GRIDIRON GIANTS

DANNY SUMMERS THE GAZETTE

The Colorado Springs area has a deep and rich football tradition dating back more than a century. Dozens of top high school stars have gone to outstanding collegiate careers. Of those, 26 have played in the NFL.

Several others have been invited to NFL training camps or participated in exhibition games. Some were on taxi or practice squads. A few played in other professional leagues such as the Canadian Football League, the U.S. Football League and the World Football League.

The Gazette has compiled a detailed list of area players who have participated in at least one regular-season NFL game. The list ranges from Mitchell's Bob Sapp (one game) to Fountain's Don Cockroft (188).

Mitchell has produced the most NFL players with six. Thirteen area schools lay claim to the players.

Also included in this list are Earl "Dutch" Clark and Steve Sabol, who played for Colorado College, and Chad Hennings, who was part of the great Air Force teams of the 1980s. All three went on to play significant roles in the NFL and for that reason they, and no other local college players, were added to the local list.

Here is the list of players with some facts and statistics.

THE HIGH SCHOOLERS

AIR ACADEMY

Linden King, 1973

King attended Colorado State and was selected in the third round of the 1977 draft by San Diego. A linebacker, he played in 164 games for the Chargers and Los Angeles Raiders from 1978-1989. He intercepted eight passes, had 24 1/2 sacks and returned one fumble for a touchdown. King lives in the San Francisco Bay area.

CAON CITY

Chuck Walton, 1959

Walton attended Iowa State and was a fourthround draft choice of Detroit in 1963. An offensive guard, he played in 98 games for the Lions from 1967-1974.

CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN

Matt Darwin, 1981

Darwin left Cheyenne Mountain after his sophomore year and graduated from Klein High School in Houston. He played for Texas A&M and was a fourth-round draft choice of Philadelphia in 1986. An offensive tackle/center, Darwin played in 61 games for the Eagles from 1986-1990.

DOHERTY

Steve Bartalo, 1982

Bartalo was a running back at Colorado State and was selected by Tampa Bay in the sixth round of the 1987 draft. He played in nine games for the Buccaneers in 1987, rushing for 30 yards and scoring a touchdown.

Tahaun Lewis, 1986

Lewis attended Nebraska and was a ninthround draft choice of the Los Angeles Raiders in 1992. A defensive back, he was released by the Raiders before the season began and signed with Kansas City. He played in nine games for the Chiefs in 1992 and did not intercept a pass.

FOUNTAIN (FOUNTAIN-FORT CARSON)

Don Cockroft, 1963

The kicking specialist played at Adams State and was selected by Cleveland in the third round of the 1967 draft. He scored 100 points during his rookie season in 1968 and played in 188 games until his retirement after the 1980 season. Cockroft lives in the Cleveland area.

HARRISON

Tony Woods, 1984

Woods played his college ball at Rose State College in Oklahoma and the University of Oklahoma. A defensive tackle, he was an eighthround selection of Chicago in 1989. He played in 15 games for the Bears in 1989 and had one sack.

MANITOU SPRINGS

Justin Armour, 1991, above

Armour was one of the most talented athletes to come from the area. He also was a star basketball player. Following an outstanding career at Stanford, Armour was selected by Buffalo in the fourth round of the 1995 draft. He caught 26 passes for 300 yards and three touchdowns his rookie season. Armour was injured in 1996, and he played one game with Philadelphia in 1997 and seven games with Denver in 1998. He saved his best season for last in 1999 when he hauled in 37 passes for 538 yards and four touchdowns for Baltimore. He lives in the San Diego area.

MITCHELL

Cullen Bryant, 1969

Bryant has been inducted into the Colorado Springs Sports Hall of Fame. After starring for Colorado, Bryant was the second-round selection of the Los Angeles Rams in 1973. He helped the Rams win a record seven consecutive NFC West Division titles from 1973-1979. He rushed for a career-high 807 yards in 1980. That same season he caught a career-high 53 passes. He had 3,264 yards rushing for his career and also was an excellent punt and kick return specialist. He played two seasons for Seattle in 1983 and 1984 and retired, but he was called back into action during the strike season of 1987 when NFL teams needed replacement players. He saw action in three games for the Rams and retired for good after the season. He played in 153 games.

Burnie Legette, 1989

Legette was a running back at Michigan but was not drafted. He signed a free-agent contract with New England in 1993 and played in 10 games over two seasons, mostly on special teams. He did not have a regular-season rushing attempt. Legette resides in Colorado Springs.

