Brad Oremland is a sportswriter and football historian. What follows is Brad’s latest work, a multi-part series on the greatest players in pro football history.

---

This is the ninth article in a twelve-part series profiling the greatest pro football players of all time. You can find the previous installments below:

111-125
101-110
91-100
81-90
71-80
61-70
51-60
41-50

If you haven’t read those yet, especially the article introducing the series (111-125), I hope you’ll start there.

Best Players of All Time: 31-40

40. Tony Gonzalez
Tight End
Kansas City Chiefs, 1997-2008; Atlanta Falcons, 2009-13
1,325 receptions, 15,127 yards, 111 TD
5 consensus All-Pro, 10 AP All-Pro, 14 Pro Bowls, 2000s All-Decade Team

Tony Gonzalez holds the all-time record for receiving first downs (864). In fact, he leads everyone except Larry Fitzgerald and Jerry Rice by more than 100. That’s the official record, which excludes the first five years of Rice’s career; I estimate that Rice produced 1,092 first downs. But if the top of a leaderboard is you and Jerry Rice, that’s pretty impressive. Especially if you’re a tight end.

Gonzalez played well throughout a long career, but those first downs aren’t reflective of slow-and-steady compiling. At various times in his career, he ranked 2nd, 3rd, and tied for 5th in receiving first downs (2008, 2004, 2000). Jason Witten‘s career-high first downs is 56; Antonio Gates topped out at 61. Gonzalez had more than 61 first downs in a season four times. While we’re at it, Witten’s career-best receiving yardage was 1,145, in 2007. Gates gained 1,157 in his best season. Gonzalez had two 1,200-yard receiving seasons. Gates has a few more TDs (116-111), but Gonzalez leads Witten (68) by almost two-thirds.

I don’t think anyone would claim that Gonzalez was as explosive as Gates, or as sound a blocker as Witten. But he was explosive, and at 250 lbs., he could block players wide receivers couldn’t. Gonzalez ran crisp routes, and unquestionably had the best hands of any tight end in history. I’ve never seen a player, including wide receivers, better at catching the ball away from his body. Gonzalez used his height (6′ 4½”), wingspan, and leaping ability to beat defenders. A college basketball player, he boxed out defensive backs like a rebounder and outleapt them for the pass. His catches didn’t always make it onto the highlight shows, but catching the ball two feet away from your body, and holding on when the defender hits you, is an uncommon skill; Gonzalez was the best at it.

Gonzalez, like Mike Ditka and Kellen Winslow, transformed the tight end position. He was a matchup problem for defenses. Linebackers couldn’t cover Gonzalez. He was too fast, too good a route-runner and receiver. Cornerbacks weren’t big enough to stop him from catching passes, even if they had him covered. And once he got the ball, they couldn’t tackle him without help. Safeties had trouble staying with him in coverage, trouble dealing with his size. And if you put a free safety on him, that left somebody else one-on-one. Gonzalez broke Shannon Sharpe‘s career record for receiving yards by a tight end by 50%. He almost doubled Sharpe’s first down and TD totals, both of which had been records.

Gonzalez was the best tight end in the NFL for at least four years before the rule changes that created the modern passing game. He stayed remarkably healthy over a long career, appearing in 270 games and missing only two. He gained over 600 receiving yards in 16 of his 17 seasons, the exception being his rookie year. He gained over 800 yards in 13 seasons. And he retired when he was still one of the best tight ends in the league, a legitimate All-Pro contender in his final season. Gonzalez was a great athlete, with a tight end’s size but a wide receiver’s ball skills, and he played at a high level for a decade and a half. He is tied for the most Pro Bowls of any player in history, and — for whatever this is worth — I named him All-Pro seven times. In my 16 years naming an All-Pro team (2002-17), that’s two more selections for Gonzalez than anyone else at any position — even though the timeframe excludes three seasons he was a consensus All-Pro. From 2005 onward, I named two tight ends each season, but two-TE formations became pretty common as fullbacks were phased out of the offense. Naming only one TE each year probably undersells what players like Greg Olsen and Zach Ertz, neither of whom has ever been an Associated Press first-team All-Pro, are accomplishing.

