Football Daily

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A great post on the legendary center of the Lions, Alex Wojciechowicz, from the Vintage Detroit website .

Born May 16, 1966, in Houston, Texas, was Oklahoma State running back from 1984 through the 1987 season, Thurman Thomas. For his collegiate career Thurman Thomas amassed 4,847 rushing yards and 43 touchdowns at Oklahoma State, catapulting him into school and conference record books.

His career rushing yardage is second best all-time in the conference, trailing only 2006 College Football Hall of Famer Mike Rozier of Nebraska. Thurman Thomas’ collegiate football records are celebrated in the College Football Hall of Fame after his induction in 2008. The Buffalo Bills wisely selected Thomas in the second round of the 1988 NFL Draft. Thurman received the great honor of being the NFL MVP in 1991 and according to the ProFootballHOF.com website he recorded eight consecutive 1000 yard seasons running with the ball.

Thomas retired as the NFL's ninth-ranked rusher with 12,074 yards and added another 4,458 yards on 472 catches. He scored 65 rushing and 23 receiving touchdowns in his 13-season career.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined the brilliant NFL career of Thurmon Thomas in 2007.

Born July 25, 1954 - Columbia, Mississippi - Walter Payton Pro Football Hall of Fame running back of the Chicago Bears was born. The Jackson State product was also enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame in the 1999 class.

Walter ran on the Jackson State gridiron from the 1971 season through 1974 and was the key cog in the offense. According to the FootballFoundation.org, Sweetness finished his career at Jackson State with 464 points and 3,563 yards rushing. The point total was a modern record for college football. He averaged 6.1 yards per carry for four years.

Walter is remembered at the collegiate level still to this day as he was honored in 1987 with the founding of the Walter Payton Award, given each year to the leading player in 1-AA football. Payton was a great player who worked hard and was known for his outstanding runs during his career. He even was the NFL's all-time leading rusher until Emmitt Smith surpassed him. In just 13 seasons, Payton rushed for 16, 726 yards, hauled in 492 passes and scored 125 touchdowns per the ProFootballHOF.com website.

We honor this great player and human who had an untimely death in 1999 at the age 45 due to a rare disease. Please see our story on "Sweetness" here Walter Payton.

Steve Owen was an American football player and coach. He is enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame from success and longevity as the head coach the New York Giants for 24 seasons, from 1930 to 1953. We have a collection of stories and games Owen was involved with.

Stephen Joseph Owen, nicknamed "the Stout Steve," wasn't just a football player; he was a trailblazer who left a lasting legacy on the New York Football Giants and the NFL itself. While his playing career was respectable, it's his coaching achievements that solidify his place in football history.

Owen began his professional career in 1924, bouncing between several teams before landing with the Giants in 1926. While he played seven seasons for the team, injuries cut his playing time short. However, in 1930, he began to co-coach, transitioning fully to coach in 1931. This marked the beginning of a remarkable 24-season reign.

Owen's coaching philosophy was rooted in fundamental football and a strong defense. He emphasized discipline and teamwork, building a culture of toughness and resilience. Despite no formal contract (he coached based on a handshake with ownership), Owen led the Giants to eight NFL championship games, winning four: 1934, 1938, 1941, and 1946.

His innovative strategies played a significant role in these victories. He implemented the T-formation offense, utilizing two tight ends for better blocking and pass protection. He also recognized the importance of special teams, emphasizing their role in the overall game. Owen's impact extended beyond the Giants. He served as president of the NFL Coaches Association and advocated for improved equipment and player safety. He also mentored several future Hall of Fame coaches, including Vince Lombardi.

Though his later years were less successful, Owen's legacy remains significant. He holds the record for most games coached (322) and seasons coached (24) with a single franchise. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967, a testament to his lasting impact on the game.

Born July 16, 1968 - Wichita, Kansas - Barry Sanders the running back from Oklahoma State during the 1986 through 1988 seasons. The FootballFoundation.org states that Sanders learned how to work hard as a youngster helping his father put on roofs in the hot Wichita summers. This work ethic stuck with his through his gridiron career at both the college and the professional levels and paid dividends on Saturdays and Sundays. The hard work also taught him to be selfless and humble as even after scoring one of his many touchdowns he would generally just hand the ball to an official and trot off the field, with out an attention grabbing celebration to be seen. While Oklahoma State he played behind All-America Thurman Thomas for two seasons. He used this "grooming" time wisely in the seasons that he spent as a back-up becoming a special teams demon, even leading the nation in kickoff return average in 1987. When Barry became the featured Cowboy back, he put together what the NFF describes as the most remarkable season ever compiled by a college running back. That year he set 34 NCAA records in winning the Heisman Trophy, the Walter Camp, and Maxwell Awards as the nation's top player. Barry led the nation in rushing with his 2,628 yards, 3250 all-purpose yards, and scored 234 points. Sanders ran for over 300 yards in six games and exceeded 200 yards seven times. Barry was rewarded for these feats in college by being selected as the top pick of the Detroit Lions in the 1989 NFL Draft, spending 10 seasons in the Motor City. In fact he became the first player to ever rush for 1000 or more yards in his first ten seasons according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame website. On the road to professional pigskin immortality Sanders, with 1,304 yards rushing in 1990, topped all runners, and then repeated claiming the top NFL ground gainer title in 1994 with 1,883 yards and in 1996 running for 1,553 yards. His 44 receptions for 283 yards in 1994 gave him a combined 2,166 yards from scrimmage. The most impressive feat of his remarkable career, however, is when he won the NFL MVP award in 1997, as he rushed for a league-best 2,053 yards and gained another 305 yards on 33 catches for an amazing 2,358 combined yards gained. To ice that he gained at least 100 yards in 14 consecutive games! The Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined Barry Sanders in 2004 while Mr. Sanders also entered the College Football Hall of Fame for his legendary college career at Oklahoma State in 2003. Many have described Barry Sanders as the best pure running back to ever play the game, as he left the NFL at a fairly young age with a lot of yardage on his stat bio.

