must have passed it because they put me in third grade. No first grade and no second grade. That meant I graduated from high school when I was 15 and from college at 19. When I played my first game for the Giants, in 1953, I was still 19.

When he did hit the NFL after making Bill Nunns All-America Grid Team (Giants owner Wellington Mara told his front office to select Brown based solely on the linked article), he then became the teams ultimate road grader and pass protector. Vince Lombardi, who knew as much or more about offensive line play as any coach who has ever plied his trade, put it succinctly:

When you think of great tackles in professional football, you must think of Rosey Brown.

Phoenix Cardinals, 1991-1993Arizona Cardinals, 1994-2000St. Louis Rams, 2001-2004

Pro Football Hall of Fame, 2014 class. Selected with the 59th overall pick in the third round of the 1991 draft. 8-time Pro Bowler, 3-time All-Pro. 1991 NFL All-Rookie Team, Pro Football Hall of Fame All-1990s second team.

Williams was not offered a scholarship to any college, went to Southern to focus on academics and only started playing football again in his junior year. But after bagging 18 interceptions in two seasons, he found himself on the Cardinals radar for better or worse.

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The top 51 HBCU players in pro football history - Touchdown Wire