39. Steve Young
Quarterback
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1985-86; San Francisco 49ers, 1987-99
33,124 yards, 232 TD, 107 INT, 96.8 rating
2 MVP, 2 OPOY, 2 consensus All-Pro, 6 AP All-Pro, 7 Pro Bowls

Steve Young was the greatest pass-run dual threat in the history of professional football. He led the NFL in passer rating six times, more than any other quarterback in history, and retired with the highest rating in history. He finished among the top three QBs in rushing yardage eight times, more than any other quarterback in history, and rushed for 43 touchdowns, an NFL record for QBs that stood 20 years. In 1994, when Young was named NFL MVP and led the 49ers to a Super Bowl win, he broke the single-season record for passer rating, but he also led all QBs in rushing yardage and scored seven TDs on the ground. When Young was named MVP of Super Bowl XXIX, he set a Super Bowl record that may never be broken, with six passing TDs, but he also led all rushers, averaging nearly 10 yards per attempt.

Young led the NFL in pass TDs four times and in TD/INT differential three times. He led all QBs in rushing yardage three times. Young led in net yards per attempt six times and first down percentage five times. He led all QBs in rushing TDs three times. No one has more passing yards and more rushing yards than Young, and no one has more pass TDs and more rush TDs. In Young’s eight seasons starting for the 49ers, he had a passer rating over 100 six times, and everyone else in the NFL combined had a passer rating over 100 four times. Young rushed for 2,865 yards and 33 TDs in those eight seasons. No other QB rushed for 2,000 yards or 20 TDs in that time frame. He was both the most dominant and the most versatile quarterback of his generation.

It is difficult to disentangle Steve Young’s excellence from that of the 49ers franchise. Coming out of BYU, Young spent two seasons in the USFL, where he passed for 16 touchdowns and 22 interceptions, getting outplayed by peers like Jim Kelly and Bobby Hebert. When the USFL folded, Young spent two seasons with the Tampa Bay Bucs. While the Bucs were awful at that time, Young (11 pass TD, 21 INT) was outplayed by teammate Steve DeBerg. Former BYU assistant Mike Holmgren, now the QB coach in San Francisco, brought Young in to back up Joe Montana.

Everything changed in San Francisco, and Young became the dominant quarterback of the 1990s. His omission from the 1990s All-Decade Team is incredible. Young wasn’t just the most efficient QB of the decade, he was by far the most efficient. All the ranks below are for 1990-99.

Completion percentage — [1] Steve Young, 66.3; [2] Troy Aikman, 62.2; [3] Brett Favre, 61.1

Yards per attempt — [1] Steve Young, 8.2; [2] Jim Kelly, 7.4; [3] Randall Cunningham, 7.3

Net yards per attempt — [1] Steve Young, 7.2; [2] Dan Marino, 6.6; [3] Jim Kelly, 6.5

Touchdown percentage — [1] Steve Young, 5.9; [2] Brett Favre, 5.4; [3] Randall Cunningham, 5.3

Interception percentage — [1] Neil O’Donnell, 2.0; [2] Steve Young, 2.36; [3] Mark Brunell, 2.41

TD/INT differential — [1] Steve Young, +120; [2] Brett Favre, +94; [3] Dan Marino, +73

Passer rating — [1] Steve Young, 101.2; [2] Brett Favre, 87.1; [3] Randall Cunningham, 86.2

Young was also the most prolific rushing QB of the decade:

Rushing yards — [1] Steve Young, 3081; [2] Jim Harbaugh, 2362; [3] Randall Cunningham, 2304

Rushing TDs — [1] Steve Young, 33; [t2] John Elway and Steve McNair, 22

Not only does Young lead every category (except INT%, where he’s 2nd), he leads them by huge margins, with everyone else pretty close to equal. Young, in the 1990s, produced on a totally different level than the rest of the league. Were his natural gifts stifled early in his career, or was he merely a product of the same system that turned a weak-armed QB drafted in the third round into a Hall of Famer, and a CFL veteran into a Pro Bowler?

