Tales From Pro Football Hall of Fame Players (My Personal Accounts)

Roughly twenty years ago, while browsing the Pro Football Hall of Fame website, I noticed they had a section where you could ask some of the inductees a question. There wasn’t a guarantee they would answer your question since other fans were also asking. But I figured it was worth a try. To my surprise, I received a response from several of them.

I don’t know if they still have this feature on the website but either way, it’s a great site to go to if you want to learn more about football history. Here is the link to the Hall of Fame website.

Here are the inductees I heard back from, the question I asked them, and their responses.

SUBSCRIBE AND FOLLOW THIS PODCAST FOR FREE

Sam Huff

Sam Huff-Middle Linebacker-New York Giants 1956–1963, Washington Redskins 1964–1967, 1969. Inducted 1982.  This is a photo of my son with Sam Huff in the early 2000s.

Young Morthier with Sam Huff in the early 2000s

MY QUESTION: Mr. Huff, How much influence would you say Coach Tom Landry had on your career, and do you still feel bitter towards Coach Allie Sherman for trading you to the Redskins?

SAM’S RESPONSE:

“First of all, I still feel bitter towards Allie Sherman because he hurt me badly. I never wanted to be traded, and I played exceptionally well for the Giants. We played in six NFL Championship games in my eight years with them.

I was featured on the cover of Time magazine. CBS did a story on my life titled, The Violent World of Sam Huff. We had a great team, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. There was no reason to trade me for two guys who never did produce for the Giants.

Allie Sherman was jealous of Tom Landry’s defense. Tom moved me from offensive guard to defensive tackle and then to middle linebacker. He gave me the most incredible opportunity I ever had in sports. He never tried to make me do anything that I didn’t think I could do.

We worked very well together, and we were a unit. Tom and Vince Lombardi were the greatest coaches that ever coached in the NFL, and they both had tremendous credibility. In my way of looking at things, Allie Sherman had no credibility because his word was not his bond.”

Jack Youngblood

Jack Youngblood-Defensive End-Los Angeles Rams-1971–1984. Inducted 2001.  Here’s a picture of my son with Mr. Youngblood from the early 2000s.

Young Morthier with Jack Youngblood in the early 2000s

MY QUESTION: Mr.Youngblood, I have been watching NFL football since 1969, and I have to say, you are, without a doubt, one of the toughest players I have ever seen play. During your 14 year career, you went up against some of the NFL’s very best quarterbacks. Which of the quarterbacks you played against would you say were among the toughest (guys who played hurt and couldn’t be intimidated)?

JACK’S RESPONSE:

“You know, quarterbacks aren’t known for their toughness (laugh). When you talk about toughness, you usually think of offensive linemen, running backs, linebackers, and defensive linemen. It’s unusual to hear about the quarterback talked about as tough.

But, when you look back to my era, you think of Roger Staubach, Terry Bradshaw, Bert Jones, and Dan Fouts. Those guys not only had the physical tools but the mental toughness to play at a high level in the NFL. They were team leaders who continued to play outstanding even when hurt and injured. Those four guys stick out in my mind.”

Bill Shaw

Offensive Guard-Buffalo Bills-1961–1969. Inducted 1999.

MY QUESTION: Mr. Shaw, You went up against many great players during your career. Who would you say were the most difficult guys to block?

BILL’S RESPONSE:


“I’ll start by saying all of them, but the guy who gave me the most trouble was a defensive tackle from the Boston Patriots by the name of Houston Antwine. He was barely six feet tall, but he weighed about 280 lbs. He had a low center of gravity, and he was extremely quick, especially his first two or three steps. Some people considered him small because of his lack of height, but a guy that weighs 280 is not small.

He gave me more trouble than anyone I ever went up against. Tom Keating of the Raiders gave me a lot of trouble, too, and he was only about 6’1″ or 6’2″ and 250 lbs. The huge guys like Buck Buchanan and Ernie Ladd weren’t as difficult for me to block as the smaller, quicker guys.”

