August 18

What happened in Football for August 18? Well Herschel Walker took out an insurance policy; QB Jim Kelly Signed with the Bills; and veteran RB Earl Campbell retires. We have these stories and so much more waiting to be heard!

The picture in the banner above Was taken at the AT&T Stadium's Cotton Bowl Exhibit of the Georgia Bulldogs helmet.

• August 18, 1981 - University of Georgia runningback Herschel Walker takes out a $1 million insurance policy through Lloyd's of London, for compensation in the event he would get injured prior to a big pay day as a professional. The great rusher would eventually start his career in the USFL before later playing in the NFL.
• August 18, 1986 - Former USFL and University of Miami star quarterback, Jim Kelly signs a five-year NFL contrct with the Buffalo Bills for $75 million. Kelly would end up leading the Bills to four straight Super Bowl appearances. 
• August 18, 1987 - Hall of Fame running back Earl Campbell formerly of the Houston Oilers announced his retirement. The Tyler Rose played his college ball at the University of Texas.
• August 18, 1989 - Arena Bowl III is played as the Detroit Drive knocks off the Pittsburgh Gladiators 39-26 at Detroit's home track, Joe Louis Arena.

• August 18, 1890 - Everett Bacon was a quarterback from Wesleyan College that became enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in 1966. Bacon was voted as an All-American after the 1910 and 1912 seasons. He was also a star athlete on the baseball diamond, basketball court and excelled at tennis and golf too! Starting in 1936 Wesleyan has awarded the C. Everett Bacon Award to the school's Most Valuable Football Player.
• August 18, 1943 - Cosmo Iacavazzi was a fullback from Princeton who entered the College Football Hall of Fame in 2002. Though he was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the 1965 NFL Draft, Cosmo ended up playing in the AFL for the New York Jets for two games. He later played in the Atlantic Coast Football League for the Scranton Miners and the Seattle Rangers of the Continental Football League. 
• August 18, 1946 - Bob Johnson was a center from the University of Tennesee who entered the College Football Hall of Fame in 1989. He was voted as an All-American in both 1966 and 1967 for the Vols. He was also an Academic All-American in 1967. Johnson went on to play for the Cincinnati Bengals both the in AFL and the NFL and in fact he was the second overall draft pick in the 1967 AFL Draft. At the time of this writing his number 54 jersey is the only Bengal number to be retired.
• August 18, 1951 - Greg Pruitt was a runningback from Oklahoma who entered the College Football hall of Fame as part of the induction class of 1999. Pruitt played in the NFL for 11 seasons most notably with the Cleveland Browns but also with the LA Raiders. He was selected to 5 Pro Bowls during his career. In Cleveland he made quite the one two punch with another Pruitt in the backfield, Mike, no relation.

Those not yet in the Hall of Fame

• August 18, 1941 - Garfield, Georgia - Former Ohio State running back Matt Snell was born. Snell was selected as the third overall pick by the New York Jets in the 1964 AFL Draft as well as being taken 49th overall by the New York Giants in the 1964 NFL Draft. He chose the Jets offer and plyed his entire career with the franchise. Yahoo.com says that for his career Matt posted 1,057 carries for 4,285 yards and 24 TDs; 193 receptions for 1,375 yards and seven touchdowns. Snell was a three-time AFL All-Star (1964, 1966, 1969). He was instrumental in the Jets’ ball control game plan that helped them win Super Bowl III.
• August 18, 1968 - Fort Polk, Pennsylvania - Return specialist Brian Mitchell the former player at Louisiana-Lafayette from 1986-89 arrived into this life. Mr. Mitchell according to Yahoo.com was selected as the 130th overall player taken in the 1990 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. He also played with the Eagles and Giants. His amazing career saw him record 463 punt returns for 4,999 yards and nine touchdowns, 607 kick returns for 14,014 yards and four touchdowns; 388 carries for 1,967 yards and 12 touchdowns, and 255 receptions for 2,336 yards and four touchdowns.
• August 18, 1980 - Ada, Oklahoma - Former Univesity of Miami Florida tight end Jeremy Shockey was born. Shockey was selected as the 14th overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. He also spent time with the Saints and the Panthers organizations as he caught 547 receptions for 6,143 yards and 37 touchdowns per Yahoo.com.