April 17, 1963: The Suspensions of Paul Hornung & Alex Karras

April 17, 1963, 60 years ago: NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle has discovered that 2 of the League's biggest stars, Green Bay Packers running back Paul Hornung and Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alex Karras, had been betting on NFL games, and, as was said at the time, "associating with undesirable persons." Both men confessed, and accepted their punishment: Suspension for the entire upcoming season.

Hornung's coach, Vince Lombardi, put his foot down, and told Hornung that he couldn't gamble anymore, not even on his hometown's signature sporting event: He could not go back to Louisville and so much as attend the Kentucky Derby. Lombardi also told him to stay away from Las Vegas. Hornung agreed.

"Rozelle should have suspended me," he said many years later. "He could have suspended a lot of others, too. A lot of guys bet like I did. I'd bet $100, and never more than $500. The Commissioner was making a point, and the older I got, the more I understood."

At the end of the calendar year, given the way he handled the gambling situation, the ongoing conflict with the American Football League, and the decision over whether to play the regularly-scheduled games on the weekend after President John F. Kennedy assassination, Sports Illustrated named Rozelle its Sportsman of the Year. He remains the only Commissioner, of any league, so honored. (Unlike the Time magazine Person of the Year, which is for the person who most affects the news, for good or ill, SI, owned by Time, does consider its distinction, now named the Sportsperson of the Year, to be an award.)

Given each man's cooperation, Rozelle reinstated both Hornung and Karras for the 1964 season. Lombardi defied the rumor that he would trade Hornung, and welcomed him back, asking only that he report to Packer camp 2 months early to get back into shape.

He told the media, "You have to know what Hornung means to this team. I have heard and read that he is not a great runner or a great passer or a great field-goal kicker, but he led the league in scoring for three seasons. In the middle of the field he may be only slightly better than an average ballplayer, but inside the twenty-yard line he is one of the greatest I have ever seen. He smells that goal line."

Hornung also did things off the field that Lombardi valued, such as reaching out to newly-acquired players. He would take them along to his speaking engagements, and split his fee with them.

During his suspension, Karras turned to professional wrestling. Upon returning, he served as captain for a pregame coin toss, and the referee told him to call it. Karras told him, "I'm sorry, sir: I'm not permitted to gamble."

But the suspensions did have a long-term effect on each player's reputation. Hornung was not elected to the College Football Hall of Fame until 1985, his 20th year of eligibility; and not to the Pro Football Hall of Fame until 1986, his 15th year. Karras wasn't elected to the College Football Hall until 1991, his 25th year; and to the Pro Football Hall until 2020, his 45th, and more than 7 years after his death. At least Hornung lived to receive both of the honors in question.

Of course, neither man bet on his own sport. Pete Rose did. And both Hornung and Karras confessed immediately, and cooperated. Rose didn't. Which is why he is not in his sport's Hall of Fame.

Neither Hornung nor Karras had any hard feelings toward Rozelle. When the Commissioner retired in 1989, after 29 seasons in charge, Hornung wrote him a letter calling him "the best commissioner of any sports league."

Paul Hornung, 1935-2020

Can't blame 2020 for this one, but, now, to use a football term, this Year of Hell is just piling on.

Paul Vernon Hornung was born on December 23, 1935 in Louisville, Kentucky. As the scouting report that the Green Bay Packers would later write on him said, he came from a poor family, where his parents separated when he was 2 years old.

He lettered in football, basketball and baseball all 4 years he attended Bishop Benedict Joseph Flaget High School in Louisville.

That school opened in 1942 and was closed in 1974. Other notable alumni included Howard Schnellenberger, who coached the University of Miami to the 1983 National Championship; and Gus Bell, All-Star 3rd baseman and starter of a family that has now seen 3 generations reach Major League Baseball: His son Buddy, and Buddy's son David. (All 3 were born David.)

The University of Louisville was not interested in him, although they would have a good quarterback soon enough: Johnny Unitas. Paul "Bear" Bryant was then the head coach at the University of Kentucky, and had already coached future Pro Football Hall-of-Famer George Blanda there. The Bear was very much interested in Hornung. That Packer scouting report's writer said, "Kentucky offered him the moon but INSISTED THAT HE GO TO" and the rest is illegible, due to a hole-punch and the reflection of the flash bulb used to photograph the report. A prep school, to get his grades up, maybe?

(Moving on to his alma mater, the University of Alabama, Bryant would later have his share of notable quarterbacks, 2 of whom would lead teams to Super Bowl wins: , Joe Namath of the New York Jets, and Ken Stabler of the Oakland Raiders. Hornung's eventual Packer teammate Bart Starr was at Alabama before Bryant got there.)

