Lexington, KY - The Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame, which honors past pro football players (or coaches, referees or others with strong bonds to pro football) who have ties to the state of Kentucky - whether by living here or playing college football here - is the only organization in the country to acknowledge players from a specific state. And looking through the past list of inductees, it's easy to see that Kentucky is fertile ground for prominent athletic achievement.
This year's list of inductees, who will be honored at a ceremony at 7 p.m. June 19 in the Lexington Opera House, includes such NFL luminaries as John Jackson, Sam Madison, Jim Marshall, 2006 NFL MVP Shaun Alexander and Joe Federspiel, a Chevy Chase neighbor who played for the New Orleans Saints from 1972 - 80 and the Baltimore Colts (a team that later moved to Indianapolis, Ind.) in 1981.
Federspiel, a Louisville native and graduate from DeSales High School, was recruited to the University of Kentucky in 1968 (back when freshmen weren't eligible to play, and the Wildcats played on Stoll Field across from Memorial Coliseum). He was a starting player for three years, earning such accolades as All SEC Sophomore Team in 1969 and Defensive Most Valuable Player in 1972. While at UK, he played against a powerful Ole Miss, led by quarterback Archie Manning (Peyton and Eli's father), beating them 9 - 7 on Stoll Field in 1970.
After a successful college career, Federspiel was drafted in the fourth round to the New Orleans Saints in 1972, a prospect he couldn't comprehend as a college player.
"We didn't have ESPN, we didn't have football five days a week," Federspiel said. "For them to say, 'Hey Joe, you keep it going, you might be able to be a pro football player' - I said, 'You're crazy.'"
What's really crazy is Federspiel's survival in the NFL, where a 10-season stint with the pros was a rarity at the time. "The average life expectancy of a player when I was playing was like three years," he said. "When you came into the league, you either got hurt or you got beat out of the job."
He may have not gotten hurt, but the wear and tear he incurred while in the league is sometimes evident when he goes to the doctor, who told him his knee looked like he "had worked construction since the day I was born." Federspiel attributes the extended longevity players experience today to improved equipment compared to when he was playing - he can remember a time when there was just a single bar across the front of the helmet.
Along with safer equipment, the size and scope of a player's ability is another aspect to the game Federspiel has watched transform.
"Back then, I thought a big guy was 6'5" 270lbs. Now they are 6'5" 320 lbs. I used to think it was fast running a 4.8 40 (40 yards in 4.8 seconds) back then, this was 30 years ago. And now, it's just unbelievable the size and speed of the game," he said. "And it's changed - it's more of a passing game than a running game. They do run the ball, but it's such a throwing game. Back when I was playing, it was 'establish the run first' and then throw the football. But now it's a wide open offense."
Federspiel is a past president of the NFL Players Association Kentucky Chapter Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame, and to be included in this year's induction class is a humbling experience for the athlete.
"It's a great honor, the older you get the more you appreciate this," he said. "To be able to be recognized among your peers as making a contribution, it's pretty gratifying. I feel honored that people think I played well enough to be included."
The current president of the organization is a 2006 inductee, Marty Moore, who also happens to be a Chevy Chase neighbor. From Fort Thomas, Ky., Moore played as a middle linebacker for UK from 1990 - 93 (after being red-shirted for the 1989 season). Initially he had committed to play for the University of Alabama, but after his father passed away toward the end of his high school career, he backed out of that commitment, opting to stay closer to home.
Moore was recruited by coach Jerry Claiborne, but played under head coach Bill Curry during his sophomore year and after, when UK was posting dismal season records. During his senior year, the Wildcats battled for a shot at post-season play and landed an appearance in the 1994 Peach Bowl against Clemson.
It was in that infamous game that Moore, late in the fourth quarter with UK in the lead, intercepted a pass from an advancing Tigers team. Instead of downing the ball, which would have given UK the opportunity to run the rest of the time off the clock and win the game, Moore attempted to run the ball back. He ended up fumbling the ball. Clemson recovered, scored with little time remaining, and won the game.
Devastating, yes, but Moore points to the game prior to the Peach Bowl against East Carolina, a last-second victory allowing UK the bowl appearance. In the end of that game, Moore caused a fumble, recovered and brought the ball back close enough for UK to kick a field goal and win the game. "People still mention the Peach Bowl, but a lot of people don't understand that I'm the reason we got to the Peach Bowl," he said.
Moore still holds the single season record for tackles at UK. "Hopefully they'll put my jersey up in Commonwealth Stadium at some point, but I'm not holding my breath," he said.
Following his senior year, Moore was drafted in 1994 to the New England Patriots - the last pick of the draft, earning him the moniker "Mr. Irrelevant," a title given to the last person picked in the draft every year. But it was quickly established that Moore was going to be anything but irrelevant.
For starters, Moore was the first Mr. Irrelevant to start his rookie year following the draft, and he was also the first with that title to win a Super Bowl. "It's the title you get dubbed, but it's been kind of bittersweet for me, because I started my rookie year, I won a Super Bowl. I'm the only guy to ever do that. So I have got the last laugh for sure."
Moore actually played in two Super Bowls. The first was a loss to the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXI (1997); the second was the victory over the St. Louis Rams in XXXVI (2002). But these aren't the games he remembers the most - that distinction goes to his very first pro game.
"The first game I ever had was probably the one I remember the most, because I line up and there's Dan Marino," Moore said. "I was going, 'Man, I was in the eighth grade pretending I was Dan Marino.'"
The NFL Players Association Kentucky Chapter Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame
Aside from acknowledging the athletic accomplishments of pro football players with strong ties to the state of Kentucky, the non-profit organization is also a fundraising effort for many charitable causes, with events such as the induction ceremony, a Super Bowl party and a charitable golf scramble. Inductees are nominated and voted upon by sports writers across Kentucky.
Aside from honoring Shaun Alexander, Joe Federspiel, John Jackson, Sam Madison and Jim Marshall at the induction ceremony, the evening will also feature the 2009 recipient of the Blanton Collier Award for Integrity On and Off the Field, Tony Dungee, past head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Indianapolis Colts.
This award, in honor of Blanton Collier, a head coach of the UK football team and the Cleveland Browns (and, interestingly, a former Chevy Chase neighbor while coaching at UK), was initiated in 2007 to raise awareness not only to the major contributions Collier made to the modern game of professional football, but also to perpetuate his legacy, marked by the coach's integrity on and off the field.
For more information on the organization, or for tickets to June's induction ceremony, call (859) 276-3488 ext. 21.