Earl Franklin Leggett (March 5, 1933 – May 15, 2008) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

defensive lineman in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for the Chicago Bears, Los Angeles Rams, and the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

. He played college football at

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

(LSU). He was also an assistant coach for various teams. Leggett's career in professional football began as a first-round draft pick of the Bears in 1957 and spanned 11 years (1957–1968). He is recorded as having played in 132 professional football games. His career lasted from 1957 to 1965 with Chicago, where he played at both defensive tackle and defensive end positions. He was part of the famed "

Monsters of the Midway The Monsters of the Midway is most widely known as the nickname for the National Football League's Chicago Bears—particularly the dominant teams of 1940 and 1941. The name was revived when the 1985 Chicago Bears proved to be similarly dominant, ...

" defense that led the Bears to the 1963 NFL championship. He was traded to the Los Angeles Rams in 1966, where he played in 10 regular season games with the Rams' "

Fearsome Foursome ''Fearsome Foursome'' may refer to: * Fearsome Foursome (comics) ''Fearsome Foursome'' may refer to: * Fearsome Foursome (comics), a Marvel comic book group * Fearsome Foursome (American football) The Fearsome Foursome was the dominating defen ...

" defense. Toward the end of his career, journeyman Leggett played 20 games in 1967 and 1968 for the expansion

franchise. While statistics on sacks were not recorded back then, www.pro-football-reference.com credits Leggett with 16 fumble recoveries, 1 safety and 1 interception. Leggett did outstanding community service in

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

and the Gulf Coast region. He first played college football at Hinds Jr. College (today known as

Hinds Community College Hinds Community College is a public community college with its main campus in Raymond, Mississippi and branches in Jackson and Vicksburg. The Hinds Community College District includes Hinds County, Claiborne County, part of Copiah County, Ra ...

) which was the only school that would give him a chance due to academic circumstances. He started playing for them at 16 (which was then legal) and was able to raise his academic standing to get into LSU. Leggett became an All-Southeastern Conference player at LSU. Leggett had four children and 14 grandchildren.

Coaching career

Leggett helped shape the careers of

Howie Long Howard Matthew Moses Long (born January 6, 1960) is an American sports analyst and former professional football player. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons as a defensive end, spending his entire career with the Raider ...

with the Raiders and

Michael Strahan Michael T. Strahan ( ; born November 21, 1971) is an American television personality, journalist, and former professional football player. He played his entire 15-year professional career as a defensive end for the New York Giants of the Nation ...

with the New York Giants. He introduced Long into the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...

in 2000.

References

External links

* 1933 births 2008 deaths American football defensive ends American football defensive tackles Chicago Bears players Denver Broncos coaches Hinds Eagles football players Los Angeles Raiders coaches Los Angeles Rams players LSU Tigers football players New Orleans Saints players New York Giants coaches Oakland Raiders coaches San Francisco 49ers coaches Robert E. Lee High School (Jacksonville) alumni Seattle Seahawks coaches Washington Redskins coaches People from Palatka, Florida Players of American football from Jacksonville, Florida {{defensive-lineman-1930s-stub