Hornung's mother, described by the scouting report as a devout Catholic, wanted him to have a good Catholic education, so it was off to South Bend, Indiana, and the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish also offered him the chance to play basketball, but after his sophomore year there, football coach Terry Brennan asked him to give it up, saying sticking to one sport would give him time to focus on his grades.

It worked: He remained academically eligible, and in 1955, playing both halfback on offense and safety on defense, he became a star. In an upset over Number 4 Navy, he ran for 2 touchdowns and intercepted 2 passes. Although Notre Dame lost their big rivalry game to the University of Southern California (USC), Hornung had a combined 354 yards rushing and passing in that game, the highest of any game in the country that season.

In his 1st 2 years at Notre Dame, Hornung helped them go 9-1 and 8-2. But 1956 would be one of the worst years in the school's history. They went just 2-8, their only wins coming at home to Indiana and North Carolina.

They had close losses to USC in Los Angeles, Southern Methodist (SMU) in Dallas, the University of Pittsburgh away, and home to Purdue. But they got clobbered at home by Michigan State (then ranked Number 2), at home by Oklahoma (who had risen to Number 2 and would end the season at Number 1), away to Iowa (then Number 3), and by Navy in Baltimore (essentially a home game for Navy.)

And yet, Hornung, nicknamed "The Golden Boy" while playing at "The Golden Dome," and moved to quarterback, was awarded the Heisman Trophy. He remains the only player from a team with a losing record to ever win it.

It was a close vote, in one of the most loaded senior classes in college football history. Tennessee running back Johnny Majors and Oklahoma running back Tommy McDonald both finished within 100 points of him. Oklahoma center and linebacker Jerry Tubbs was 4th, one of the few offensive linemen ever to get that close to the Trophy, and one of the few defensive players. Syracuse running back Jim Brown finished 5th, Michigan end Ron Kramer 6th, Stanford quarterback John Brodie 7th, Ohio State guard Jim Parker 8th.

Hornung, McDonald, Brown and Parker would all end up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Brodie should be. Tubbs and Kramer both made the 1962 Pro Bowl. (Kramer would later become a Packer teammate, but was not related to another, Jerry Kramer.) The only one who didn't go on to have at least a good pro football career was Majors, and he became one of the top college coaches of his generation, leading Pittsburgh to the 1976 National Championship, then returning to Tennessee and leading them to 3 Southeastern Conference titles.

Years later, in his role as a broadcaster, Hornung interviewed Majors, and asked him who he thought should have won the 1956 Heisman Trophy. Without hesitation, Majors said, "Jimmy Brown." Hornung could only say, "If I didn't want the truth, I shouldn't have asked."

*

Today, someone on Twitter posted a picture of the Green Bay Packers' scouting report on Hornung. It cited (and I am quoting directly here, including ALL CAPS where it was used:

* GREAT NATURAL ATHLETE

* GREAT SPEED

* TREMENDOUS competitor

* WILL STAND PUNISHMENT (Yes, this was written in red ink)

* CAN RUN with BALL

* GOOD Punter

* Very Intelligent - Accounting Major - 90 AVE. ("Average" is usually abbreviated "Avg.")

* KICKOFF MAN - Not Consistent - Can put it into end zone

* WONDERFUL POISE

* Has Been Outstanding as Defensive player

* Can throw Long Pass well

* EASY to HANDLE (That would turn out to be wrong.)

* HE WILL NOT GO TO CANADA (His refusal to play in the colder and lesser-paying Canadian Football League was written in red and double-underscored.)

* Weakness: LIKES GIRLS (Double-underscored. Liking girls was not the issue. How much effort he put into pursuing them was the issue.)

Not having won, or even appeared in, an NFL Championship Game since 1944, and coming off a 4-8 season, the Packers had the 1st overall selection in the 1957 NFL Draft. They chose Hornung. It didn't do them much good at first, going 3-9 in 1957 and bottoming out at 1-10-1 in 1958. As the great New York Herald Tribune sports columnist Red Smith put it, "The Packers overwhelmed one opponent, underwhelmed ten, and whelmed one."

For the 1959 season, the Packers brought in a new head coach and general manager, who had played on the 1937 Fordham University line known as "The Seven Blocks of Granite," had coached under Red Blaik at Army, and was what we would now call the offensive coordinator for the New York Giants team that won the NFL Championship Game in 1956 and lost it in 1958: Vince Lombardi.