Terry Miller, 1974

A star running back at Oklahoma State, Miller finished second in the 1977 Heisman Trophy voting to Texas' Earl Campbell. Buffalo selected Miller in the first round of the 1978 draft to replace O.J. Simpson, who had been traded to San Francisco. Miller responded by rushing for 1,060 yards and seven touchdowns. He is the only area player to top 1,000 yards in a season. Miller's career went downhill after his rookie season and he gained only 523 yards the next three years with the Bills and Seattle before his career ended in 1981. Miller lives in the Oklahoma City area.

Darryl Pollard, 1982

Pollard attended Weber State and was not drafted. He signed a free- agent contract as a defensive back with San Francisco in 1987 and appeared in 49 games with the 49ers over the next four seasons. He missed 1991 due to an injury and signed with Tampa Bay in 1992, intercepting two passes for the Buccaneers. He finished his career with four interceptions. Pollard lives in the San Francisco Bay area.

Bob Sapp, 1992

Sapp is one of most interesting area athletes of all time. The 6- foot-4, 303-pounder played at Washington and was a third-round selection of Chicago in 1997. He was released by the Bears before the season began and signed by Minnesota. Sapp played in just one game for the Vikings in 1997 and was released in training camp the following season. Sapp embarked on a professional martial arts career and is one of the most well-known at his craft, especially in Japan.

Steve Scifres, 1990

Scifres was a 6-4, 300-pound offensive guard/tackle who played at Wyoming before being selected by Dallas in the third round of the 1997 draft. He played in five games for the Cowboys in 1997 and was released the following season. He played for Carolina in 1998 and New Orleans in 1999.

"We (Colorado Springs) haven't won a lot of state championships, but we've had some great individual players," said former Mitchell coach Tom Sandoval, who coached Legette, Sapp and Scifres, and was an assistant coach for Pollard. "I think that's a sign of how hard those guys work and how talented they were or are."

RAMPART

Andy Haase, 1993

Haase was a tight end and a member of two Division II national championship teams at the University of Northern Colorado in 1996 and 1997. Undrafted, he played in seven games for the New York Giants in 1998, catching a pair of passes for 33 yards.

Dexter Wynn, 1999

After a fine career at Colorado State, Wynn, a defensive back, was selected by Philadelphia in the sixth round of April's draft. Wynn has played a key role in the success of the Eagles, being used primarily as a punt returner. He appeared in all 16 regular-season games and made 11 tackles, including one sack, and he returned 18 punts for an 11.5-yard average and had one kickoff return for 21 yards.

SIERRA

Alex Molden, 1991

Molden starred at Oregon and was selected by New Orleans in the first round of the 1996 draft. A defensive back, he played in 14 games for the Saints in 1996, intercepting two passes and recording a pair of sacks. After five seasons with the Saints, Molden moved to San Diego for the 2001 and 2002 seasons before winding up with Detroit for two games in 2003. He had 12 interceptions and eight sacks.

Aaron Smith, 1994

Smith is one of the best defensive ends in the NFL. Following a standout career at the University of Northern Colorado, Smith was a fourthround draft pick of Pittsburgh in 1999. Smith had a career- and team-high eight sacks this year, 271/2 in his career. He had 44 tackles and forced three fumbles.

SIMLA

Barry Helton, 1983

Helton was a star quarterback at Simla but was used as a punter at Colorado. He was selected by San Francisco in the fourth round of the 1988 draft. He averaged 38.9 yards per kick over four seasons from 1988-1991 with the 49ers and Los Angeles Rams, playing in 50 games. He lives in Colorado Springs.

Glen Morris, 1930

Morris played for Colorado State and was also a track star for the Rams. He later competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics in the decathlon. His NFL career consisted of four games as an offensive and defensive end for the Detroit Lions in 1940. He was not drafted. He died in San Mateo, Calif., in 1974.

WASSON

Roc Alexander, 2000

Alexander played at Washington and was not selected in April's draft. He signed a freeagent contract with Denver and appeared in all 16 games for the Broncos. He returned 19 kickoffs for a 20.3 average. He also has seen action as a defensive back, making 12 tackles.

Dan Audick, 1972

Audick was a key member of Wasson's 1971 state title team and went on to play at Hawaii. An offensive tackle/guard, Audick was selected by Pittsburgh in the fourth round of the 1977 draft. He was released before the season and signed by the St. Louis Cardinals, where he played in two games in 1977. Audick made stops in San Diego, San Francisco and back to St. Louis before retiring after the 1984 season.

Dan McMillen, 1982

McMillen played at Colorado and was selected in the fifth round of the 1986 draft as a defensive end by Philadelphia. He was released by the Eagles before the season began and eventually saw action with the Los Angeles Raiders and Eagles during the 1987 strike season. He had one sack in two games.

