Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

http://nflfootballjournal.blogspot.com/ ... ition.html

When Pro Football Chronicles came out I loved that section. And seeing Jerry Rice running a 6.34 60. Then comparing to Herschel Walker's times, which were about the same.

Now this was a track thing, so they were in blocks, wore spikes on a hard track, but they also had to wait for a gun. So, the old thing of Walker running a 4.29 at the Meadowlands (hand-timed) compared to Rice's 4.6-4.7 whatever his "slow" time was interesting.

We all saw Rice rarely get caught from behind . . makes me think that when Rice began his "Walter Payton-type" workouts that he got faster

JohnTurney wrote:http://nflfootballjournal.blogspot.com/ ... ition.html

When Pro Football Chronicles came out I loved that section. And seeing Jerry Rice running a 6.34 60. Then comparing to Herschel Walker's times, which were about the same.

Now this was a track thing, so they were in blocks, wore spikes on a hard track, but they also had to wait for a gun. So, the old thing of Walker running a 4.29 at the Meadowlands (hand-timed) compared to Rice's 4.6-4.7 whatever his "slow" time was interesting.

We all saw Rice rarely get caught from behind . . makes me think that when Rice began his "Walter Payton-type" workouts that he got faster

I used to watch these when they were on...always rooted for Herschel Walker because he looked almost 'fat' compared to the other competitiors. The fact that guys like Darrell Green and Anthony Miller could beat Ron Brown shows how high the level of athleticism is in the NFL. It looks like the Fastest Man competition went the way of the NBA slam dunk competition in 1992...Dwight Stone doesn't have the same name recognition as Tim Brown.

Bryan wrote:..always rooted for Herschel Walker because he looked almost 'fat' compared to the other competitiors.

Herschel was a physical freak. Would have loved to see a healthy Bo Jackson run, too. So fast and big

JohnTurney wrote:Herschel was a physical freak. Would have loved to see a healthy Bo Jackson run, too. So fast and big

Only tangentially related, but I find it interesting that the Niners "Million Dollar Backfield" RBs were all outstanding track athletes. They were also all relatively big RBs. I would say that before Jim Brown entered the NFL, the top 3 size/speed RBs in the league were Joe Perry, Hugh McElhenney, and John Henry Johnson...and they all played on the same team.

Bryan wrote:

JohnTurney wrote:Herschel was a physical freak. Would have loved to see a healthy Bo Jackson run, too. So fast and big

Only tangentially related, but I find it interesting that the Niners "Million Dollar Backfield" RBs were all outstanding track athletes. They were also all relatively big RBs. I would say that before Jim Brown entered the NFL, the top 3 size/speed RBs in the league were Joe Perry, Hugh McElhenney, and John Henry Johnson...and they all played on the same team.

I wonder if 49er scouts looked for that. Bud Grant always wanted to have defensive backs who had played baseball, specifically outfielders. Not sure he got it every time, but Krause and some of those others were outfielders. Maybe 49ers leaned to track guys if all other things were equal

I work with a guy who was in the Vikings training camp in 1981. Defensive back. He didn't make the team but said Bud Grant cut him personally, saying he reminded him of Paul Krause.

My friend is smart enough to know that Bud was just letting him down gently, but it speaks well of Bud.

Not many people realize how fast Paul Hornung was, probably because he was such a patient runner. But when the 1957 College All-Star team was practicing, he was egged on to run a 100-yard match race against Abe Woodson of Illinois, who was considered the fastest player in college football (and one of the very fastest in the NFL as a defensive back and kick returner with the 49ers). Hornung beat Woodson by 5 yards.