Larry Grantham, an original Titans linebacker at the Polo Grounds half a century ago, and his Super Bowl III teammate Gerry Philbin, a defensive end on the all-time American Football League team. Freeman McNeil, a two-time 1,000-yard running back who has been described as the Curt Flood of N.F.L. free agency, and his teammate Al Toon, a sleek Pro Bowl wide receiver whose career was short-circuited by concussions.
At Monday night’s game against the Miami Dolphins at MetLife Stadium, they will be inducted into the Jets’ Ring of Honor, joining four from the Super Bowl III team — Coach Weeb Ewbank, Joe Namath, Don Maynard and Winston Hill — and Curtis Martin and Joe Klecko.
In his first five seasons, Toon, the 10th overall draft choice in 1985, had more receptions, 355, than anybody in his era, even Jerry Rice. He caught 517 passes for 6,605 yards and 31 touchdowns in his career, was named all-N.F.L. in 1986 and ’87 and led the league in 1988 with 93 receptions. But halfway through the 1992 schedule, he was flattened by a Denver Broncos linebacker.
“It felt like a cannonball hit me in the back of the head,” he said then. “When I came to, I remember thinking it wasn’t all that bad, but then it got worse.”
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By Toon’s count, it was his ninth concussion. Still dizzy, still nauseated, on the day after Thanksgiving, he retired suddenly at 29. Now a prominent businessman in Madison, Wis., in real estate, banking and Burger King restaurants, he is on the Green Bay Packers’ board of directors and received a Super Bowl XLV ring. Regarding the effects of all those concussions, Toon, 48, said, “I’m not suffering major issues, but the long range will tell.”
Just as McNeil, on their conference call last week, described Toon as having been “an exemplary person on and off the field,” Toon called McNeil, a third overall draft choice from U.C.L.A. in 1981, a “unique individual” whose “dedication permeated the team.” The Jets’ career leading rusher with 8,074 yards until Martin surpassed that total, McNeil was the lead plaintiff in a 1992 jury verdict that struck down the N.F.L.’s Plan B free-agency system.
“The recent lockout reminded me of the time we went through,” he said.
McNeil put his name on that antitrust suit after hearing complaints from teammates who weren’t making that much money but, under the Plan B rule in which teams could protect 37 players, were prevented from becoming free agents. Although four other plaintiffs received awards totaling $543,000, McNeil never got a dime. Still living on Long Island, he is a marketing executive for athletes and entertainers.
“To be up there in the Ring of Honor with Curtis Martin, is an honor,” he said.
Philbin, now retired in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., was not that big at 6 feet 2 inches and 245 pounds, but he terrorized A.F.L. quarterbacks. Although sacks were not officially recorded then, the Jets contend that Philbin had 14 ½ during their 11-3 season in 1968. At the University of Buffalo, his coach was Buddy Ryan, who joined the Jets as the defensive line tutor for their Super Bowl III season.
“Buddy was one of the toughest, but fairest, coaches I ever had,” Philbin said. “I used to do the spin move inside. My quickness helped me.”
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Philbin and Grantham remember Buddy’s twin sons, Rex, now the Jets’ coach, and Rob, the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator, as youngsters.
“The twins and Johnny Sample’s son,” Grantham said. “Their little games were the highlight of our Saturday practices at Shea Stadium.”
Grantham, who called the defensive signals, praised Philbin as “an undersized guy like I was, but he gave you 120 percent.”
“He rushed the passer great, he played the run great,” Grantham said. “Near the goal line, he always got penetration.”
Like so many of his Super Bowl III teammates, Philbin spoke almost reverentially of Grantham’s smarts, and said that over Grantham’s 13 seasons, he was “pound for pound, the best player” on the team.
Grantham, a linebacker out of Ole Miss usually listed as 6 feet and 210 pounds, said in recent years that “the most I ever played at was 192, and by the end of the season probably 185.” But he was an eight-time A.F.L. All-Star.
In the days before Super Bowl III, Grantham talked about how “we know Joe will get us points, so it’s up to the defense to stop the Colts.” And the defenses he called held those Baltimore Colts to one touchdown. Now he’s in the Ring of Honor with Namath and the other Super Bowl III honorees.
“It means everything in the world to be remembered,” Grantham said.
Especially for someone who has endured throat cancer.
“I’m getting better,” Grantham said from his home in Crystal Springs, Miss. “I’m in remission.”
In remission is even more important than in the Ring of Honor.
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Often overlooked on a colorful college football Saturday or on an action-packed NFL Sunday are the people who have a far deeper passion for the sport than those on the field. These aren't the highly recruited athletes or the high-priced pro stars; these are the everyday people who love the sport. Football America is a 94-minute feature narrated by James Coburn that introduces some of these people and their truly amazing stories.