The truth, of course, lies somewhere in the middle, but probably closer to the “natural gifts” answer. Young was a talented runner before he came to San Francisco; you don’t teach this. Young was highly intelligent, independent of coaches like Bill Walsh and Holmgren. He has a J.D., and while I don’t agree with everything he says, it’s evident from his appearances on ESPN that he’s the smartest guy on the set. He had a drive to succeed that can’t be taught. John Madden has written about a preseason game in which Young’s helmet got knocked off and he kept running in bounds, trying to gain yardage in a supposedly meaningless game. “Running without your helmet, that’s a football player. I’m not saying it’s the smartest thing to do. I’m not saying everyone should do it. But if you’re running without your helmet in a preseason game, you’re competing and you’re not worrying about anything. That’s why Steve Young is Steve Young.”

Accuracy can be taught, to a degree, and you can put a passer in situations where he’s more likely to complete a high percentage of passes. But Young wasn’t just a high-percentage passer in a passer-friendly system; he was a precise passer who facilitated yards after the catch. His receivers seldom had to turn for balls thrown behind them, or dive for a poorly-thrown pass. Even though he mostly threw underneath, Young had the highest average yardage in the league five times, because his receivers gained so much yardage after the catch. Some of that is the system and the supporting cast, but a lot of it was the quarterback.

Young’s short starting career limits his rank on the all-time list, and his remarkable stats need to be interpreted in context: he was extraordinarily well-positioned to succeeed. Nonetheless, in his prime, he was as dominant a QB as the game has ever seen. He was the most accurate passer of his generation, an electric runner, and the greatest pass/run dual-threat in the history of football.

Also, because this is mandatory trivia in any summary of Young’s career, he is the great-great-great-grandson of Brigham Young.

38. Jack Ham
Outside Linebacker
Pittsburgh Steelers, 1971-82
32 INT, 218 yards, TD; 21 FR, 19 yards, TD; 25 sacks
1 DPOY, 6 consensus All-Pro, 7 AP All-Pro, 8 Pro Bowls, 1970s All-Decade Team, 75th Anniversary Team, All-Century Team

The legendary Steel Curtain defense was full of players the wrong size. Four of its greatest stars — Jack Ham, Jack Lambert, Andy Russell, and Mel Blount — weighed basically the same. Ham, Lambert, and Russell were listed heavier, because no linebacker wanted to acknowledge a weight under 215 pounds, and no cornerback would be listed over about 210, which was bigger than most safeties; Pittsburgh’s excellent strong safety, Donnie Shell, was listed at 190. That one, at least, was probably true.

Ham defied the popular image of linebackers as crazed brutes, with more scars than teeth and bigger biceps than brains. He was undersized, good-looking, cerebral, quick more than overpowering. He played tennis to sharpen his coordination and ability to change direction. He wasn’t an intimidator, at least not in the sense we expect linebackers to be. Instead, he intimidated opponents more like a great defensive back who you know is going to shut down his section of the field, and turn any mistakes into big plays against you.

Ham was possibly the smartest linebacker of all time. His ability to diagnose plays was unparalleled, and he was probably the greatest pass defender of any LB in history. Ham secured his spot in Pittsburgh’s starting lineup with three interceptions in the last preseason game of his rookie year. During his career, Ham accounted for 53 takeaways, the most of any LB in history. Ham only played 162 games, meaning he generated a takeaway in 33% of his appearances.

That’s just in the regular season. In 16 postseason games, he added 5 interceptions and 3 fumble recoveries. His fourth-quarter interception of Ken Stabler in the 1974 AFC Championship Game was a turning point that sent Pittsburgh to its first Super Bowl. Ham won four Super Bowl rings, with consensus All-Pro honors each season. Although teammate Jack Lambert was more notorious — Lambert certainly fit the popular image of linebackers — his accolades often admitted that Ham was probably the best linebacker on the team.

The Steel Curtain was a rightfully legendary defense. Watching film of those teams, Ham is the player who stands out to me. He had impeccable instincts and exceptional quickness. His top speed wasn’t anything special, but he could break on the ball as well as anyone. He didn’t blitz often, but got home when he did, with 25 sacks in relatively few opportunities. Head coach Chuck Noll praised Ham as “a dominant player who basically had no weaknesses.”

37. Forrest Gregg
Offensive Tackle
Green Bay Packers, 1956, 1958-70; Dallas Cowboys, 1971
4 consensus All-Pro, 8 AP All-Pro, 9 Pro Bowls, 1960s All-Decade Team, 50th Anniversary Team, 75th Anniversary Team, All-Century Team

Every account of Forrest Gregg’s career includes the high praise from Vince Lombardi‘s book Run to Daylight: “Forrest Gregg is the finest player I ever coached.” Paul Hornung said that Gregg was one of only two teammates from the five-time champion Packers who would be in the Hall of Fame without Lombardi’s influence.

