NFL 50th Anniversary All-Time Team

• 1. Introduction

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  The NFL 50th Anniversary All-Time Team was selected in 1969, the year the league reached its half-century mark. Pro Football Hall of Fame voters from each franchise city cast their ballots for the greatest players across all fifty years. Sixteen names emerged. Four of those sixteen were still playing in the NFL at the moment of their selection. One name at the top of the list required a category that had never before appeared on an NFL honor roll.

• 2. The Legend Category

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  Voters placed Jim Thorpe at the very top of the 50th Anniversary ballot in a classification called "legend." They described him as "the star that never diminishes." His professional career had begun with the Canton Bulldogs in 1915, and it took him through several different franchises over the following decade and more. Those stops included the Cleveland Indians, the Oorang Indians, the Rock Island Independents, the New York Giants, the Tampa Cardinals, and the Chicago Cardinals. He returned to the Canton Bulldogs for a second stint as well. Decades separated his final game from the 1969 vote. When voters turned to the fifteen positional categories, they drew from the full breadth of the league's history.

• 3. Still on the Roster

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  Johnny Unitas had been the Baltimore Colts' starting quarterback since 1956. In 1969, he was still on the active roster when the 50th Anniversary balloting concluded. Ray Nitschke had been a Green Bay Packer since 1958. John Mackey joined the Baltimore Colts in 1963, and Gale Sayers had been with the Chicago Bears since 1965.

  All but three of the sixteen honorees had played at some point within the twenty years preceding 1969. Those three exceptions came from the league's earliest decades. The fifteen positional selections ran from fullback to place kicker, covering every part of the field.

• 4. The Full Ballot

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  Jim Brown ran for the Cleveland Browns from 1957 to 1965 and was named the fullback. Don Hutson played for the Green Bay Packers throughout his career, from 1935 to 1945, winning the split end position. Elroy Hirsch began with the Chicago Rockets before joining the Los Angeles Rams in 1949. He was selected as the flanker. Chuck Bednarik played center for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1949 to 1962. Cal Hubbard played for the New York Giants, the Green Bay Packers, and the Pittsburgh Pirates across his career. He was named at offensive tackle. Jerry Kramer spent his career with the Green Bay Packers from 1958 to 1968 and was selected at guard.

  Gino Marchetti spent a single season with the Dallas Texans in 1952 before joining the Baltimore Colts. He played defensive end in Baltimore from 1953 to 1964 and returned for one additional season in 1966. Leo Nomellini played defensive tackle for the San Francisco 49ers from 1950 to 1963. Dick "Night Train" Lane played cornerback across three franchises: the Los Angeles Rams, the Chicago Cardinals, and the Detroit Lions. Emlen Tunnell played safety for the New York Giants from 1948 to 1958 before finishing his career with the Green Bay Packers in 1961. Lou Groza kicked for the Cleveland Browns from 1946 through 1967. Alongside the sixteen winners, voters also named two runners-up for each of the fifteen positions.

• 5. Tested by Time

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  Seven of the sixteen 50th Anniversary honorees were later named to the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team. Those seven were Johnny Unitas, Jim Brown, Gale Sayers, Don Hutson, Gino Marchetti, Ray Nitschke, and Dick "Night Train" Lane. When the league's centennial came, eleven of the original sixteen appeared on the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team. The five additions on that list were Elroy Hirsch, John Mackey, Cal Hubbard, Chuck Bednarik, and Emlen Tunnell. One member of the original sixteen waited decades longer than the others for Hall of Fame recognition. Jerry Kramer was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018. His induction meant that all sixteen honorees from the 50th Anniversary All-Time Team had been enshrined in Canton.

  The thirty runners-up named in 1969 covered every position on the ballot. Among them were Sammy Baugh, Bronko Nagurski, and Deacon Jones. Mike Ditka and Ron Kramer finished as the runners-up at tight end, directly behind John Mackey.