Deacon Jones, who had had an obscure college career preceding his 14th-round selection by the Los Angeles Rams in the 1961 draft, quickly blossomed into a superb defensive end. Blessed with speed, agility, and quickness, the “Deacon” became one of the finest pass rushers in the business. Yet had it not been for the chance observation of two Rams scouts viewing films of an opponent, he might never have had a chance to play pro football. When the scouts noted that the 6-4, 272-pound tackle was outrunning the backs they were scouting, they recommended Jones as a sleeper pick.

His college background consisted of a year at South Carolina State in 1958 followed by a year of inactivity in 1959 and a final season at Mississippi Vocational in 1960. Originally, the Rams weren't certain which platoon would be best for Jones but the Deacon quickly earned his niche as a defensive end and, for most of a decade, he teamed with tackle Merlin Olsen to give Los Angeles a perennial All-Pro left side of the defensive line.

Jones won unanimous all-league honors six straight years from 1965 through 1970. He also played in seven straight Pro Bowls, 1965-1971, and was selected to an eighth in 1973. In both 1967 and 1968, he was chosen the top defensive player in the NFL by one major news service.

In 1972, Jones was included in a multi-player trade with the San Diego Chargers. He was an instant success with his new team, leading all Chargers' defensive linemen in tackles and winning a berth on the AFC Pro Bowl squad. He also was named San Diego's defensive captain. He concluded his career with the Washington Redskins in 1974. The extremely durable and dedicated Jones missed just five games of a possible 196 regular-season encounters in 14 NFL campaigns.

The Miami Dolphins, much to their surprise at the time, found University of Pittsburgh quarterback Dan Marino still available when it came time to make their first pick in the 1983 National Football League Draft. Five other quarterbacks, including Hall of Famers Jim Kelly and John Elway, had been taken before the Dolphins grabbed Marino with the 27th pick overall.

Marino earned the starting role early in his rookie season and, for the next 17 years the fortunes of the franchise rode on his shoulders. By the time he retired following the 1999 NFL season, Marino had literally rewritten the passing section of the NFL's record book.

After two earlier relief appearances, Marino became the Dolphins starter in the sixth week of his rookie season. He immediately took charge of the Dolphins' offense and guided the team to a 12-4 record and the AFC East title. Marino threw 20 touchdowns and recorded a 96.0 passer rating to earn Rookie of the Year honors. He was also named to the first of his nine Pro Bowl selections.

Marino's performance the following season was unlike any seen in NFL history as he guided the Dolphins to a 14-2 record and a division crown. He became the first player ever to pass for 5,000 yards in a single season finishing with a remarkable 5,084 yards. His 48 touchdown passes obliterated the previous record, 36 touchdowns passes held by Y.A. Tittle and George Blanda. By season's end, he had set six league records and was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player. In the 1984 AFC Championship Game, Marino passed for 421 yards and threw four touchdowns in the Dolphins' 45-28 shootout win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, earning his first and only trip to the Super Bowl. In Super Bowl XIX, Marino completed 29 of 50 passes for 318 yards, passed for one touchdown and threw two interceptions as the Dolphins fell to the San Francisco 49ers 38-16.

Marino's passing prowess continued at a record pace and by the end of the 1995 season had supplanted Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton as the career passing leader in attempts, completions, yards, and touchdowns. Marino's career totals are staggering as he completed 4,967 of 8,358 passes for 61,361 yards, and threw 420 touchdowns during his 242-game NFL career.

Thirteen times in his career Marino passed for 3,000 yards or more in a season which includes the six seasons he reached the 4,000-yard plateau. He passed for 300 yards in a game 63 times and threw for 400 or more yards in a game 13 times.

Marino was named first- or second-team All-Pro eight times and earned All-AFC honors six times.

Reggie White earned the nickname "The Minister of Defense" as a senior at Tennessee. The moniker surely had to do with something more than the fact that he became an ordained minister at the age of 17. That became instantly apparent when he began his pro football career.

White, who spent two seasons in the ill-fated United States Football League, made a memorable debut in the National Football League with the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 4 of the 1985 season. He collected 2.5 sacks, and deflected a pass that was intercepted and returned for touchdown. Despite the fact he played in only 13 games that season, White tied for the team lead with 13 sacks and was named the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year. The following season, White picked up 18 more sacks to earn his first of an astounding 13 straight Pro Bowl trips.

In 1987, White recorded one of the finest seasons ever posted by a defensive lineman. In the season debut against the Washington Redskins, he sacked quarterback Doug Williams, stripped the ball, and then picked it up and raced 70 yards for the first of his two career touchdowns. In just 12 games during the strike-shortened season White amassed 21 sacks to earn his first of two consecutive league sack titles.

In 1993, after recording 124 sacks in 121 games over eight seasons in Philadelphia, White became the first big name free agent to switch teams. He joined the Green Bay Packers and instantly helped turn the fortunes of the once-proud franchise.

The team steadily improved and, in 1996, returned to glory with White leading the NFL's topped ranked defense to playoff and Super Bowl victories. In Super Bowl XXXI he recorded a record three sacks.

