Monday, December 10, 2012

NFL Legends: Pete Pihos, Jim Ringo, Emlen Tunnell and Dermontti Dawson custom McFarlane figures

While most Hall of Famers end up in Canton, these four are heading to Canada. My customer continues to build his collection of NFL Hall of Fame legends. It must be one impressive collection.

All player notes were pulled from Wikipedia.

Pete Pihos was drafted in the 5th round of the 1945 NFL Draft by the Eagles. During his nine seasons of play, he missed just one game. Pete led the NFL in receiving from 1953 through 1955 and earned first-team All-Pro or All-League honors six times and was named to six Pro Bowls.





The Packers drafted Jim Ringo in the seventh round of the 1953. Ringo was considered vastly undersized at 211 pounds but he used his quickness and excellent technique to build a 15-year NFL career, including 11 seasons with the Packers, as one of the game's best centers. Ringo attended his first of seven straight Pro Bowls in 1957, but he flourished under Lombardi, earning consensus All-Pro honors from 1959-63. Ringo's speed and mobility made him an ideal blocker for Lombardi's famous power sweep.


Emlen Tunnell played 14 years in the National Football League. He was the first African American to play for the New York Giants where he played his first 11 years. Lombardi having coached Tunnell in New York, encouraged him to play his last three years with the Green Bay Packers. He was the first African American star to play for Green Bay. He was a nine-time Pro Bowl selection. He ended his career with a record 79 interceptions. He was elected as the first African-American in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967. Tunnell began his pro career by hitchhiking across the country from Iowa to New York City to meet Jack Mara, son of Giants founder Tim Mara and ask to try out for the team. In his Hall of Fame induction speech, Tunnell thanked the West Indian banana-truck driver who dropped him off near this Polo Grounds "appointment."

  

Dermontti Dawson was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round of the 1988 NFL Draft. In his rookie season he played guard alongside Hall of Fame center Mike Webster. When Webster left the team following that season, Dawson succeeded him as the starting center. He soon became one of the most respected players among the Steelers, and one of the best in the league at his position. Dawson was named to seven straight Pro Bowls from 1992 to 1998 and was a six-time AP First Team All-Pro. In 1993, he was named co-AFC Offensive Lineman of the Year by the NFLPA and in 1996 he was named the NFL Alumni’s Offensive Lineman of the Year. He played in 170 consecutive games, the second most in Steelers history.