Cowboys & Players that did not play College Football

xwalker

Well-Known Member
Messages
56,925
Reaction score
64,351
CowboysZone ULTIMATE Fan
I made a comment in another thread that some guys (like Zeke) are such physical freaks that breaking the big end a pool cue over their head probably wouldn't affect them.

For me the pool cue over the head concept goes back to a story about an all time great athlete that most people have never heard about despite some great accomplishments.

This player made it to the NFL without playing college football which is a topic that has been discussed here in the past, most recently with regards to Rico Gathers. The Cowboys also developed a college basketball player (Jermey Parnell) into a starting NFL RT.

Most people know the story of Eric Swann, the NFL DT that never played in college, but most don't know about the player in my story below.

Side Note: This also reminds me of vivid memories I have of Bo Jackson breaking baseball bats. He often snapped them over his leg like twigs but sometimes he would put the bat over his head and pull down on each end to break the bat.

Story:
A friend of mine met one of those guys that was unaffected when someone broke the big end of a pool cue over his head.
My friend was a bouncer while attending college. He and 4 other bouncers attempted to "throw out" and unruly customer. The "customer" beat the crap out of my friend and 4 other bouncers in the process. After the "customer" had tossed them all aside, he stood up and said "If you want me to leave, just ask nicely"...

One of the bouncers broke the big end of a pool cue over the guy's head during the ruckus . He was unaffected by it...

That guy turned out to become an OLineman for the Steelers in the early nineties named Carlton Hasselrig.

Hasselrig is a fascinating story:

NFL:
He never played college football, was drafted in the 12th round by the Steelers in 1989 and was 1st team All-Pro in his 3rd season.

He had a short career due to mental issues but he was one of the great all time natural athletes. Just one of those guys born with the genetics to be physically better than most humans.

Overview:
Hasselrig had gone to a small college with the intention of playing football but a knee injury prior to ever playing in a game caused him to transfer to the University of Pittsburgh - Johnstown campus. They didn't have a football team at the Johnstown campus and Hasselrig joined the wrestling team.

Haselrig had never wrestled for a team before arriving at Pittsburgh-Johnstown; although he had done some wrestling during his High School Senior year.

College Wresting Career Results:
  • Won both the Division I and Division II titles in his sophomore, junior and senior season.
  • Career record of 143-2-1, including an NCAA-record 122 consecutive matches without a loss
  • He never lost a match at the NCAA Division I meet, going 15-0 at the heavyweight class in the 1987, 1988 and 1989 tournaments.
  • Defeated future Olympic Gold Metal Wrestler Kurt Angle.
High School:
He did a little bit of wresting before his Senior year of High School but his High School didn't have a wrestling team and that prevented him from competing during that time.

During in his junior year in High School, a neighboring high school needed a training partner for a standout wrestler, so Haselrig helped out. After seeing his success against one of the state’s top wrestlers, Haselrig’s high school petitioned the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association to let him compete in wrestling, beginning with the postseason district tournament his senior year. Haselrig went on to win every match, including a state title.
 

Runwildboys

Confused about stuff
Messages
50,239
Reaction score
94,113
CowboysZone DIEHARD Fan
Your mind is quite interesting. How do you come up with such weird topics?
While this should probably be in the Off Topic Zone, it's not that it's a "weird topic", he simply finds it impressive that someone would be so physically able to do what the subject did.
 

cowboyec

Well-Known Member
Messages
33,579
Reaction score
40,418
I remember him...didnt know he never played college ball.

Cornell Green was a basketball player and Coach Landry developed him into one of our greatest DBs.

WR Pete Gent was another college basketball player that turned out really well.

what I love most about Coach Landry was how he could switch a players position and turn them into outstanding players at that position...
Ray Wright...drafted as a DL...switched him to OT....Hall of Famer.
Pat Donovan...drafted as a DL...switched him to OT...became a multiple time pro-bowler.
Mark Tuinei...played DL then Coach moved him to OL because of injuries...was a tremendous OT for the 90s Super Bowl Champs squads.
 

Beats_By_Zeke

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,270
Reaction score
2,429
I have a similar story, of my fathers friend told me when he got back from the war.


This watch I got here was first purchased by your great-grandfather during the first World War. It was bought in a little general store in Knoxville, Tennessee. Made by the first company to ever make wrist watches. Up till then people just carried pocket watches. It was bought by private Doughboy Ernie Coolidge on the day he set sail for Paris. It was your great-grandfather’s war watch and he wore it every day he was in that war. When he had done his duty, he went home to your great-grandmother, took the watch off, put it an old coffee can, and in that can it stayed until your granddad Dane Coolidge was called upon by his country to go overseas and fight the Germans once again. This time they called it World War II. Your great-grandfather gave this watch to your granddad for good luck. Unfortunately, Dane’s luck wasn’t as good as his old man’s. Dane was a Marine and he was killed, along with the other Marines at the battle of Wake Island. Your granddad was facing death, he knew it. None of those boys had any illusions about ever leaving that island alive. So three days before the Japanese took the island, your granddad asked a gunner on an Air Force transport name of Winocki, a man he had never met before in his life, to deliver to his infant son, who he’d never seen in the flesh, his gold watch. Three days later, your granddad was dead. But Winocki kept his word. After the war was over, he paid a visit to your grandmother, delivering to your infant father, his dad’s gold watch.

