Robert Allen "Bob" Griese (/ˈɡriːsi/; born February 3, 1945) is a former American collegiate and Professional Football quarterback who earned All-American honors with the Purdue Boilermakers before being drafted in 1967 by the American Football League's Miami Dolphins. Griese led the Dolphins to three consecutive Super Bowl appearances, including two Super Bowl victories (VII and VIII) (he is the only Miami Dolphin quarterback to start and win a Super Bowl). Griese's talents eventually resulted in his induction to the College Football Hall of Fame and the Indiana Football Hall of Fame in 1984 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990. He is a retired television commentator for college football on ESPN on ABC, teaming with Chris Spielman and Dave Pasch.
Griese was born in Evansville, Indiana to Ida (Ulrich) and Sylverious "Slick" Griese. Slick owned a plumbing company in Evansville and died in 1955 when Bob was ten years old. Bob played baseball primarily, and excelled as a pitcher. He also enjoyed basketball and football. After being recruited by several colleges for football, Bob chose Purdue, where he majored in business management and became a three-sport star. In 1984, Bob was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame.
Lawrence Chatmon Little (born November 2, 1945) is a former offensive guard in college and professional American football in the National Football League. He has been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993. He played collegiately at Bethune-Cookman College, in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Little went unselected in 1967, however he signed as a free agent with the American Football League's San Diego Chargers in 1967 and 1968, and was traded to the AFL's Miami Dolphins for the 1969 season, when he was named an AFL All-Star. He then played with the National Football League Dolphins from 1970 through 1980.
"I didn't particularly like the trade," Little said in the January 1974 issue of SPORT. "The Dolphins weren't much then."
Little was a key contributor to the success of the Dolphins' punishing running attack of the early and mid-1970s, which featured Larry Csonka, Mercury Morris, Paul Warfield and Jim Kiick.
He also served as head football coach of his alma mater, from 1983 to 1991, and as head coach at North Carolina Central University from 1993 to 1998. In addition, Little served as head coach of the Ohio Glory of the World League of American Football (which eventually became the now defeunct NFL Europe).
Andrew Christopher "Drew" Brees (pronounced /ˈbriːs/; born January 15, 1979) is an American football quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Purdue.
Brees has been selected to the Pro Bowl six times in his career – with the Chargers in 2004 and the Saints in 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. He was named the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year in 2004, the Offensive Player of the Year in 2008, and the MVP of Super Bowl XLIV. He was also selected by voters to appear on the cover of EA Sports' Madden NFL 11.Sports Illustrated named him as its 2010 Sportsman of the Year.
Brees holds the single-season record for most passing yards in a single season, with 5,476 yards passing during the 2011 season.
Brees was born in Dallas, Texas, the son of Mina (née Akins), an attorney, and Eugene Wilson Brees II, a medical malpractice attorney. He was named after Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Drew Pearson. His uncle, Marty Akins, was an All-American starting quarterback for the Texas Longhorns college football team from 1975 to 1977. Chip Brees played basketball for the Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball team, and his grandfather, Ray Akins, had the third-most victories as a Texas high school football coach.
Leonard Ray "Len" "Lenny" Dawson (born June 20, 1935) is a former American collegiate and Professional Football quarterback who attended Purdue University and went on to play for three professional teams, most notably the Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs. Dawson led the Chiefs to three American Football League Championships, and a victory in the fourth and final AFL-NFL World Championship Game, for which he won the game's MVP award. Dawson retired from professional football in 1975 and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987. He is sports director at KMBC-TV in Kansas City and color analyst for the Chiefs Radio Network.
Dawson attended Alliance High School, in Alliance, Ohio.
During the recruiting process, Dawson had to choose between Ohio State University and Purdue. While he was reluctant to take over Woody Hayes' split-T offense with the Buckeyes, the true reason for his selection of Purdue stemmed from the chemistry he had established with a Boilermaker assistant coach, Hank Stram, beginning a friendship that would last for more than a half century. During three seasons with the Boilermakers, Dawson threw for over 3,000 yards, leading the Big Ten Conference in that category during each campaign. During his college career, Dawson became a member of the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity.
Michael Anthony "Mike" Hunt is a former professional American football player who played linebacker for three seasons for the Green Bay Packers, appearing in a total of 22 games.