20. John Matuszak
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Tooz was one of the legendary NFL wildmen, a dude who was too crazy even for the insane Oakland Raiders. Just think about that. He was too wild for a franchise that was closer to a biker gang than a football team. Once he hung it up, Matuszak kicked things up a notch as… are you ready for this? Sloth in The Goonies. I’m not even messing with you here. Godspeed, noble weirdo.
19. OJ Simpson
Look, man, before the, uh, unpleasantness, OJ was one of the coolest dudes on the planet. He just was, okay? He was like Barry Sanders with movie star charisma and looks. Points off for, well, you know…
18. Jim Thorpe
In the Fox language, he was known as Wa-Tho-Huk, which means “Path lit by great flash of lightning.” Well… shit. And Jim Thorpe lived up to that as maybe the greatest athlete ever. In any sport. Hell, in every sport. He was one of the first true NFL heroes, and he did it all as a Native American badass in a white dude’s world. That makes him almost impossibly cool.
17. Ernie Ladd
The Big Cat technically never actually played in the NFL. That’s because he was one of the greatest players in AFL history, the precursor to the AFC, so you bet your ass I’ll allow it. He was also a pro-wrestling legend, who mixed menace with style perhaps better than anyone ever. He was 6’9” of cool.
16. Tim Rossovich
Tim Rossovich is one of the NFL’s all-time great weirdoes, a California golden-boy who literally ate glass just for the hell of it. He was Tom Selleck’s college roommate, and his younger brother was Slider in Top Gun. He trashed bars and told his opponents he loved them. He was a wild man who did everything at 1,000 mph and when he was done, he became a killer character actor in Hollywood. He was just a human force of nature.
15. Roy Jefferson
Roy Jefferson was a player for the Washington Redskins when he won one of the lead roles in the 70s Blaxploitation flick “Brotherhood of Death.” In that movie, he played a Vietnam vet who returned to the racist South and started a war against the goddamn Klan. Sure, it was just a movie, but I like to think he didn’t know that.
14. Alex Karras
Alex Karras was a Detroit Lions legend who famously marched to the beat of his own drum. His nickname was “The Mad Duck,” and he spent his downtime pro-wrestling and gambling, which later earned him a suspension. Then he went on to play Mongo in Blazing Saddles, punched out a horse and then eased into his golden years playing Webster’s dad in 80s sitcom glory. Goddamn, what a life and what a dude.
13. John Riggins
John Riggins once got drunk and hit on Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and then passed out under the table. She later brought him a dozen roses. He once walked away from the Redskins for one full season because they weren’t paying him fairly. He came back and took them to a Super Bowl win. John Riggins was a boss.
12. Ted Hendricks
He’s “The Mad Stork.” Teammate Kenny Stabler once called him a walking party, and that is a dude who knows something about parties. He showed up for his first practice with the Raiders riding a goddamn horse, wearing an old-school German war helmet. That is a thing that happened in real life. And Ted Hendricks is the dude who did it.
11. Bobby Layne
Bobby Layne was the prototype for the NFL boozehound quarterback. He played without a facemask and his best friends were Alex Karras and Mickey Mantle. He was the last quarterback to lead the Detroit Lions to glory and I’m pretty sure that makes him a minor deity of some kind. Or a major one. I won’t argue.