Shields, Tingelhoff, Alberts, Rimington Will Be Honored Saturday

Huskers Host Badgers in Big Ten Home Opener

Randy York N-Sider

Official Blog of the Huskers

One of the most compelling game-day celebrations in Nebraska football history is set for Saturday when the Huskers host the Wisconsin Badgers in a game that will be nationally televised on ABC-TV beginning at 2:30 p.m.

During the first half, Nebraska will honor Will Shields and Mick Tingelhoff, who were both inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last Aug. 8. In the history of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, 2015 marked only the fifth time for a single school to induct multiple Pro Football Hall-of-Famers in the same year.

During halftime, Trev Alberts, a 1993 All-American defensive end, will be honored before his Dec. 8th induction into the National Football Foundation’s College Football Hall of Fame. Dave Rimington also will be introduced to an ongoing NCAA record Memorial Stadium sellout crowd for his recent induction into the University of Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame. Rimington is the Huskers’ first football player to receive that honor, which was launched last August. A prior commitment prevented Rimington from attending the season-opener that recognized 22 Husker student-athletes who were inaugural recipients.  

Here’s a closer look at all four Husker football honorees whose Hall-of-Fame status will be recognized Saturday:

Half a Century Later, Will Shields Makes History

Until two months ago, Guy “The Champ” Chamberlin and Bob “Boomer” Brown were the only Huskers in history to be inducted into both the College Football and Pro Football Halls of Fame. Will Shields, a Lawton, Okla., native, became Nebraska’s third member of that illustrious group, and he worked hard to earn that rare double accolade. “All of the blood, sweat and tears were worth every minute of it because you become part of a great group of men,” Shields said.

Just like his remarkable record in college football, where he was a first-team All-American offensive guard and won the Outland Trophy as the nation’s outstanding lineman, Shields pushed the envelope even more in the NFL. In 14 seasons, he made 12 Pro Bowls, made 224 consecutive starts and was named the 2003 NFL Man of the Year. When the NFL All-Decade Team was announced in the 2000s, Shields and his No. 68 jersey were on it. A third-round pick of the Kansas City Chiefs in 1993, Shields earned his first start in the second game of his rookie season and did not give up that starting spot until he retired in 2006.

Three Decades Later, Mick Tingelhoff is Honored

Mick Tingelhoff, a Lexington, Neb., native (pictured above), started one season at Nebraska, went undrafted in the NFL, yet still ended up being one of pro football’s ultimate Iron Men, making 240 consecutive starts at center. Waiting patiently through 32 years of eligibility to achieve his definitive milestone, Tingelhoff, 75, was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the same Saturday night in Canton, Ohio, that Shields was honored.

Only two players in NFL history started more games than Tingelhoff – quarterback Brett Favre (297) and Jim Marshall, Tingelhoff’s Viking teammate, who made 270 starts. For the last 358 games of his 17-year career – 99 preseason games, 240 regular-season games and 19 postseason games – Tingelhoff started. He failed to start only once – the first exhibition game of his career for the Vikings in 1962. He dressed for 359 games in 17 years, started the last 358, and never missed a practice.

Trev Alberts Will Become 17th Husker College Football Hall-of-Famer

In December, Nebraska 1993 All-America linebacker Trev Alberts, a Cedar Falls, Iowa, native (pictured above), will become the 17th Husker player who will be enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. Now Vice Chancellor for Athletics at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO), Alberts was simultaneously humbled, surprised and appreciative to become the Huskers’ fifth Hall-of-Fame selection in the last nine years, joining the legendary Mike Rozier (inducted in 2006), Grant Wistrom (2009), Will Shields (2011), and Tommie Frazier (2013).

“Trev was one of the greatest pass rushers I’ve ever seen,” said Tom Osborne, who recruited Alberts and served as his head coach. “He had a tremendous first step, was explosive off the ball, played with high intensity and was a very intelligent football player.” Alberts said: “I really love the whole state of Nebraska. It’s just a fun experience and a reflection of the entire University of Nebraska system.”

Dave Rimington First University of Nebraska Athletics HOF Inductee

One of the most decorated players in college football history, Omaha native Dave Rimington (pictured above) was the first Husker enshrined in the CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame in 2004 and is the first University of Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame football inductee. He is also the only two-time Outland Trophy winner in college football history (1981 and 1982) and one of 11 collegiate players to win the Outland Trophy and the Lombardi Award in the same season (1982).

The Rimington Trophy, honoring college football’s center of the year, was launched 15 years ago in Lincoln. The Big Ten Conference also presents the Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year award. It was created in Rimington’s and (Ohio State’s) Orlando Pace’s honor in 2010, the first year Nebraska competed in the Big Ten. In 1983, Rimington won the NCAA Top Five Award, joining Stanford’s John Elway as the only two football players ranked among the top five scholar-athletes in all of college athletics across all sports. The Top Five, which expanded to Top Six, then Top Eight and now Top Ten Award, is the highest individual honor the NCAA can bestow.

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

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

N-Sider Archives