"BACK DOWN MEMORY LANE - WHEN THEY PLAYED ON REAL GRASS..."
HERB ADDERLEY, CORNERBACK, GREEN BAY PACKERS (1961-1969) had 48 career interceptions returning 7 for touchdowns, won five NFL Championship games and earned two Super Bowl rings as a Packer.
He was traded to the Dallas Cowboys in 1970, where he completed three seasons, going to two more Super Bowls winning another ring for Super Bowl VI.
Adderley, from Michigan State, was selected by the Packers in the 1st round of the 1961 NFL draft. A running back in college, Adderley was behind future Hall of Famers Jim Taylor and Paul Horning on the depth chart at running back. So, Coach Vince Lombardi decided to use him as an emergency corner back and in less than 1 year he became one of the best CBs in the league. Adderley was named All Pro 5 times and selected to 5 Pro Bowls. He, also, played in 4 of the first 6 Super Bowls and was the 1st defensive player to score a TD in a Super Bowl when he returned a Daryl Lamonica pass interception 60 yards for the score in Super Bowl II. Adderley retired after the 1972 season and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980.
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MARCUS ALLEN, RUNNING BACK, LOS ANGELES RAIDERS (1982-1992) and the KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (1993-1997).
RB Marcus Allen ran for a then-Super Bowl record 191 yards, including a then-Super Bowl record 74-yard TD, and was named MVP of Super Bowl XVIII.
Allen won the 1981 Heisman Trophy. He was the NFL's 1982 Rookie of the Year. During his 17 pro seasons, Allen amassed career totals of 3,022 rushes for 12,243 yards and 123 touchdowns, along with 587 receptions for 5,411 yards and 23 touchdowns. Allen was a star high school quarterback and used that talent occasionally, he completed 12 NFL passes for 284 yards and 6 more touchdowns. Allen was Super Bowl XVII MVP and entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003.
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LYLE ALZEDO, DEFENSIVE END/DEFENSIVE TACKLE (1971-1985)
Alzedo first brought his aggressive approach to the DENVER BRONCOS (1971-1978), where he was part of the fabled "Orange Crush" defense. He won the NFL's 1977 defensive player of the year award and was voted All Pro for two years in a row - -1977 and 1978.
Alzedo was traded to the CLEVELAND BROWNS in 1979 and played for the Browns until 1981. However, he is better remembered for his years with the LOS ANGELES RAIDERS from 1982 to 1985. He retired to pursue a Hollywood career.
A true defensive standout for the Broncos, he was the first Yankton (South Dakota) College player ever drafted by the NFL and was a two-time All-Conference pick. From those humble beginnings, his combination of quickness and strength provided him with the pass-rushing skills to start with the Broncos in 1971. His 4.75 40-yard dash time, coupled with his tremendous strength (he once had 27 wins as an amateur boxer) ranked him as one of pro football's top pass rushers. His status as a premier defensive lineman was also enhanced by his versatility - he played both end and tackle in the front four with All-pro status. The 6-foot-3, 254-pound Alzado played 15 seasons at defensive end for the BRONCOS, CLEVELAND BROWNS and LOS ANGELES RAIDERS. He was twice named All-Pro and compiled 97 sacks in 196 games.
A violent, combative player known for his short temper, Alzado was most comfortable with the renegade Raiders of the 1980s, helping them beat Washington in Super Bowl XVIII. But he also starred for Denver's "Orange Crush" defense of the 1970s, compiling 64½ sacks.
"The guy had a split personality," Raiders defensive end Greg Townsend said. "On the field, he had this tough image that he projected. Off the field he was the gentle giant. So caring, so warm, so giving."
After his rookie season, Alzado went back to Yankton to get his college degree. He received a B.A. in physical education with an emphasis on secondary education. In 1972, Alzado led Denver with 10½ sacks and tied for the most tackles with 91. He set a Broncos record with 13 sacks in 1974, when he began a string of seven straight games with at least one sack, a streak that continued through the first game of 1975.
In 1977, he was named the AFC's Defensive Player of the Year and Defensive Lineman of the Year after leading the Broncos with eight sacks. In Super Bowl XII, a 27-10 loss to Dallas, Alzado and teammate Rubin Carter each had two sacks, becoming the first players in franchise history with multiple sacks in a postseason game.
In March 1991, at the marriage to his fourth wife, Alzado couldn't walk a straight line. A month later, he was diagnosed with brain lymphoma, a rare form of cancer. After receiving a radical chemotherapy treatment and contracting pneumonia, Alzado died on May 14, 1992 at his home in Portland, Ore. The official cause of death was complications from brain cancer. He was 43. More at www.nfl.com.