Reggie played two more years in Green Bay. During that period he added 27 more sacks to his repertoire. After a one-year "retirement", White returned for a final season with the Carolina Panthers in 2000.

White retired as the NFL's all-time sack leader with 198. He was named to the NFL's All-Decade Teams of the 1980 and 1990s, the 75th Anniversary Team, and was voted first-team All-Pro 10 times in his 15-year career.

Bob Griese, a two-time All-America at Purdue, was the Dolphins' No. 1 draft choice in their second year in 1967. He enjoyed an excellent rookie season with 2,005 yards and 15 touchdowns passing and, for the remainder of his Hall of Fame career, he was the poised leader of a classic ball-control offense that generated an awesomely efficient running attack, three AFC championships in 1971, 1972 and 1973 and victories in Super Bowls VII and VIII.

In the 1970s, the 6-1, 190-pound quarterback led the Dolphins to nine winning seasons. In several of his finest performances, Griese used the pass only sparingly. But when the defenses clogged up the Miami runners, Bob quickly and efficiently opened things up with his accurate aerials.

In Super Bowl VII, for instance, only 11 of Miami's 50 scrimmage plays were passes but Bob's eight completions accounted for one touchdown and set up the second. In Super Bowl VIII, the rush-pass ratio for Miami was a startling 53-7 with Griese completing six of his seven passes. The Dolphins won easily. In 14 seasons, Griese threw 3,429 passes, completing 1,926 for 25,092 yards, 192 touchdowns for a 77.1 career passing rating. He also rushed 261 times for 994 yards and seven touchdowns.

Honors came frequently for Griese. A six-time Dolphins MVP, he was named All-Pro in 1971 and 1977, and All-AFC four times (1970, 1971, 1973, and 1977). He played in two AFL All-Star games and six AFC-NFC Pro Bowls. His success came in spite of numerous injuries that constantly plagued him. During Miami's perfect 1972 season, Bob missed eight games but returned in time to lead his team to wins in both the AFC title game and Super Bowl VII

Jan Stenerud, who was born November 26, 1942, in Fetsund, Norway, was an outstanding ski jumper who attended Montana State on a skiing scholarship. Late in his sophomore year, Stenerud was spotted kicking a football by the college's baseball coach who relayed the news of the Norwegian's abilities to the football coach.

For the next two years, he starred on the varsity football team with a then-record 59-yard field goal and 82 points scored as a senior. The Kansas City Chiefs were so impressed that they drafted Stenerud in the third round of the AFL's 1966 future draft.

The 6-2, 187-pound Stenerud excelled for 19 seasons and 263 games in pro football. He never missed a game because of injury or illness. He kicked for the Chiefs for 13 years from 1967 until 1979 but was released in the summer of 1980. Three months later, he signed a free agent contract with the Green Bay Packers, with whom he stayed with for four seasons. In 1984, the Packers traded Stenerud to the Minnesota Vikings for a seventh-round draft choice. He retired after the 1985 season.

Stenerud is the first “pure” placekicker to enter the Hall. His list of outstanding achievements is long. With 1,699 points, he ranked behind only the fabled George Blanda in all-time scoring at the time of his retirement.

His 373 career field goals and seven seasons of scoring 100 or more points were also NFL records. He kicked 17 field goals over 50 yards and his personal best was a 55-yarder against Denver in 1970.

In the Chiefs' upset victory over the Vikings in Super Bowl IV, Stenerud's three field goals, including a then Super Bowl record 48-yarder, accounted for the first nine points. A six-time all-league selection, Stenerud played in two AFL All-Star games and in four AFC-NFC Pro Bowls. He was named the Outstanding Offensive Player in the 1972 Pro Bowl.

Howie Long was a second-round pick of the Oakland Raiders in the 1981 NFL Draft and the 48th player selected overall. A four-year letterman at Villanova, Long was the MVP in the 1980 Blue-Gray Game. An all-around athlete, he was a basketball and track star in high school as well as the Northern Collegiate boxing champion.

Long joined the Raiders one year after the team won Super Bowl XV. Three years later, in 1983, the 6-5, 268-pound defensive end helped the team capture another Super Bowl title with a 38-9 win over the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII. His five-tackle performance in that game capped off a season that saw him record a career-high 13 sacks, including five in one game against the Redskins.

The following season he recorded 58 tackles, 12 sacks, and nine passes defensed and was named the NFL Defensive Lineman of the Year by the NFL Alumni Association. Long moved into a starting role with the Raiders beginning in the fifth game of the strike-shortened 1982 season.

He went on to be selected to eight Pro Bowls, the first following the 1983 season. Fast, strong, and explosive off the ball, he was just the second Raider defensive lineman to make a Pro Bowl. A first- or second-team All-Pro choice in 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, and 1989, he was also named All-AFC four times. In 1985, the hard-playing defensive end accounted for 10 quarterback sacks, with at least one in eight games. As a result, he was selected as Raider Lineman’s Club Defensive Lineman of the Year by his teammates.

