South Carolina Football: Ranking the top-20 NFL Gamecocks of all-time

South Carolina Football’s No. 4 Greatest NFL Player of All-Time:
LB Tom Addison

One of the best linebackers in the NFL during the 1960s, Tom Addison (1955-1957) was well on his way to a Hall of Fame induction when a knee injury ended his career. Prior to hurting his knee, he was extremely durable (played 84 games straight) and was among the best in the sport. Addison was a 3-time All-Pro and a 4-time All-AFL All-Star for the Boston Patriots.

Addison was viewed as the best run-stopping linebacker in the AFL during his career (Dick Butkus and Ray Nitschke held the honors in the NFL), but he was also good in coverage, picking off 16 passes in his 8 seasons in Boston.

Addison’s tremendous career almost never even happened as he was selected in the 12th round (a round that no longer exists) by the Baltimore Colts but elected to get a job outside of football because the pay was too low. After two seasons away from the game, Addison was offered a contract by the Patriots, and the rest is history.