Lombardi was, to put it bluntly, blunt. He told the Packer players, "We may not win, but we won't be losing with the same people." But he also told them, "Those who stay will be champions." To prove his point, he cut the team's most established player, All-Pro end Billy Howton, for not taking practice seriously enough.

Lombardi and Hornung wouldn't seem to have been a good mix. Although a registered Democrat who contributed to John F. Kennedy's Presidential campaign in 1960, Lombardi was a personal conservative. He liked short hair, sharp suits, and people who were committed to their family, their faith, and their job, and resolved to do well with all three. Hornung was a carouser -- not an easy thing to be in the NFL's smallest city, so he took advantage of roadtrips.

Lombardi saw something in Hornung. What they had in common was that they were Catholics who started out poor. Lombardi knew Hornung was the most talented player he had ever coached, even more than a very similar player he had on the Giants, Frank Gifford. He was able to reach Gifford, so maybe he could reach Hornung.

Left to right: Paul Hornung, Bart Starr, Vince Lombardi

And it did turn out to be a relationship similar to the one that Yankee manager Casey Stengel had with Mickey Mantle: He could never keep the superstar under control off the field, but he got absolute commitment from him in practice and in games.

This is what happened over the next 3 seasons, Lombardi's 1st 3 in Green Bay: They went from 1-10-1 to 7-5 in 1959; went 8-4 to win the Eastern Division title in 1960, but lost the NFL Championship Game to the Philadelphia Eagles; and went 11-3, demolishing the Giants 37-0 in a snowy Championship Game at the stadium later known as Lambeau Field on New Year's Eve 1961, the Packers' 1st title in 17 years. In each of those 3 seasons, Hornung led the NFL in scoring. 

In 1960, he led the NFL in rushing touchdowns with 13, and scored 2 more touchdowns receiving, for 15 touchdowns, meaning 90 points. In placekicking, he was a perfect 41-for-41 on extra points. His field goal kicking wasn't nearly as good, making just 15 out of 28. But that was another 45 points.

That made for a total of 176 points, a new NFL single-season record, in 12 games. Despite the NFL moving to a 14-game schedule the next season, and a 16-game schedule in 1978, that record stood until 2006, when LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers scored 31 touchdowns (doing no kicking) for 186 points, although he didn't surpass Hornung's 176 until the 14th game of the season. And he remains the only man to surpass it.

Hornung also passed for 2 touchdowns, so he accounted for 188 points. Although, if you go by that measure, the record would be a lot higher, 330 points, as Peyton Manning passed for a record 55 touchdowns for the Denver Broncos in 2013.

Hornung was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player in 1961, as his 146 points (10 touchdowns, and he matched his previous season with 41 out of 41 extra points and 15 field goals) remained 2nd-best in NFL history until the 1980s.

But the Berlin Crisis of the Summer of 1961 led to Hornung's U.S. Army Reserve unit being called up. The Army kept him in shape, but he was only able to play on Sundays due to receiving weekend passes. The NFL Championship Game required more than just a weekend off, so Lombardi called President Kennedy, and the Commander-in-Chief gave Hornung the necessary time off. In that Championship Game, Hornung scored the 1st Packer touchdown, and kicked 3 field goals and 4 extra points.

His 19 points remained a record for the NFL championship game, under any official name, for 55 seasons, until 2017, when James White scored 20 (3 touchdowns, including the overtime game-winner, and a 2-point conversion) for the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI.

In 1962, the Packers went 13-1, still a franchise best, their only loss coming to the Detroit Lions at Tiger Stadium on Thanksgiving Day. Again, they beat the Giants in the Championship Game. Life was good for Paul Hornung.

He had even invented the touchdown celebration. Before him, players would just drop the ball on the ground (hence, the term "touchdown"), or hand or toss the ball to an official. Hornung threw the ball into the stands. In 1965, the NFL began fining players $500 for doing this. So Giants running back Homer Jones began slamming the ball on the ground, calling it a "spike."

In April 1963, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle discovering that 2 of the League's biggest stars, Hornung and Lions defensive tackle Alex Karras, had been betting on NFL games, and, as was said at the time, "associating with undesirable persons." Both men confessed, and accepted their punishment: Suspension for the entire upcoming season.

Lombardi put his foot down, and told Hornung that he couldn't gamble anymore, not even on his hometown's signature sporting event: He could not go back to Louisville and so much as attend the Kentucky Derby. Lombardi also told him to stay away from Las Vegas. Hornung agreed.

"Rozelle should have suspended me," he said many years later. "He could have suspended a lot of others, too. A lot of guys bet like I did. I'd bet $100, and never more than $500. The Commissioner was making a point, and the older I got, the more I understood."