Born September 11, 1924, in Mission, Texas was Pro Football Hall of Fame Tom Landry. This legend was one of the most successful and influential coaches in NFL history. He served as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys for 29 seasons, from 1960 to 1988, and led the team to two Super Bowl victories (1972 and 1978).

Landry was a master tactician and a stickler for discipline. He was also a pioneer in the use of analytics and video technology to prepare for games. Under his leadership, the Cowboys became one of the most dominant teams in the NFL, winning 20 division titles and making 22 playoff appearances.

In addition to his on-field success, Landry was also a respected figure off the field. He was known for his intelligence, integrity, and humility. He was also a devout Christian and a strong advocate for social justice.

Landry was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990.

Born August 1, 1978 - Immokalee, Florida - Edgerrin James, the Pro Football Hall of Fame running back of the Indianapolis Colts and later the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks.

Edgerrin attended and played football for the Miami Hurricanes enjoying a stellar collegiate career. It was when he was picked up by the Colts in the 1999 NFL Draft that this young runner really found his groove though according to the ProFootballHOF.com. Edge earned NFL Rookie of the year honors in 1999 when he rushed for 1553 yards leading all runner in the League!

He accomplished winning the NFL rushing title again in 2000 with 1709 yards on the ground matching his TDs scored in 1999 at 13 times crossing the wide field stripe.

In fact during his 11 year career James blasted past the 1000 yard rushing mark an amazing 7 times edging past 1500 in four of those! FOr his career he recorded 12246 yards rushing with 80 scores, played in four Pro Bowls and was honored to be on the All-2000's NFL team. Let's not forget that he also hauled in 433 catches many from HOF QBs Peyton Manning and Kurt Warner for an additional 3364 yards of offense.

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Born August 23, 1934 - Wilmington, North Carolina -Sonny Jurgensen was a former quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins. Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined the fantastic quarterback in the class of 1983. Sonny attended Duke University where in his first season playing for the Blue Devils he had a bigger impact as a DB than a QB, registering a total of five interceptions. In later years he went on to start at QB and was eventually drafted into the NFL by the Eagles. As a back up in 1960, behind Norm Van Brocklin, Jurgensen won his only NFL Championship.

Born August 7, 1945, in Canton, Ohio, was Alan Page was a defensive end from Notre Dame that was selected to enter the College Football Hall of Fame. He was a member of that famed 1966 Fighting Irish National Championship team.

Mr. Page went on to have a tremendous 15 year pro career as part of the famed Purple People Eaters of the Minnesota Vikings and later 3 seasons with the Chicago Bears. In 1967 he won the NFL Rookie of the Year honors.

As a Viking, Alan played in four Super Bowls (IV, VIII, IX, XI), but unfortunately never got a chance to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. Page was named to the 1970s NFL All-Decade Team, inducted into the Vikings Ring of Honor

The great defender also has his bronze bust placed in Canton in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Page was the first player on the defensive side of the ball to win the NFL MVP honors, and only Lawrence Taylor has done it since!

What does a super-intelligent football player do after a brilliant career? Well, according to Yahoo.com, Page attended the University of Minnesota Law School while still playing for the Vikings and earned his law degree in 1978. The man then served as a Minnesota Supreme Court Associate Justice from 1992-2015. Incredible!

Born December 29, 1936 - Ray Nitschke the feared middle linebacker of the Green Bay Packers was born. Ray was the third overall pick in the 1958 NFL Draft by the Packers and he played with the team for 15 seasons according to his bio on the Pro Football HOF. Nitschke defended both the run and the pass well as his 25 career interceptions would indicate. Ray was a member of 5 champion Green Bay teams and was the MVP of the 1962 NFL Championship game. The Pro Football Hall of Fame placed Ray Nitschke in a gold jacket in 1978.