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Digging Deeper: Players Who Wore No. 84

Matt Gutridge's picture
June 9, 2018 at 9:46am
4 Comments

We are now down to 84 days (12 Saturdays) until Ohio State plays Oregon State. Today's piece will feature Jim Houston, Robert Brudzinski and Jeff Graham.

Today's Trivia Questions

When Bob Brudzinski played for the Dolphins, what was the nickname given to the defense?

Players Who Wore No. 84 At Ohio State
PLAYER WORN B1G MVP TEAM MVP AA CAPT. 1R NFL ALL B1G AC AA NFL DRAFT AC B1G LETTER
Hal Dean 1941-42, 1946               1947   1941-42, 1946
Carlton Kessler* 1943                   1943
Mardo Hamilton 1944                   1944
David Bonnie* 1947                   1947
Sherwin Gandee 1948-51                   1948-51
Jack Croy 1952               1952    
Jerry Trabue 1954                    
Jim Houston 1957-59   1958, 1959 1958, 1959 1959 1960 1958, 1959       1957-59
Keith Smith 1961                    
Joseph Housteau 1962-64                    
Charles Knight 1965                    
Archie Haer 1967                   1967
James Marsh 1970                   1970
Scott Jones 1971-72                    
Robert Brudzinkski 1973-76   1976 1976   1976 1975, 1976       1973-76
Douglas Pauley 1980                   1980
Russell Gatewood* 1981                   1981
Henry Brown* 1983                   1983
James Davidson Jr. 1985                   1985
Jeff Graham 1988-90   1990   1990   1990   1991   1988-90
Craig Powell 1991-94         1995         1992-94
Jeff Robinson 1993                    
Steve Wisniewski 1995-99                 1996-99 1996-99
John Hollins 2000-04                   2003
Marcel Frost* 2003                    
Evan Joablonka 2005-06                    
Doug Worthington 2005-09       2009       2010   2007-09
Joshua Springer 2009                    
Ryan Ross 2009                   2014-17
Cameron Kinzig 2013                    
Corey Smith 2013-15                   2014-15
Davin Brock 2016-18                 2016  

*Wore another number at Ohio State
Did not earn a varsity letter while wearing No. 84

Jim Houston, Defensive End (1957-59)
Born: 
1937 (Massillon, Ohio)
High School: Massillon 

Ohio State
The Buckeyes were 18-7-3 when Houston was on the team.
1957 won the National Championship.
1957 won the Big Ten title.
19 receptions, 467 yards and 7 touchdowns as a receiver.

Honors
1958 Team MVP.
1959 Captain.
1959 Team MVP. 
1979 Inducted into the Ohio State Varsity O Hall of Fame.
2000 Named to the Ohio State All-Century Team.

Miscellaneous
Played both offense and defense at Ohio State.
Led the team in receiving yards in 1959.
1960 selected in the first round (8th overall) by the Browns.
Selected to four Pro Bowls with the Browns.

Bob Brudzinski, Defensive End (1973-76)
Born: 
1955 (Fremont, Ohio)
High School: Fremont

Ohio State
The Buckeyes were 40-5-2 with Brudzinski on the team.
Won four Big Ten Championships.
Made 214 tackles at Ohio State.
Won the 1974 Rose Bowl 42-21 over USC.
Won the 1977 Orange Bowl 27-10 over Colorado.
2-1-1 record against That Team.

Honors
1975 All-Big Ten
1976 Captain.
1976 Team MVP.
1976 All-American.
1976 All-Big Ten.
2000 Named to the Ohio State All-Century Team.

Miscellaneous
The Los Angeles Rams selected him in the first round of the 1977 NFL Draft. 
1977 All-Rookie Team.
A member of the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.

From polishsportshof.com:

A native of Freemont, Ohio, Brudzinski played football at Ohio State University from 1973-1976. During his years there he played on four Big Ten Championship Teams and in three Rose Bowls and one Orange Bowl. The 6’4″ 230 pound lineman was named a consensus All-American in 1976 and was a two-time all Big Ten selection.

Brudzinski was a first round draft choice of the Los Angeles Rams in 1977 and played 13 years in the NFL – the first four with the Rams and the final nine with the Dolphins. Switching to linebacker in the pros, Brudzinski played in three Super Bowl games (with the 1979 Rams, the 1982 and 1984 Dolphins).

It was with the Dolphins that he made his mark playing on the famed “Killer Bee” defense. He was Miami’s leading tackler and recorded over 600 career tackles. Brudzinski was named to the Dolphins Silver Anniversary team.

Jeff Graham, Flanker (1988-90)
Born: 
1969 (Dayton, Ohio)
High School: Kettering Alter (Dayton) 

Ohio State
The Buckeyes were 19-14-2 when Graham was on the team.
Tied for 5th all time with 7 games of 100+ yards receiving.
Career best 144 yards receiving in a 42-2 win at Purdue in 1990.

Honors
1990 Captain.
1990 Team MVP.

Miscellaneous
Could not play for Ohio State in 1987 due to low entrance exam scores.
Selected in the second round of the 1991 draft by the Steelers.
NFL Career: 542 receptions, 8,172 receptions and 30 touchdowns.
Was a First Team All-State basketball player in high school.
That Team's Roy Roundtree is his nephew.

No. 84 In The NFL Draft
NAME YEAR ROUND PICK POS TEAM
HAL DEAN 1947 30 283 OG RAMS
BOB BRUDZINSKI 1977 1 23 LB RAMS
JIM HOUSTON* 1960 1 8 DE BROWNS
JEFF GRAHAM 1991 2 46 WR STEELERS
CRAIG POWELL 1995 1 30 LB BROWNS
DOUG WORTHINGTON 2010 7 242 DT STEELERS

*Jim Houston did not wear No. 84 when he was drafted in the first round by the Browns in 1960.

Today's Trivia Answers

When Bob Brudzinski played for the Dolphins, what was the nickname given to the defense?

Answer: The Killer Bees.

Previous Numbers
99 98 97 96 95 94 93 92 91 90
89 88 87 86 85 84 83 82 81 80

167 days until The Game and That Team still sucks.

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