Given each man's cooperation, Rozelle reinstated both Hornung and Karras for the 1964 season. Lombardi defied the rumor that he would trade Hornung, and welcomed him back, asking only that he report to Packer camp 2 months early to get back into shape.

He told the media, "You have to know what Hornung means to this team. I have heard and read that he is not a great runner or a great passer or a great field-goal kicker, but he led the league in scoring for three seasons. In the middle of the field he may be only slightly better than an average ballplayer, but inside the twenty-yard line he is one of the greatest I have ever seen. He smells that goal line."

Hornung also did things off the field that Lombardi valued, such as reaching out to newly-acquired players. He would take them along to his speaking engagements, and split his fee with them.

But the suspensions did have a long-term effect on each player's reputation. Hornung was not elected to the College Football Hall of Fame until 1985, his 20th year of eligibility; and not to the Pro Football Hall of Fame until 1986, his 15th year. Karras wasn't elected to the College Football Hall until 1991, his 25th year; and to the Pro Football Hall until 2020, his 45th, and more than 7 years after his death. At least Hornung lived to receive both of the honors in question.

Hornung had no hard feelings toward Rozelle. When the Commissioner retired in 1989, after 29 seasons in charge, Hornung wrote him a letter calling him "the best commissioner of any sports league."

In Hornung's absence, the Packers went 11-2-1 in 1963, finishing 2nd to their arch-rivals, the Chicago Bears, in the Western Division. The 1964 season was something of a transition year, and they went just 8-5-1.

But in 1965, they went 10-3-1, helped by Hornung's last good season, gaining more yards receiving than rushing. They beat the Baltimore Colts in a Playoff for the Division title, and the Cleveland Browns in the NFL Championship Game, with Hornung gaining 105 yards and scoring a touchdown on a Lambeau Field surface that was rendered a muddy mess by a snowfall and the means of removing it.

A pinched nerve in his neck limited him to 9 games, starting just 5, in 1966. This led to him wearing the first neck-protecting rollbar in NFL history, now required equipment. The Packers went 12-2, and beat the Dallas Cowboys in a 34-27 New Year's Day thriller at the Cotton Bowl in the NFL Championship Game.

That turned out to be his last game: He was the only player on the Packer roster who did not play in the subsequent "AFL-NFL World Championship Game," later retroactively renamed "Super Bowl I." Lombardi offered him the chance to play in the 4th quarter, when the game was out of reach, figuring that Hornung would enjoy the distinction of having played in such a historic game. But he didn't feel up to it.

The New Orleans Saints began play in 1967, and selected him in the expansion draft. Given his love of the nightlife, the Crescent City must have seemed like an ideal place to go. He went to their training camp, but the neck injury was too bad. He was examined at the Scripps Clinic in California, and found to have a severing of 3 vertebrae, and damaged nerve roots in his spinal cord. "Another hit, and I could have been a paraplegic," he said.

He was 31, and he announced his retirement before ever playing a game for the Saints, even an exhibition. Without him, the Packers went 9-4-1, won their 5th NFL Championship in 7 seasons, and won Super Bowl II; while the Saints had a typical season for an expansion team, going just 3-11.

He finished his career with 3,711 rushing yards, 130 catches for 1,480 yards, 383 yards and 5 touchdowns passing, 62 total touchdowns scored, 190 extra points in 194 attempts, and 66 field goals in 140 attempts, for 760 points. He was a member of 4 NFL Championship teams.

*

Hornung returned to Louisville, and made a lot of money in real estate. He became a charity fundraiser, donating over $300,000 to Notre Dame, and another $300,000 to the Visiting Sisters Program, in which nuns provide food and clothing for the poor.

In spite of his efforts to be "a good Catholic," the stories of his womanizing became legend. He was quoted as saying, "Never get married in the morning. You never know who you might meet that night." Teammate Max McGee said, "Believe me, Paul was an impact player for the Green Bay Packers. He also was an impact player on half the females in the United States."

But, just as Yogi Berra liked to say, "I didn't really say everything I said," Hornung said, "If I had done half of what they say I did, I would be in a bottle at the Smithsonian Institution."

Formerly married to Patricia Roeder, he married a woman named Angela in 1979, and they remained married until his death. He had 4 children, and they all graduated from Notre Dame.

He went into broadcasting, working for the Minnesota Vikings from 1970 to 1974, TVS' broadcasts of the World Football League in 1974, CBS from 1975 to 1979, ABC on USFL games from 1983 to 1985, and TBS in the 1980s. He was also the 1st host of the syndicated TV series Greatest Sports Legends, and hosted a local cable TV show, The Paul Hornung Sports Showcase. He eventually gave up TV due to the increasing raspiness of his voice.

