April 3

In this episode of the Football History Headlines, we discuss two outstanding College Football guards as well as many more HOF Legendary stories.

The picture in the banner above is from the US Library of Congress' collection and was contributed by photographer Horydczak, Theodor, circa 1940 and is titled " Charlotte Hall Military Academy. Football player, on hands and knees ."

April 3, 1926 - Chattanooga, Tennessee - The fine guard from the University of Tennessee and Army that played from 1944 to 1947, Joe Steffy was born. According to his bio on the FootballFoundation.org website Steffy enrolled at Tennessee and played on the 1944 team, which went on to the Rose Bowl. He was then appointed to the United States Military Academy and played guard for the football team for three years. In 1947 he was captain of the team and winner of the Outland Trophy as the nation's best interior lineman.  Joe Steffy was honored with induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1987 after the National Football Foundation tallied their votes.

April 3, 1934 - Macon, Georgia - Jim Parker the stud Ohio State guard from 1954 to 1956 celebrated his day of birth. The NFF describes that it was a common occurrence when Parker played that the Buckeyes would shift to a punt formation, kick the ball and then almost immediately after the returned would catch the ball he would be just about sawed in half by a vicious hit by a hustling guard named Jim. That was Big Jim's signature play, the all out sprint, the lunge and the violent tackle. Parker was a huge man, at 248- pounds the largest guard to play for Ohio State up to that time. But despite his size, Parker was cat-quick, explosive and driven by unflinching determination. As a workhorse in the Buckeye line, he made coach Woody Hayes' three-yards-and-a-cloud-of- dust-offense work.  In 1956 he became the first Ohio State player to win the Outland Award. The National Football Foundation selected Jim Parker for entrance into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1974. The Baltimore Colts in 1967 used their first round pick to select Parker and he played 11 seasons with the team split in half between tackle and guard. The amazing thing is that he was versatile enough to make 8 All-NFL teams and on 8 pro Bowl teams. His bio on the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s site says that Woody Hayes thought his best shot in the pros would be on defense, Colts' coach Weeb Ewbank tabbed Jim as an offensive lineman. The Colts at the time were just starting to become a National Football League top tier team and the premier passer in the game, Johnny Unitas, was the guy who made the Baltimore attack click. Parker had little experience in pass blocking, but Ewbank was sure Parker could do the job. "It didn't take me long to learn the one big rule," Parker remembered. "’Just keep them away from John,’ Coach Ewbank told me at my first practice. ‘You can be the most unpopular man on the team if the quarterback gets hurt.' I couldn't forget that!" And Parker didn't forget. Jim Parker was enshrined in 1973 into the  Pro Football Hall of Fame.