So Cal's All-Time Roster: No. 85
No. 85:
Our pick:
==Jack Youngblood, Rams (1971-'84)
The legend of the Pro Football Hall of Famer starts with the fact he played through the 1979 playoffs and through the '80 Super Bowl with a fractured left leg. In 2004 Sports Illustrated listed Youngblood's playing with the fractured fibula on its Top ten list of athletes playing in pain.
A first-round draft pick out of Florida, Youngblood was a five-time All-Pro during his 14 years and All-NFC seven times. He'd go on to only miss one game in his career, running off a streak of 201 games played in a row. That streak ended in week 15 of the '84 season when he had a ruptured disc in his lower back. Even with that injury, he played in the playoffs that season even though doctors said he needed surgery.
Although they didn't keep stats, he had 151.5 sacks and led the team nine times in that category. According to profootballweekly.com, "Roger Staubach said Youngblood was the toughest defensive lineman that he ever faced."
After he retired, Youngblood was the Rams' radio colorman from 1987-'91. He was even the first co-host for ESPN's Game Day with Chris Berman before Tom Jackson replaced him. His autobiography, "Blood," which came out in 1988, can still be located with a good web browser. But don't break your leg trying to find it.
Other No. 85s:
==Lamar Lundy, Rams ('57-'69)
==Dokie Williams, UCLA football, Raiders ('83-'87)
Sports Illustrated's pick for the all-time No. 85: Youngblood.
Did we miss anyone?
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