22. Pat Fischer
Football / St. Edward / Born: 1940
QUICK FACTS:
Played for: Oakland High, Omaha Westside High, Nebraska Cornhuskers, St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Redskins
Best athlete from Nebraska played with or against: "There's no way to pick just one," he said. One well-known Nebraskan he played with in college was Mick Tingelhoff.
Best moment as an athlete: "The game that will always stand out is the (1959) game and being on the team that broke the string of losses to Oklahoma. But overall, the best moment is now, reflecting on what friendships you developed and what loyalty means."
Football historians call him the originator of the famous "bump-and-run" technique used by NFL cornerbacks.
Pat Fischer recalls using the method only after being told to do so by a defensive backs coach with the St. Louis Cardinals.
"All the defenses would bring the cornerbacks closer when the offense got down to the goal line for obvious reasons," said Fischer, who sells real estate in Virginia. "So our backs coach had us start getting closer to the line of scrimmage all the time.
"I couldn't do it at three or four yards, so I just got right up to the line."
Following a decorated career at Nebraska, where he followed older brothers Rex, Cletus and Ken, Fischer was taken by the Cardinals in the 17th round of the 1961 NFL draft and was later traded to the Washington Redskins. Being so small in stature (historically listed at 5-9, 170 pounds), Fischer seemed to be the guy NFL quarterbacks could pick on. Seventeen seasons later, three of them as an All-Pro, he had made his mark playing in more games than any other NFL cornerback in history.
"Expectations have changed," he said of today's game. "They're planning ways to get to the NFL right from high school and into college. Back then, we didn't expect anything and were just thankful to get there. We were actually awed by it all."
-- Nick Rubek
QUICK FACTS:
Played for: Oakland High, Omaha Westside High, Nebraska Cornhuskers, St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Redskins
Best athlete from Nebraska played with or against: "There's no way to pick just one," he said. One well-known Nebraskan he played with in college was Mick Tingelhoff.
Best moment as an athlete: "The game that will always stand out is the (1959) game and being on the team that broke the string of losses to Oklahoma. But overall, the best moment is now, reflecting on what friendships you developed and what loyalty means."