Gregg was tall (6′ 4″) but light for his position (230-250 lbs). He couldn’t overpower opponents, so he outmaneuvered, outworked, and out-thought them. He was famous for his hours of film study, and became a Super Bowl head coach after his playing career. He played in a then-record 188 consecutive games. Opposing coach George Allen credited him with “the best footwork I’ve ever seen on an offensive lineman.” Paul Zimmerman described Gregg as “a position blocker who made people go where he wanted them to,” and remembered a battle between Deacon Jones and Gregg in the 1967 NFL Western Division Championship Game:

Jones had won the first bout in Los Angeles early in December, but this time the decision went to Gregg, who was giving away speed, 15 pounds in weight and five years in age (he was 34, Jones 29). He kept Jones off Bart Starr that afternoon by using leverage, body control and a complete knowledge of Jones’s attacking techniques.

Gregg’s dedication to studying opponents served him not only as a player, but as a coach. He was the only Lombardi disciple to have a successful head coaching career. Norb Hecker, a Packers assistant from 1959-65, went 4-26-1 as coach of the expansion Atlanta Falcons. Tom Fears, a Lombardi assistant for five seasons, went 13-34-2 with the expansion Saints. Phil Bengtson (1959-67) took over the Packers when Lombardi retired, going 20-21-1 before a 1-4 record as interim coach of the Patriots in 1972. Bill Austin (1959-64) went 17-36-3 as a head coach. Bart Starr got nine years in Green Bay, producing winning records only twice: 8-7-1 in 1978, and 5-3-1 in the strike-shortened 1982 season. He was 52-76-3 overall. Only Starr, in the strike season, ever coached a playoff game.

Forrest Gregg coached the Browns from 1975-77, winning Coach of the Year in 1976. He coached the Bengals from 1980-83, including an appearance in Super Bowl XVI. Among his contributions to the Bengals was convincing the team to draft Anthony Muñoz. Gregg also headed the Packers from 1984-87, with less success. Like his more celebrated teammate Starr, Gregg died earlier this year. He was 85.

36. Bruce Smith
Defensive End
Buffalo Bills, 1985-99; Washington, 2000-03
200 sacks; 46 FF, 15 FR, 33 yards, TD; 2 INT
3 DPOY, 7 consensus All-Pro, 11 AP All-Pro, 11 Pro Bowls, 1980s All-Decade Team, 1990s All-Decade Team

The all-time sack leader, Bruce Smith had 13 seasons of double-digit sacks. That’s one more than Reggie White (12), and no one else had more than 10. Smith didn’t get his record just by hanging around as a compiler, he did it with impact seasons. People sometimes disparage Smith’s tenure in Washington, but he was a good player until his final, age-40, season, when he was just a situational pass rusher. His first season in Washington, Smith had 10 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, and a safety. He led the team’s defensive linemen in tackles and the double-teams he drew led to a 12.5-sack season for Marco Coleman on the other side of the line. Smith had nine sacks as late as 2002, his penultimate season.

The top overall pick in the 1985 NFL Draft, Smith came into the league with a ton of talent and at least 20 pounds of excess weight. He played his best seasons, in the early ’90s, in the 260-270 range. His teammate, All-Pro center Kent Hull, called Smith “stronger than a 300-pounder and faster than a linebacker. His speed around the corner is unreal. And if you move out, he’ll take one step upfield, spin inside and he’s gone . . . There’s no way a human being should do what he does.” Opponents were equally admiring. Hall of Fame tackle Anthony Munoz lauded Smith, “His quickness reminds me of Lee Roy Selmon and Fred Dean, but they were 15 to 30 pounds lighter.” Broadcaster and Hall of Fame offensive tackle Dan Dierdorf expressed the same sentiment, “You can’t believe that a man that big could have [Smith’s] burst upfield.” Smith played much of his career in a 3-4 and seldom lined up in the wide techniques favored by most modern pass rushers. He went head-to-head with opposing left tackles, and often with more than one blocker, and won his way into the backfield.

