Semi-Pro Players Who Made It to the NFL

[7DnBrnc53]

And of course there's King Corcoran, made famous in the NFL Films documentary on the Firebirds, who briefly played for the Boston Patriots in 1968.

How good was King Corcoran?

[Ronfitch]

Jack Dolbin played for the Pottstown Firebirds and the Schuylkill Coal Crackers before he made it onto the Broncos. RB Marv Hubbard was on the Hartford Knights before hooking on with the Raiders. And of course there's King Corcoran, made famous in the NFL Films documentary on the Firebirds, who briefly played for the Boston Patriots in 1968. Other Firebirds who played briefly in the NFL include LB Harold Wells (Eagles) and WR Ron Holliday (Chargers). As already mentioned earlier in this thread, Firebird TE Bob Tucker had a long and distinguished career.

If ever there was the living embodiment of "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend" line, it is King Corcoran. That NFL Films doc is great. Gotta love his swagger and confidence, he did live large.

[Ronfitch]

And of course there's King Corcoran, made famous in the NFL Films documentary on the Firebirds, who briefly played for the Boston Patriots in 1968.

How good was King Corcoran?

According to him ...

[Shipley]

It depends on who you ask. He was the leading passer in the WFL in 1975 and was in several NFL training camps, but was basically uncoachable. If you ever get the chance, check out the NFL Films show "Pottstown Revisited," where they go back and interview a bunch of the players 40 years after the original documentary ran before Super Bowl VI. It does a good job of showing all sides of him once they are able to track him down because he was living on the lam and evading bill collectors.

[John Grasso]

I found an old program from the only minor league football game I ever attended -
the King Korn "Stamp Bowl" game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and Hartford Charter Oaks
of the Continental Football League on Aug. 15, 1966 at Downing Stadium on Randall's Island
in New York. I believe it was a pre-season game on a Monday night with the Dodgers regular
season beginning the next Saturday.
The cover of the 4 page program has a caricature of a bum, similar to the one that Willard Mullin
made famous for the baseball team although this one is signed by Bruce Stark who was the cartoonist
for the NY Daily News.
The General Manager of the Dodgers was the baseball great Jackie Robinson. Head coach was
Andy Robustelli and one of the three assistant coaches was Jack Stroud. One of the team assistants
had an interesting name - Vince Lombardo.
Head coach of Hartford was Lowell Lander and the two assistants were John Dell Isola and Bill Leeka
Only five officials are listed.
The 49 man roster for the Dodgers lists 8 players who either played or would play in the NFL or AFL.
Veterans with pro experience were Sonny Gibbs, Tom Costello and Bob Reed.
Players would subsequently play in the NFL or AFL were Dave Pivec, Don Gulseth, Bo Hickey and
quarterbacks Tom Kennedy (who was featured later that year in the 72-41 debacle) and a player
listed simply as Jim Corcoran from Maryland who later became better known as "King".
The 43 man Charter Oaks roster had kicker Bill Shockley who had had previous NFL experience and would later
rejoin the NFL. Five others on Hartford had previously played in the NFL or AFL but would not again.
They were Bob Soleau, Mike Bundra, Lloyd McCoy, Bob Gaiters and Ron Nery.

One of the strongest memories I have of that game is the P.A. announcer continually referring
to the Hartford team as the Artichokes (instead of the Charter Oaks).

[Bryan]

Not really a story, but as a kid I always thought it was awesome to get a Topps card for a player who had some weird "ACFL" stats listed on the back.

I believe the "Lifetime Totals" line at the bottom of his stats actually includes the ACFL stats, which is, well ... odd.

I also loved getting the Topps baseball cards that would have detailed minor league statistics. You'd flip over the card, see the stats in tiny print because they are trying to list 15 seasons...and the career totals consist of a few months spent in the majors.

[Mark L. Ford]

I see that Teo mentioned Eric Swann a week before I did-- his was an incredible story, academically ineligible to play college ball when he graduated high school in 1989, attended community college for a year, played semipro ball for the Bay State Titans in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1990, became the Cardinals' first round draft pick (sixth overall) despite being just 20 years old and having no college football experience, was a two-time all-pro and Pro Bowl selection in '95 and '96, signed a $25 million contract with a $7.5 million bonus from the Cardinals in 1998.

Oldecapecod referred to Butch Songin of the Patriots. Songin has the distinction of being the last player to be in two different versions of the American Football League-- in the first season of the 1960 AFL, as well in 1950 in the final season of a minor league AFL,
not only played in the first season of the American Football League in its first season in 1960, he also played in the final season of another American Football League, a minor circuit, as quarterback of the Erie Vets in 1950. I didn't realize it until I read his Wikipedia article, but he's one of the few pro football players to ever play ice hockey as well (he was on a minor league after being a star in college). It's so rare that the only other ice hockey/football player that I know of is Lionel Conacher, who was a star for the Toronto Argonauts and for the Chicago Black Hawks.

[luckyshow]

I guess my memory was a mess for those Dodgers, so long ago, and lousy, on TV on (probably) tape delay, perhaps on UHF channel. It was Kennedy not Goldstyn that was the QB I meant. Oops...

[3243]

Jack Dolbin played for the Pottstown Firebirds and the Schuylkill Coal Crackers before he made it onto the Broncos. RB Marv Hubbard was on the Hartford Knights before hooking on with the Raiders. And of course there's King Corcoran, made famous in the NFL Films documentary on the Firebirds, who briefly played for the Boston Patriots in 1968. Other Firebirds who played briefly in the NFL include LB Harold Wells (Eagles) and WR Ron Holliday (Chargers). As already mentioned earlier in this thread, Firebird TE Bob Tucker had a long and distinguished career.

Speaking of NFL Films, didn't long-time NFL Films cameraperson/producer Phil Tuckett play semi-pro ball before making it onto the San Diego Chargers' roster in 1968?

Three other Pottstown Firebirds had some NFL experience: Jim Thrower (a defensive back for the Philadelphia Eagles during the early '70s), Bill Stetz (an Eagles' defensive tackle in 1967), and running back John Land played briefly for both the Eagles and Colts.