Although he missed much of the 1988 season due to injury, he still managed to record three sacks and intercept the first pass of his career, which he returned 73 yards in a game against the Houston Oilers. During his 13-year career, Long, a member of the NFL’s All-Decade team of the 1980s, recorded 84 career sacks, not including 7.5 sacks in 1981 before the sack was an official NFL statistic.

Len Ford joined the Los Angeles Dons of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) in 1948 as a two-way end. He was excellent on defense and a favorite on offense with leaping, one-hand grabs that netted 67 receptions in two years.

When the AAFC disbanded after the 1949 season, Ford was placed in a special draft pool. The Cleveland Browns, who earmarked him for their defensive platoon, quickly grabbed him. It wasn't long before Ford was recognized as the very best of many stars on a unit that allowed the fewest points of any NFL team six of seven years in the 1951-1957 period.

Ford developed into such a devastating pass rusher that the Browns changed their whole defensive alignment to take advantage of his rare talents. By using the linebackers behind the two ends and a pair of tackles, Cleveland in effect created the first 4-3 defense. This enabled Ford to line up closer to the ball-handling action and have a better shot at enemy quarterbacks.

A serious injury almost ended Ford's career in his first NFL season. When hit by the elbow of Cardinals fullback Pat Harder, Ford suffered a broken nose, two fractured cheekbones and several lost teeth. Len was counted out for the season but plastic surgery, a strenuous rehabilitation program and the use of a specially designed face mask made it possible for Ford to return for the 1950 title game with the Los Angeles Rams. Len responded with one of his finest games to help Cleveland to a razor-thin 30-28 victory. Ford, who recovered 20 opponents' fumbles in nine NFL seasons, was a first- or second-team All-NFL pick seven times. He also played in four consecutive Pro Bowls. In the 1954 NFL championship game against Detroit, he intercepted two passes as the Browns buried the Lions, 56-10.

Roger Staubach joined the Dallas Cowboys as a 27-year-old rookie in 1969 and didn't win the regular quarterbacking job from until his third season in 1971. But for the nine seasons he was in command of the potent Cowboys attack, the Dallas played in six NFC championship games, winning four of them, and also scored victories in Super Bowls VI and XII.

The 6-3, 200-pound Staubach wound up his career after the 1979 season with an 83.4 passing rating, the best mark by an NFL passer up to that time. His career chart shows 1,685 completions in 2,958 passing attempts, which were good for 22,700 yards and 153 touchdowns.

Making Staubach particularly dangerous was his ability to scramble out of trouble – his 410 career rushes netted him 2,264 yards for a 5.5-yard average and 20 touchdowns. He led the NFL in passing four times. He was also an All-NFC choice five times and selected to play in six Pro Bowls.

Staubach first starred as a quarterback at the U. S. Naval Academy, where he was a Heisman Trophy winner as a junior in 1963. Following his graduation, he spent a mandatory four years on active duty, including service in Vietnam, before he was able to turn his attention to pro football.

During his finest years with the Cowboys, Roger had the reputation for making the big play. He was the MVP of Super Bowl VI and provided the offensive spark in a defense dominated Super Bowl XII victory.

In 1972, he missed most of the season with a separated shoulder but he relieved Craig Morton in a divisional playoff against San Francisco and threw two touchdown passes in the last 90 seconds to defeat the 49ers, 30-28. With that performance, he won back his regular job and did not relinquish it again during his career.

Joe Montana, selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round of the 1979 National Football League Draft, had a stellar career with the 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs. A master of late-game comebacks, Montana directed his teams to 31 fourth quarter come-from-behind wins during his illustrious career, including a 92-yard drive in the closing seconds of Super Bowl XXIII.

His uncanny ability to bring a team back from apparent defeat was so common that it simply became referred to as “Montana Magic.” A true student of the game, Montana won the NFL’s passing title in both 1987 and 1989. He topped the NFC in passing five times (1981, 1984, 1985, 1987, and 1989).

Thirty-nine times he passed for more than 300 yards in a game, including seven times in which he surpassed 400 yards. His six 300-yard passing performances in the post-season are an NFL record. He also owns the career playoff record for attempts, completions, touchdowns, and yards gained passing.

Eleven times the New Eagle, Pennsylvania native led his team to the playoffs. Along the way, he captured nine divisional championships and victories in Super Bowls XVI, XIX, XXIII, and XXIV. His outstanding play in Super Bowls XVI, XIX, and XXIV earned him Most Valuable Player honors in each game.

Named All-NFL three times and All-NFC on five occasions, Montana was voted to the Pro Bowl eight times, which was a league record for a quarterback at the time. In 1992, after missing 31 consecutive games due to an injury to his throwing arm, Montana made a dramatic comeback. In the second half of the regular season finale, a Monday Night Football offering vs. the Detroit Lions, Montana performed his magic of old, completing 15 of 21 passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns as the 49ers defeated the Lions 24-6.

In 1994 Montana became just the fifth quarterback to pass for more than 40,000 yards in a career. At the time of his retirement, he ranked fourth in career passing yardage (40,551 yards), attempts (5,391), and passing touchdowns (273). His 3,409 completions ranked third all-time, and his career passer rating of 92.3 was second all-time.