The 1990-93 Bills played in (and lost) four consecutive Super Bowls. This mini-dynasty was built on an offense featuring four Hall of Famers, with Smith the lone enshrinee on defense. The 1990 Bills had a very good defense, top-10 in both points and yardage. The following year, Smith was hurt. He only played in 5 games, with a career-low 1.5 sacks. The Bills plummeted to 19th in fewest points allowed, and 27th out of 28 in yardage allowed. The next year, with Smith healthy, they returned to the top half of the league in both categories.

35. Mike Singletary
Middle Linebacker
Chicago Bears, 1981-92
7 INT, 44 yards; 19 sacks; 14 FF, 12 FR, 30 yards
2 DPOY, 4 consensus All-Pro, 8 AP All-Pro, 10 Pro Bowls, 1980s All-Decade Team

Sometimes we refer to a middle linebacker as the “quarterback of the defense.” Not many of them, even those who call the defensive signals, really merit that comparison. Mike Singletary did. A coach after his playing career ended, Singletary played a “coach on the field” role in Chicago’s innovative and complex defense. His intelligence, preparation, and attention to detail are legendary.

Permit me a sidetrack on the greatness of the defensive units Singletary played for. We begin, of course, with the legendary 1985 Bears, widely regarded as the greatest defense of all time. That team allowed the 2nd-fewest points and 2nd-fewest yards of any defense in the 1980s. The only team better was the 1986 Bears.

The ’85 team allowed just 198 points, 65 fewer than any other team in the NFL. Seven teams — a quarter of the league — allowed more than twice as many points as the Bears. Chicago allowed the fewest yards and first downs, and forced a remarkable 54 turnovers — 3½ per game. On top of this remarkable regular season, the defense is distinguished by its postseason success. Following a 15-1 regular season, the Bears faced the New York Giants in the divisional round. The Giants didn’t gain a first down until after the two-minute warning to end the first half. The third quarter wasn’t any better than the first two, as New York totaled -11 yards. The Giants finished the game with nine punts, one turnover ( a fumble recovery by Singletary), and no points. The Bears won 21-0. The following week, in the NFC Championship Game, Chicago held the Rams to 9 first downs, 130 yards, and no points. Eric Dickerson rushed for 46 yards with a 2.7 average. Rams QB Dieter Brock passed for 66 yards (with a 28.0 rating) and lost 22 yards on sacks. The Bears won 24-0. In Chicago’s 46-10 blowout of the Patriots in Super Bowl XX, New England’s starting quarterback was benched without completing a pass, and the Pats had -19 yards at halftime. The Bears forced 6 turnovers, scored a safety, and limited the Patriots to 6 rushing yards, the fewest in Super Bowl history. Singletary recovered 2 fumbles.

From 1984-88, the Bears ranked first or second in total defense every year, and top four in fewest points allowed each season, including three years leading the NFL. Mike Singletary was the captain of those teams. Head coach Mike Ditka called him “a true leader of our football team.” Quarterback Jim McMahon declared, “On defense he is the glue.” Pro Bowl linebacker Otis Wilson called Singletary “really a coach on the field.” Teammate Al Harris, who played for the Bears for a decade before following Buddy Ryan to Philadelphia, named Singletary “the quarterback of the defense.” Singletary was a great player from snap to whistle, but his impact was larger than his tackles and takeaways: he was the centerpiece, the most critical player, on one of the greatest defensive dynasties in history.

Some people will defer credit from Singletary to his defensive coordinator, Buddy Ryan. While Ryan obviously played a key role in the success of those teams, Singletary’s excellence transcended Ryan’s tenure. When Ryan left to coach the Eagles in 1986, the Bears allowed fewer yards and fewer points than they had in any season with Ryan. In 1988, three years after Ryan left Chicago, Singletary was the consensus Defensive Player of the Year. Ryan himself was unstinting in his praise of Singletary. Following the 1985 season, Ryan told reporters, “To me, he’s the MVP of the NFL. Hands down.”