 

Don Maynard

Wide Receiver-New York Giants-1958, New York Jets-1960–1972, St.Louis Cardinals-1973. Inducted 1987.

MY QUESTION: Mr. Maynard, I know this is a difficult question to answer since you’ve gone up against so many great players, but who would you say were some of the very best defensive backs you played against?

DON’S RESPONSE:

“There’s a whole bunch of them, and I’m sure I’ll leave some guys out. Cliff Harris and Charlie Waters of the Cowboys, Larry Wilson and Roger Wehrli of the Cardinals. Tom Janik of Buffalo, Goose Gonsoulin of Denver. Like I say, there are just so many.

I went up against Emlen Tunnell in practice when I was a rookie. Emlen was an unbelievable talent, and he taught me a lot. Dick Anderson and Jake Scott of the Dolphins were terrific. There’s probably one or two I could name from every team I ever played against.”

Ken Houston

Safety-Houston Oilers-1967–1972, Washington Redskins-1973–1980. Inducted 1986.

MY QUESTION: Mr. Houston, Being a Dallas Cowboys fan, I can remember vividly the tackle you made on Walt Garrison on the one-yard line in the closing seconds of the 1973 Monday night game. What are your recollections of this classic game?

KEN’S RESPONSE:


“My recollection of that game is that it was probably the most important game of my entire career. The Dallas Cowboys vs. the Washington Redskins on Monday Night Football with Howard Cosell.

It couldn’t have come at a better time for me because the Houston Oilers had traded me during that off-season, and up to that point, I hadn’t done anything out of the ordinary to prove myself to my new teammates. After that Monday Night game, I felt like I had been accepted as a Washington Redskin and the rest of my career was easier.”

Lenny Moore

Flanker/Running Back-Baltimore Colts-1956–1967. Inducted 1975.  Here’s my son with Mr. Moore in the early 2000s.

Young Morthier with Lenny Moore

MY QUESTION: Mr. Moore, you went up against some of the all-time greats during your career. Who would you say were some of the best players you faced, and which defensive players were the hardest hitters?

LENNY’S RESPONSE:

“That’s an excellent question but also a difficult one to answer because my style of play was to avoid taking big hits, to try and get away from those trying to tackle me. But the guys that come to mind are Joe Schmidt, a middle linebacker for the Detroit Lions. Another guy who played for the Lions was Dick ‘Night Train’ Lane.

He was an excellent defensive back who gave me trouble whenever I lined up as a Flanker. You have to understand that those defenders could do a lot of things that aren’t allowed in today’s game. They used what’s called a clothesline. They would extend their arm and hit you right across the helmet.

It was a heavy blow, and it could really shake you up. Of course, Dick Butkus and Ray Nitschke come to mind. But fortunately for me, when I lined up at running back, I had big Jim Parker out in front of me, and they had to try and get through him before they could get to me.

I never took that many vicious hits as a running back because I had Parker blocking for me. But when I lined up as a Flanker, I took some big hits from ‘Night Train’ Lane. Herb Adderly of the Packers was another guy who hit hard. All of the players I mentioned are in the Hall of Fame.”

Like this article?  Check out some of my other articles covering the Pro Football Hall of Fame:

Mark Morthier is the host of Yesterday’s Sports, a podcast dedicated to reliving memorable sports moments from his childhood days and beyond.  He grew up in New Jersey just across from New York City, so many of his episodes revolve around the great sport’s teams of the 70s for the New York area. 

He is also an author of No Nonsense, Old School Weight Training (Second Edition): A Guide for People with Limited Time and Running Wild: (Growing Up in the 1970s)

Mark Morthier headshot - host of Yesterday's Sports podcast on the Sports History Network
Photo Courtesy: Mark Morthier

Check out Mark's Books Below

Please Note – As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases

Join the newsletter

Learn more about the Sports History Network

    We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time.

    Resources

    More From Yesterday's Sports

    Leave a Comment

    Digital $50 gift card to Homefield Apparel