15 Quick Hits Honor Huskers' 2015 Hall-of-Famers

Tingelhoff, Shields Elected to Pro Football Hall of Fame

Shields' Impact in Kansas City Goes Beyond Football

Tingelhoff's Decades-Old Oversight Finally Corrected

Randy York’s N-Sider

For just the sixth time in Pro Football Hall-of-Fame history, two players from the same school have been elected and will be enshrined in the same year. Saturday night was a magic moment for the University of Nebraska and Big Red fans everywhere. On the eve of Super Bowl XLIX in Arizona, Mick Tingelhoff and Will Shields – two of the game’s most storied offensive linemen – were announced as one-fourth of the eight individuals selected for enshrinement in the 2015 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.

Somehow, as the world turns, it seems as appropriate as it is exciting to see two Cornhusker legends headed for enshrinement on the same day – Aug. 7, 2015, in Canton, Ohio, the birthplace of the National Football League. The 186-day countdown will build up a Husker tandem worthy of becoming honored heroes and historical footnotes in the NFL’s treasure chest of preserved values and celebrated excellence. To help fans understand the depth and breadth of these two fabled icons, here are 15 quick hits that connect Nebraska’s 2015 Pro Football Hall-of-Famers to each other:

Two Husker Iron Men and 463 Consecutive  NFL Starts

1) Tingelhoff, pictured above, is a true Iron Man. His 240 consecutive starts in 17 seasons for the Minnesota Vikings is an NFL record for linemen. He never missed a practice either!

2) Call Shields an NFL Iron Man, too. He never missed a game for Kansas City and made 223 consecutive starts over his 14-year career, a Chiefs’ franchise record.

3) Tingelhoff was an undrafted NFL rookie from Lexington, Neb. At NU, he lettered in 1959-60-61 before earning five first-team All-Pro honors and six Pro Bowl selections. He was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 1980.

4)  A third-round draft choice of the Chiefs, Shields was born in Fort Riley, Kan., and played prep football in Lawton, Okla. He earned 12 Pro Bowl honors in his career and was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 1993, a year after he graduated.

5) Tingelhoff was a Nebraska football captain in 1961, along with Academic All-America halfback Pat Clare, Nebraska’s longtime orthopedic surgeon, and end Don Purcell.

6) A consensus college All-American and a three-time first-team all-conference selection, Shields was an original mentor for the Tom and Nancy Osborne Teammates Program. Mentors volunteer one hour per week to visit school-aged kids and encourage earning a high school diploma. Shields also co-founded the Will to Succeed Foundation with his wife Senia. The Kansas City-based organization guides, inspires and improves the lives of abused and neglected women and children. In 2003, for his remarkable voluntary efforts, Shields was named the NFL Man of the Year.

7) Nebraska retiredShields’ #75 jersey, and the Vikings retired Tingelhoff’s #53 jersey.

8) As a linebacket/center, Tingelhoff played on three Nebraska teams that went 11-18-1 under Coach Bill Jennings in 1959-60-61. The most historic victory was 25-21 over Oklahoma in 1959, snapping the Sooners’ 74-game conference winning streak.

9) Tingelhoff endured a 38-year wait to join the NFL’s elite after playing in relative obscurity in college, finishing his career the year before Bob Devaney arrived in 1962.

10) That begs an intriguing question. How many players have gone from undecorated and undrafted in college football to highly recognized and indestructible in pro football?

11) We turn to Mike Ditka, an NFL Hall-of-Famer as both a player and a coach, for perspective. “Mick Tingelhoff,” he said, “was the toughest center I ever played against.”

12) Tingelhoff played in 19 NFL playoff games. From 1968 to 1978, he helped the Vikings win 10 division titles and qualify for four Super Bowl games resulting in losses.

13) Nebraska will transition from having three players in the Pro Football Hall-of-Fame to five in one fell swoop of an early August celebration next summer.

14) What Huskers are already enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame? The answer: Guy “The Champ” Chamberlin, Roy "Link" Lyman, and Bob "The Boomer" Brown.

15) Three Husker players now have earned honors in both Halls of Fame: Chamblerlin (1962 College and 1965 Pro), Brown (1993 College and 2004 Pro) and Shields, who was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2011 before earning Pro Football Hall-of-Fame status in 2015.

Double Dose of Nebraska Pride and Husker Celebration

Forget about the expected longer wait than the four-year window that Shields had between earning the two highest individual honors in all of football. Something tells me that the days Tingelhoff experienced before Devaney’s arrival will be chronicled. So will Shields’ adventures that helped set the stage for Tom Osborne’s amazing 60 wins in 63 games and three national championships from 1993 to ’97. Expect the next six-plus months leading up to the 2015 Pro Football Hall-of-Fame ceremony to be a double dose of Nebraska pride and Husker celebration. The event might even make a meaningful vacation for some faithful Big Red followers. The drive from Lincoln to Canton, Ohio, is 892 miles via I-80 East, taking travelers through the Big Ten states of Iowa, Indiana and Illinois before Canton, the home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, elevates two Husker legends to the world. Check Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Central. It’s a big darn deal, especially for a 74-year-old Nebraska native who has waited nearly four decades for its arrival.

Send a comment to ryork@huskers.com (Include city, state)

Follow Randy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RandyYorkNsider

Randy’s N-Sider Blog Archive

Randy’s N-Sider Column Archive