Singletary was short, generously listed at six feet, and small for a middle linebacker, listed at 230 pounds. He wasn’t especially fast. But he was maybe the best tackler I’ve ever seen. There are a zillion problems with tackle statistics, but one of the biggest is that a tackle downfield is credited the same as one at the line of scrimmage. Anyone can tackle somebody by going with their momentum, but the ball-carrier falls forward that way, usually gains another four yards or so. Stoning the ball-carrier, standing him up and arresting his progress, is much harder and much more valuable. No one was better at it than Singletary. Everyone he hit went backwards. He had devastating technique and a sort of compact power. Singletary was also famous for his film study, dedication, and intelligence, as good as anyone in history at diagnosing plays before the snap. Naming his 1986 All-Pro team, Paul Zimmerman chose as middle linebacker “Mike Singletary, a perennial who’s in a class by himself.” That’s what distinguishes Singletary: superlative excellence, maintained year after year. In 1998, he became a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

34. Lance Alworth
Wide Receiver
San Diego Chargers, 1962-70; Dallas Cowboys, 1971-72
542 receptions, 10,266 yards, 85 TD
1 MVP, 6 consensus All-League, 7 AP All-League, 7 All-Star Games, AFL All-Time Team, 75th Anniversary Team, All-Century Team

Lance Alworth was ahead of his time. He posted modern receiving statistics under ancient rules. From 1964-66, Alworth averaged over 100 receiving yards per game all three seasons, leading the American Football League in touchdowns all three years as well. No other receiver averaged 100 yards per game in three different seasons until Calvin Johnson almost 50 years later (2011-13). Alworth’s three seasons averaging 100 yards are as many as Jerry Rice, Randy Moss, and Terrell Owens combined (1 each). Alworth did this on teams averaging just 30 pass attempts per game.

Alworth led the AFL in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns three times each. From 1963-67, Alworth had the most receiving yards in major league football by over 25%, and from 1963-69, Alworth had seven consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons, more than any two other players combined during that time. AFL founder Lamar Hunt blamed the league’s reputation for weak defense on people watching Alworth’s highlights. “He made it look like a wide-open game because he was always open.”

Alworth was fast and explosive, a sprinter and long jumper at the University of Arkansas, who ran the 100-yard dash in 9.6 seconds. He ran in long strides, so graceful he was nicknamed “Bambi,” and he had great cutting ability, though it was utilitarian more than flashy. Alworth had sure hands, and after his first couple of years he was an excellent route-runner. Interviewed in the early 1990s, Hall of Fame cornerback Willie Brown said that Jerry Rice “reminds me of [Alworth]. So quick getting off the line, real fluid downfield, and then that extra gear, that overdrive and the leaping ability.”

That leaping ability — similar to Johnson and Moss, Alworth was distinguished by extraordinary leaping ability and, in the words of Bum Phillips, “uncanny ability to time his jump.” Sports Illustrated‘s Edwin Shrake wrote in 1965 that Alworth “is frequently seen several feet off the ground, seemingly hanging in the air in a high, balletish leap, while the defensive backs who went up with him are falling back to earth. That leap, that uncanny ability to hang, is as characteristic of Alworth as his grace or his speed.” Alworth modestly explained his leaps, “One reason I jump is to get my body into the ball so it can’t be knocked away, especially on third down. And when you’re up in the air you don’t get hit so hard. They sort of push you. If you’re on the ground when you catch it, they pulverize you.”

The best of his era adjusting to the ball, Alworth was also one of the finest receivers ever with the ball in his hands, and gained huge yardage after the catch. In 1964, he carried the ball three times and scored two touchdowns. Over his career, Alworth scored 12 offensive TDs of at least 70 yards, tied (with Lenny Moore) for the most in history. This record is unlikely to ever be broken. Alworth is also tied with Calvin Johnson for the most 200-yard receiving games in a career, 5. ^[1]If you include postseason games, Johnson leads with 6, and Jerry Rice moves into a tie with Alworth for second. Perhaps the most complete receiver of the Modern Era, he was also a dedicated blocker in an era when the best receivers had already begun to disdain such menial labor. “It helps the passing game and the running game and it helps me . . . I’ve scored two or three times catching the option pass when the defense thought I was blocking and hurried up to meet the run.”