This watch. This watch was on your daddy’s wrist when he was shot down over Hanoi. He was captured, put in a Vietnamese prison camp. He knew if the gooks ever saw the watch it’d be confiscated, taken away. The way your dad looked at it, that watch was your birthright. He’d be damned if any slopes were gonna put their greasy yellow hands on his boy’s birthright. So he hid it in the one place he knew he could hide something. His ***. Five long years, he wore this watch up his ***. Then he died of dysentery, he gave me the watch. I hid this uncomfortable hunk of metal up my *** two years. Then, after seven years, I was sent home to my family. And now, little man, I give the watch to you.
 

KingintheNorth

Chris in Arizona
Messages
17,308
Reaction score
23,650
A large part of my thesis was based on this.

Sport Transfer into American Tackle Football.
 

TwelfthStar

Active Member
Messages
155
Reaction score
135
Phew. TD.
And it's not even the Cowboys, or even a game that we have direct interest in. I really do care too much about football LOL.
 

Corso

Offseason mode... sleepy time
Messages
34,613
Reaction score
62,846
Your mind is quite interesting. How do you come up with such weird topics?
X is, to me, one of the pillars of this community.
Let it be said and counted amongst my annals.
Make sure it's spelled annals too...
You filthy animals.
 

xwalker

Well-Known Member
Messages
56,925
Reaction score
64,351
CowboysZone ULTIMATE Fan
While this should probably be in the Off Topic Zone, it's not that it's a "weird topic", he simply finds it impressive that someone would be so physically able to do what the subject did.

It was a big Cowboys topic just this year in training camp with Rico.

It has also been a Cowboys topic in recent years with regards to Jermey Parnell.
 

xwalker

Well-Known Member
Messages
56,925
Reaction score
64,351
CowboysZone ULTIMATE Fan
I have a similar story, of my fathers friend told me when he got back from the war.


This watch I got here was first purchased by your great-grandfather during the first World War. It was bought in a little general store in Knoxville, Tennessee. Made by the first company to ever make wrist watches. Up till then people just carried pocket watches. It was bought by private Doughboy Ernie Coolidge on the day he set sail for Paris. It was your great-grandfather’s war watch and he wore it every day he was in that war. When he had done his duty, he went home to your great-grandmother, took the watch off, put it an old coffee can, and in that can it stayed until your granddad Dane Coolidge was called upon by his country to go overseas and fight the Germans once again. This time they called it World War II. Your great-grandfather gave this watch to your granddad for good luck. Unfortunately, Dane’s luck wasn’t as good as his old man’s. Dane was a Marine and he was killed, along with the other Marines at the battle of Wake Island. Your granddad was facing death, he knew it. None of those boys had any illusions about ever leaving that island alive. So three days before the Japanese took the island, your granddad asked a gunner on an Air Force transport name of Winocki, a man he had never met before in his life, to deliver to his infant son, who he’d never seen in the flesh, his gold watch. Three days later, your granddad was dead. But Winocki kept his word. After the war was over, he paid a visit to your grandmother, delivering to your infant father, his dad’s gold watch.

This watch. This watch was on your daddy’s wrist when he was shot down over Hanoi. He was captured, put in a Vietnamese prison camp. He knew if the gooks ever saw the watch it’d be confiscated, taken away. The way your dad looked at it, that watch was your birthright. He’d be damned if any slopes were gonna put their greasy yellow hands on his boy’s birthright. So he hid it in the one place he knew he could hide something. His ***. Five long years, he wore this watch up his ***. Then he died of dysentery, he gave me the watch. I hid this uncomfortable hunk of metal up my *** two years. Then, after seven years, I was sent home to my family. And now, little man, I give the watch to you.

Text is meaningless in an attempt to tell a story like Walken...
 

Alexander

What's it going to be then, eh?
Messages
62,437
Reaction score
67,220
The Cowboys also developed a college basketball player (Jermey Parnell) into a starting NFL RT.

Gil Brandt had a rich history of developing athletes into football players.

He took Bob Hayes and molded him into an all-timer, yet the best you come up for your thread is your fetish object Jermey Parnell?
 

cowboyec

Well-Known Member
Messages
33,579
Reaction score
40,418
Gil Brandt had a rich history of developing athletes into football players.

He took Bob Hayes and molded him into an all-timer, yet the best you come up for your thread is your fetish object Jermey Parnell?
Coach Landry did that.
 

HowardC

Romo was elite
Messages
3,953
Reaction score
5,461
I remember him...didnt know he never played college ball.

Cornell Green was a basketball player and Coach Landry developed him into one of our greatest DBs.

WR Pete Gent was another college basketball player that turned out really well.

what I love most about Coach Landry was how he could switch a players position and turn them into outstanding players at that position...
Ray Wright...drafted as a DL...switched him to OT....Hall of Famer.
Pat Donovan...drafted as a DL...switched him to OT...became a multiple time pro-bowler.
Mark Tuinei...played DL then Coach moved him to OL because of injuries...was a tremendous OT for the 90s Super Bowl Champs squads.
Manster was drafted as a LB...
 
Top