John "Rocky" Ryan (July 5, 1932 – November 3, 2011) was an American professional football player who was a defensive back 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) in the late 1950s. Ryan played college football for the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

. He was selected in the second round of the

1954 NFL Draft The 1954 National Football League Draft was held on January 28, 1954, at The Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia. This was the eighth year that the first overall pick was a bonus pick determined by lottery. With the previous seven winners i ...

, and played professionally for the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

and Chicago Bears of the NFL.

Early years

Ryan was born in

Tolono, Illinois Tolono is a village in Tolono Township, Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,604 at the 2020 census. Its name was fabricated by J.B. Calhoun, land commission of the Illinois Central Railroad, who wrote about it simply: ...

. He attended Unity High School in

from 1946 to 1950 and played both football and basketball. In addition, he won the Illinois State Pole Vault Title during the 1947–1948 school year. Ryan's pole vault championship assisted the high school track and field team in finishing tenth overall at the state meet.

College career

After graduating from high school, Ryan attended the

, where he joined the football team. His style of play lead to him being referred to as a "daring young Irishman". Perhaps the highlight of his collegiate football career was playing in the 1952 Rose Bowl, the first nationally televised college football game, where he caught a touchdown pass. Ryan's touchdown was Illinois' final score of the game and was part of a dominant Rose Bowl performance by the team that the University of Illinois Alumni Association would go on to name one of the top ten moments in Illini football history. In addition to his performance on the field, Ryan became known for one significant off-field incident during his collegiate career, referred to as "The Apple Bowl." After the University of Illinois defeated the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...

33–13 in a game held on November 8, 1952, Iowa fans began to throw apples and other fruit at Illinois players as the players exited the field. Shortly thereafter, Ryan was approached by a University of Iowa fan named Richard Wolfe, and, after an exchange between the two men, Ryan punched Wolfe in the face, breaking his jaw. The incident resulted in the two schools not playing a football game against each other for fifteen years.

Professional career

In 1954, he was selected in the second round of the

by the

. However, his entry into the NFL was delayed as he enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

and served from 1954 to 1956. Ryan ultimately played for the Eagles during the 1956 and 1957 seasons but, partway through the 1958 season, left the team for the Chicago Bears. It was rumored for a period of time that Ryan was originally placed on waivers by the Eagles for a situation in which his temper "flared up" in an exchange with coach Buck Shaw. The 1958 season would be his last with the NFL, at which point he returned to

Champaign, Illinois Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metro ...

and worked a variety of jobs prior to his retirement.

References

External links

NFL.com Profile of Rocky Ryan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Rocky 1932 births Chicago Bears players Philadelphia Eagles players Illinois Fighting Illini football players 2011 deaths People from Champaign County, Illinois Sportspeople from Champaign, Illinois