As a high school athlete in Mississippi, Alworth earned 15 varsity letters in four sports. A promising center fielder in baseball, he was offered contracts by both the Yankees and Pirates, but turned them down to attend Arkansas, where he played halfback and twice led the NCAA in punt return yardage. A consensus All-American in 1961, he was a top-10 draft choice in both the AFL and NFL. Record-setting receiver Charley Hennigan had a famous quote: “A player comes along once in a lifetime who alone is worth the price of admission. Lance Alworth was that player.” Alworth isn’t just some Hall of Famer who played 50 years ago, he was a truly game-changing talent — not only one of the greatest receivers of all time, but one of the most influential players in history, the symbol of the AFL’s offensive fireworks.

33. Marion Motley
Fullback
Cleveland Browns, 1946-53; Pittsburgh Steelers, 1955
4,720 rush yards, 5.70 average, 31 TD; 85 rec, 1,107 yards, 7 TD
4 consensus All-Pro, 4 AP All-Pro, 1 Pro Bowl, 1940s All-Decade Team, 75th Anniversary Team, All-Century Team

Paul Zimmerman, in The Thinking Man’s Guide to Pro Football, called Marion Motley the greatest player he ever saw. Sean Lahman, in his Pro Football Historical Abstract, found that position persuasive. Hall of Fame coach Paul Brown, the godfather of modern football, called Motley “the greatest back I ever had.” A complete summary of Motley’s life and career would fill a book, but the essentials go like this: Motley was a brilliant runner, the greatest blocking fullback in history, and he continued to excel when age and health suggested he should not.

Motley, as a 26-year-old rookie with the Cleveland Browns, was one of four players who broke the modern color barrier in 1946. As a ball-carrier, Motley was vulnerable to numerous late hits and cheap shots from bigoted opponents, but he rushed for 601 yards with an 8.2 average. He and teammate Bill Willis missed a game in Miami (whom the Browns had beaten 44-0 earlier in the season) because of threats if they traveled to Florida, or Motley’s stats would be even more impressive. Some modern fans are skeptical of AAFC statistics, but in 1950, Motley led the NFL in rushing, with 810 yards in 12 games, and a 5.8 average — at age 30, on two bad knees.

In a 2012 article studying the best running back seasons by age, I suggested, “If I had to choose the single best age for RBs, it’s probably 24.” At age 24, Motley was in the United States Navy. Motley lost at least three prime seasons to World War II. Nonetheless, over his first five professional seasons, he was pretty clearly the second-best ball-carrier in the sport (behind Steve Van Buren). Motley, however, was also the greatest blocking back in football. “It was his pass blocking that really lifted him into a different dimension,” wrote Zimmerman. Championship-winning coach Blanton Collier praised Motley, “He had no equal as a blocker.” Hall of Fame receiver Dante Lavelli credited Motley’s blocking as the key that “built the passing attack for the Browns.” HOF coach Weeb Ewbank marveled that Motley “took the romance out of the blitz.”

The Browns sometimes played Motley on defense. Brown believed that Motley would have been a Hall of Fame linebacker if he had concentrated on defense, and Collier called him “a great, great linebacker.” The Browns used Motley on goal-line defense throughout his career.

Playing between 230-240 pounds, Motley was one of the biggest players in football, big enough to play lineman, 20 pounds bigger than his teammate Willis. But he also had speed; Zimmerman called him “a gathering avalanche.” Motley’s rushing stats are excellent for when he played, and his 5.70 rushing average is the best of all time. He was also a good receiver and kickoff returner. But all those numbers dramatically shortchange his contributions — “like trying to describe a waterfall in terms of gallons per second, or a sunset in terms of light units. Never has there been a set of statistics to measure the force and intensity of a man’s hitting power, or his effectiveness as a pass blocker,” wrote Zimmerman. “[Jim] Brown was the best pure runner I’ve ever seen, but Motley was the greatest all-around player, the complete player.”

There are innumerable quotes and anecdotes about Motley’s greatness. It’s wise to be skeptical of such accounts, but Motley’s stats confirm the stories of his excellence as a running back, and there are many credible testimonies to his greatness as a blocker and defensive player. If you combine a Hall of Fame-caliber rusher and a Hall of Fame-caliber blocker, that’s Motley. We will never see his like again.

