April 19, 1883 - Fort Wayne, Indiana - The top notch University of Michigan center from 1904 to 1908, Germany Schulz was born. The College Football Hall of Fame proudly placed a display in honor of Germany Schulz into their legendary museum in 1951. We have so much more on Schulz when you click his name.
April 19, 1907 - Columbus, Ohio - The University of Notre Dame’s prolific guard from 1927 to 1929, Jack Cannon arrived into this life. Jack was one of the last players to not collegiately and not wear a helmet. In fact he refused to wear the protective headgear. The Football Foundation’s bio excerpt on Cannon says he had a bad habit of playing hard when he felt like it, but then letting his foot off of the gas whenever the Irish were well ahead and a game became uninteresting for him. Coach Knute Rockne was on Jack’s case constantly for this practice, until Cannon’s performances returned to their usual aggressive levels. During that perfect nine-game championship season of 1929, Notre Dame played every game on the road, making the unbeaten and untied record all the more impressive. The National Football Foundation selected Jack Cannon for entrance into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1965.
April 19, 1936 - Exira, Iowa - Jack Pardee the Texas A&M two-way fullback/linebacker was born. Pardee had enough passion to overcome odds throughout his life. Early on living in a remote part of Texas, Jack’s experience with the gridiron was only afforded the luxury of playing 6-man football. With hardwork and hustle the youngster soon found himself as a two-way starter for A&M. The National Football Foundation claims that as a 20-year-old senior in 1956 he was co-captain of an undefeated team, Academic All-America, picked by the Southwest Conference as all-league linebacker and by Look Magazine as All-America fullback. An example of one of his highlight reel plays made was an 85-yard run against Houston. The Aggies coach at the time, Bear Bryant in 1956 proclaimed, "Jack Pardee is the best linebacker I ever had." Jack Pardee was honored with induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1986 after the National Football Foundation tallied their votes. Jack went on to make it in the NFL as he spent eight great seasons with the Los Angeles Rams before on his 28th birthday he received some devastating news. The doctors had told him that he was diagnosed with cancer! Though life altering information indeed this did not stop Jack. Pardee played another 7 seasons in the NFL with the Rams and Washington and then went on into coaching! He looked right in the eyes of cancer and not only played while fighting the disease but then also coached the Washington Redskins, the Chicago Bears, and teams in the World and U. S. Football Leagues. He became head coach at the University of Houston for the 1987 season and at his first meeting told the players, "There is a time to work and a time to play. Don't miss your chance to do both." Pardee coached three years at the University of Houston, 1987-89, with a record of 22-11-1, then returned to pro football as coach of the Houston Oilers. Now that is a determined gridiron man if I have ever heard of one!
April 19, 1964 - Sandy Springs, Georgia - Harris Barton, the big offensive tackle of the North Carolina Tarheels celebrates his day of birth. Barton was not only one of the most dominant offensive linemen in North Carolina history but he was also a great student. The NFF tells us that Harris First Team All-American in 1986, Barton was named the ACC's Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman after helping the Tar Heels finish sixth in the nation and first in the conference with 436 yards of total offense per game. In addition to these gridiron achievements Harris was an NFF National Scholar-Athlete, an Academic All-ACC selection, and he received the 1987 Jim Tatum Award as the conference's top football scholar-athlete! The National Football Foundation selected Harris Barton for entrance into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2021. The highly acclaimed tackle was taken in the first round of the 1987 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers and subsequently spent his entire career with the franchise from 1987-98. A 1993 Pro Bowler, he led the team to victories in Super Bowls XXIII, XXIV and XXIX.
April 19, 1965 - Little Rock, Arkansas - The sure handed tight end of the 1984 to 1987 Oklahoma Sooners, Keith Jackson entered into life. The FootballFoundation.org credits Jackson as being a unanimous All-America in 1986 and 1987 for his outstanding blocking and key catches with the Sooners. During Keith’s time with Oklahoma the team had a 42-5-1 record and won the national championship in 1985. Career numbers for the big tight end were 62 pass receptions for 1470 yards, an average of 23.7. Jackson was a great student to boot as he was awarded with NCAA top six award for academics. Keith Jackson was honored with induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2001 after the National Football Foundation tallied their votes. Jackson had a memorable NFL career too playing with the Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins, and Green Bay Packers.
April 19, 1981 - Garden Grove, California - The free roaming safety of Southern Cal known as the “Tasmanian Devil” Troy Polamalu was born. The National Football Foundation tells us that Polamalu was two-time First Team All-American, earning consensus honors in 2002 and was a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award as the best defensive back in the nation. One of his top collegiate moments was at the 2001 Las Vegas Bowl, where he set a Las Vegas Bowl record with 20 tackles! Troy led Southern Cal in tackles with 118 as well with 3 interceptions in 2001 after topping the team in interceptions with two and 7 deflections in 2000. The College Football Hall of Fame proudly placed a display in honor of Troy Polamalu into their legendary museum in 2019. Troy was a first round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2003. He became the centerpiece of the highly touted Pittsburgh defense during his career making opposing quarterback account to where exactly he was before each and every play according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. For his career he registered 32 interceptions taking 3 of them back for scores but his impact of open field tackles, stuffing runners at the line and pass breakups helped the Steelers win games too! Polamalu was selected to eight Pro Bowls and named first-team All-Pro four times. The two-time Super Bowl champion (Super Bowl XL and Super Bowl XLIII) and 2010 AP Defensive Player of the year played for the Steelers from 2003 to 2014. Troy Polamalu was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020.
