Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

The number of players who participated in track are too numerous to count.

Dave Logan, the former Browns WR, was also great in basketball and baseball in college at Colorado, he is one of three persons drafted by the NFL, MLB and the NBA (Baseball Hall of Famer Dave Winfield is another).

There are also guys like Otis Sistrunk and Eric Swann who didn't go to college.

Also, "Night Train" Lane didn't play college football -- he only played one year of football at a community college and in the army (although not for Army, just on a military base team). He also played minor league baseball with a KC Monarchs affiliate.

Then there are guys like Johnny Lujack who lettered in four sports at ND. Football, baseball, basketball, and track.

GameBeforeTheMoney wrote:There are also guys like Otis Sistrunk and Eric Swann who didn't go to college.

I believe Otis went to the University of Mars.

JuggernautJ wrote:

Lee Elder wrote: Jim Brown played football, basketball and lacrosse in college. He was so good at lacrosse that he might have been better at that sport than he was at football.

Just to add to what Lee said:

Perhaps more impressive was his success as a multisport athlete. In addition to his football accomplishments, he excelled in basketball, track, and especially lacrosse. As a sophomore, he was the second-leading scorer for the basketball team (15 ppg), and earned a letter on the track team. In 1955, he finished in fifth place in the Nation Championship decathlon. His junior year, he averaged 11.3 points in basketball, and was named a second-team All-American in lacrosse. His senior year, he was named a first-team All-American in lacrosse (43 goals in 10 games to rank second in scoring nationally). Brown was so dominant in the game, that lacrosse rules were changed requiring a lacrosse player to keep their stick in constant motion when carrying the ball (instead of holding it close to his body). He is in the Lacrosse Hall of Fame. The Carrier Dome has an 800 square-foot tapestry depicting Brown in football and lacrosse uniforms with the words "Greatest Player Ever".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Brown ... rts_career

Brown initially went to Syracuse on a lacrose scholarship, in part because the school had a self-imposed limit of 6 football scholarships for black players and all 6 had been committed. In effect, he had to wait for a black football player to graduate so that a scholarship spot would become available.

Of all the track stars that converted to the NFL, I would say Ollie Matson slightly edges out Bob Hayes, though most people might choose Hayes. Herschel Walker was great as well but didnt make any Olympic noise ...

Brian wolf wrote:Of all the track stars that converted to the NFL, I would say Ollie Matson slightly edges out Bob Hayes, though most people might choose Hayes. Herschel Walker was great as well but didnt make any Olympic noise ...

Of course, Jim Thorpe (mentioned above) won both the decathlon and pentathlon in the 1912 Olympics.
I would think that gives Ollie and Bob a run for their money as far as track goes...

Youre right JuggernautJ ... Forgot about Thorpe

TodMaher wrote:Depending on your definition of what is a "standout NFL career"

Well, you make a good point. I guess for me a "standout career" would be someone who isn't necessarily a H.o.F.er but is someone whose name you remember years later because of his play on the field. That's a loose definition.

Brian wolf wrote:Of all the track stars that converted to the NFL, I would say Ollie Matson slightly edges out Bob Hayes, though most people might choose Hayes. Herschel Walker was great as well but didnt make any Olympic noise ...

I've studied Ollie Matson's career and I don't think you can call him a track star who converted to the NFL. I don't think Matson even ran track while at USF. He made the 1952 Olympic team despite not running the sprints since high school.

Ollie Matson played halfback, fullback, wide receiver, cornerback, and safety. He was a football player who was also a sprinter. He won a Bronze in the 400 meter dash, might have taken the Gold had he also been doing the sprints in college.