32. Rod Woodson
Defensive Back
Pittsburgh Steelers, 1987-96; San Francisco 49ers, 1997; Baltimore Ravens, 1998-2001; Oakland Raiders, 2002-03
71 interceptions, 1,483 yards, 12 TD; 13.5 sacks
1 DPOY, 4 consensus All-Pro, 7 AP All-Pro, 11 Pro Bowls, 1990s All-Decade Team, 75th Anniversary Team

Rod Woodson ranks 3rd all-time in interceptions, 2nd all-time in interception return yardage, and 1st all-time in interception return touchdowns. An NCAA All-American in both track and football, Woodson was a four-time Big Ten indoor champion in the 55-meter hurdles. Even after they drafted him 10th overall, the Steelers worried Woodson would skip the 1987 season to prepare for the 1988 Summer Olympics as a hurdler.

Woodson’s last game at Purdue was the stuff of legends. Playing almost the entire game, he rushed for 93 yards and caught three passes for 67 yards, had 10 tackles and forced a fumble, and returned two kickoffs and three punts. Purdue won the game, 17-15. While his professional teams never asked quite that much, Rod Woodson could do everything. He was probably the most complete cornerback in history. He had the speed to stay with anyone in coverage, and he could play aggressively because of his ability to recover. He had magnificent hands, like a wide receiver, and his INT totals are so high partly because he was consistently able to catch passes away from his body. After the pick, he was a devastating, record-breaking returner. Woodson was also a standout kick returner, with 2 kickoff return TDs, 2 punt return TDs, and a first-team All-Pro selection as a return specialist in 1989. At 6 feet and 200 pounds, he was bigger than many CBs, a safety in the second half of his career, and not afraid to dish out heavy tackles. “If you want to be the best cornerback, you have to play like a linebacker, too,” Woodson argued. “You have to take on pulling guards and tackles, and you must hit tight ends and running backs.” The adjectives most often used to describe Woodson’s skills and playing style were terms like “complete” and “total.” His career wasn’t defined by any one thing, because he excelled at everything.

Woodson was chosen to the 75th Anniversary All-Time Team after only 7½ seasons. At 29, he was the youngest player selected. He missed the 1995 season with a knee injury some thought might end his career. While his best years came before the injury, Woodson was still an excellent player when he returned, recording more INTs, INT return yards, and defensive TDs after the injury than he had beforehand. He played in the Super Bowl for three different teams, including the 2000 Ravens. Woodson was the second-leading tackler on that legendary defense, behind only Ray Lewis, and he contributed seven takeaways. Two years later, at age 37, Woodson tied for the NFL lead in interceptions (8), returned for 225 yards and 2 TDs. He was the second-leading tackler for that team, too: a complete player, from the beginning of his career to the end.

31. John Hannah
Offensive Guard
New England Patriots, 1973-85
5 consensus All-Pro, 10 AP All-Pro, 9 Pro Bowls, 1970s All-Decade Team, 1980s All-Decade Team, 75th Anniversary Team, All-Century Team

An offensive lineman with a Sports Illustrated cover story. It’s a long read, but it’s better than anything I could hope to produce. If you’ve made it this far, reading about the greatest players of (mostly) days gone by, don’t cheat yourself: John Hannah Doesn’t Fiddle Around, by Paul Zimmerman, August 1981.

John Hannah came from a football family. His brother Charley Hannah started over 100 games in the NFL, including Super Bowl XVIII. Their father, Herb Hannah, played tackle at Alabama and 12 games with the New York Giants in 1951. Bear Bryant called John Hannah the greatest offensive lineman he ever coached.

The 1978 New England Patriots rushed for 3,165 yards, a record that will never fall in a 16-game season. They rushed for over 200 yards eleven times. No player on that team accounted for over 25% of the total rushing yardage. Sam Cunningham, the older brother of Randall Cunningham, led the way with 768 yards, followed by Horace Ivory (693), Andy Johnson (675), quarterback Steve Grogan (539), and Don Calhoun (391), with a handful of minor contributors accounting for the rest. Cunningham was a fine player, and Grogan was a good scrambler, but that team set a record that has stood more than 40 years with a host of pretty average ball-carriers. The unifying factor, the driving force behind that record, was the offensive line, and the driving force behind the offensive line was John Hannah.

* * *

This series will continue here every Tuesday and Thursday for another 1½ weeks. The best way to reach me with comments and questions is via Twitter (@bradoremland), where I’ll also offer some brief bonus material on most days there’s no new article. Thanks for reading. Next article: Best Players in History, 21-30.