WIDEFIELD

Darryl Clack, 1982

Clack played at Arizona State and was selected by the Cowboys in the second round of the 1986 draft. He played for legendary coach Tom Landry for three seasons and Jimmy Johnson in his final year in the NFL in 1989 when the Cowboys went 1-15. Used mostly to return kickoffs, Clack rushed for 113 yards in his career and scored three touchdowns. He also caught 22 passes.

Sean Hill, 1989

Hill played at Montana State and was selected by Miami in the seventh round of the 1994 draft. A defensive back, he played three seasons for the Dolphins, appearing in 44 games. He intercepted one pass and returned a fumble for a touchdown.

Brian Walker, 1990

Walker, a defensive back, went to Snow College in Utah and Washington State. He was not drafted but was signed as a free agent by Washington in 1996. He played in 16 games for the Redskins in 1996, starting four. He was released by the Redskins in 1997 after five games and signed by Miami, but did not play for the Dolphins that season. Walker played for Seattle in 1999 and returned to Miami in 2000, where he intercepted a career-high seven passes. He joined Detroit in 2002. Last season he started all 16 games for the Lions. He has been on injured reserve this season.

THE COLLEGE STARS

COLORADO COLLEGE

Dutch Clark, 1929

A case can be made that Clark, a 1924 graduate of Pueblo Central, was the greatest player in the history of Colorado Springs. He didn't play his first game in the NFL until 1931, two years after his magnificent career ended at Colorado College, where he was the school's first All-American in 1929. He played for the Portsmouth Spartans in 1931 and 1932, before retiring to be the coach at Colorado School of Mines in 1933. He returned to the NFL with Detroit in 1934 and played with the Lions through the 1938 season. He was an All-Pro quarterback four times and helped the Lions establish a team rushing record in 1936 that stood for 36 years. He completed 53.5 percent of his passes during the 1936 season when the league average was 36.5. He rushed for 2,772 yards and caught 28 passes in his career. Clark also led the NFL in scoring three times and was the league's last great dropkicker, converting 15 field goals and 72 extra points. Clark was considered to be an equal of the great Red Grange and Jim Thorpe. Clark was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame's inaugural class of 1963. He died in Caon City in 1978.

Steve Sabol, 1966, above

Sabol was a running back at Colorado College when he got a telephone call from his father Ed in 1962 asking him if he could help film the 1962 NFL Championship Game between the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants. Sabol obliged, returned to his home in Philadelphia to work with his father, and NFL Films was born. The sports empire is now based in New Jersey. Sabol was inducted into the Colorado College Hall of Fame a few years back.

AIR FORCE ACADEMY

Chad Hennings, 1988, below

Born and raised in Iowa, Hennings was selected by Dallas in the 11th round of the 1988 draft as a defensive end. He capped his outstanding Air Force career by winning the 1987 Outland Trophy and being named the Western Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year. After serving his military commitment, he joined the Cowboys in 1992 and was a member of three Super Bowl-winning teams in 1992, 1993 and 1995. He played in 119 games until he retired after the 2000 season. He finished with 271/2 sacks.

THE BEST

c Don Cockroft

(Fountain) scored 1,080 points as a placekicker and at the time of his retirement was ninth alltime in NFL history in that category. Cockroft was an equally successful punter, averaging 40.3 yards per kick. He was an All-Pro punter in 1972 and an All-Pro kicker in 1978. He also played in the first ABC "Monday Night Football" game in 1970 when the Browns defeated the New York Jets 31-21 in front of 85,703 in Cleveland. In addition, Cockroft played in the 1968 and 1969 NFL title games.

Cullen Bryant

(Mitchell) joins Cockroft as the only area players to be selected as an All-Pro, earning the honor as a kick return specialist in 1976. He returned three kickoffs for touchdowns in his career and scored 26 touchdowns. His 3,264 rushing yards and 148 receptions are the most by an area

Aaron Smith, above (Sierra) has started 80 consecutive games for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Earlier this season Smith signed a $17 million contract extension.

Linden King (Air Academy) was a linebacker on the great San Diego Chargers "Air Coryell" teams of the late 1970s and 1980s. King played in the 1980 and 1981 AFC championship games. He also took part in what is considered one of the greatest games in NFL history when the Chargers defeated the Miami Dolphins 41-38 in overtime in a 1981 divisional playoff game. A week later, King and the Chargers lost in Cincinnati to the Bengals in the AFC Championship when temperatures reached a low of 55 degrees below zero with the windchill factor -- the coldest NFL game on record.

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