He was elected the College Football Hall of Fame in 1985, the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986, and the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990. There are 2 Paul Hornung Awards, one for the top high school football player in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and another given to "the most versatile college football player in the nation."

The Packers elected him to their team Hall of Fame in 1975. Following his retirement as a player in 1967, Lombardi announced at the team's annual press party that no Packer would ever again wear Number 5. However, no official retirement of the number has ever occurred. Only 4 players have worn it since Hornung, the last being placekicker Curtis Burrow in 1988. Notre Dame has also not retired 5 for him, but they don't retire numbers anyway.

Despite his success and his fame, his career statistics do not stand out, partly due to his early retirement, and partly due to the fact that the 16-game season has blown career stats of great players well past his. He was not selected for The Sporting News' 100 Greatest Football Players in 1999, or the NFL Network's 100 Greatest Players in 2010. He was selected for the NFL's All-Decade Team for the 1960s, but not for its 50th Anniversary Team in 1969, its 75th Anniversary Team in 1994, or its 100th Anniversary Team in 2019.

In 1999, Sports Illustrated chose the 50 Greatest Athletes from each State. For Kentucky, they chose the following:

1. Muhammad Ali of Louisville. No surprised that they chose "The Greatest."

2. Mary T. Meagher of Louisville. 3 Gold Medals in swimming at the 1984 Olympics.

3. Wes Unseld of Louisville. 1969 NBA MVP with the Baltimore Bullets, 1978 NBA Champion with the Washington Bullets.

4. Harold "Pee Wee" Reese of Ekron. Shortstop and Captain of 7 Pennant winners with the Brooklyn Dodgers, including the 1955 World Series winners.

5. Cliff Hagan of Owensboro, 2-time basketball National Champion at the University of Kentucky.

6. Paul Hornung of Louisville.

Nevertheless, when I did my Top 10 Athletes from each State, and got to Kentucky on June 1, 2017 (the Anniversary of its achieving Statehood, June 1, 1795), I chose Hornung 2nd behind Ali.

And when Steve Sabol did interviews for NFL Films' coverage of the Hall of Fame's 1998 induction weekend, which had the largest gathering of Hall-of-Famers ever to that point, he asked every player who would be the 1st player they would pick for an all-time team. Many of the players selected a teammate: The old Colts chose Johnny Unitas, the recently-retired 49ers chose Joe Montana, and so on. Some coaches chose players they had coached, such as Don Shula taking Dan Marino.

Hornung said he would take himself. It could easily be said of him, "He's the greatest. Just ask him."

He could not be asked the last few years. He was one of so many players to fall victim to dementia, due to football-related head trauma and advancing age. He died today, November 13, 2020, shortly before what would have been his 85th birthday, in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.

With his death there are now:

* 8 surviving players from the 1961 NFL Champion Green Bay Packers: Jerry Kramer, John Roach, Tom Moore, Dale Hackbart, Nelson Toburen, Lee Folkins, Gary Knafelc and Boyd Dowler.

* 10 surviving players from the 1962 NFL Champion Packers: Kramer, Roach, Moore, Toburen, Knafelc, Dowler, Howie Williams, Ed Blaine, Ron Gassert and Gary Barnes.

* 12 surviving players from the 1965 NFL Champion Packers: Kramer, Moore, Dowler, Tom Brown, Junior Coffey, Bill Curry, Ken Bowman, Steve Wright, Bob Long, Marv Fleming, Carroll Dale and Dave Robinson.

* And 16 surviving players from the 1966 NFL Champion Packers, winners of Super Bowl I: Kramer, Dowler, Brown, Curry, Bowman, Wright, Long, Fleming, Dale, Robinson, Red Mack, Jim Grabowski, Phil Vandersea, Donny Anderson, Dave Hathcock and Jim Weatherwax.

* While Hornung was not a member of the 1967 NFL Champion Packers, winners of Super Bowl II, I want to point out that there are still 19 surviving players from that team: Kramer, Dowler, Brown, Bowman, Wright, Long, Fleming, Dale, Robinson, Grabowski, Anderson, Weatherwax, Don Horn, Chuck Mercein, Ben Wilson, John Rowser, Bob Hyland, Jim Flanigan and Dick Capp.

* There are 14 surviving players from the NFL's 1960s All-Decade Team: Packers Kramer, Dowler and Robinson; the Chicago Bears' Dick Butkus; the Cleveland Browns' Jim Brown and Leroy Kelly; the Washington Redskins' Sonny Jurgensen and Charley Taylor; the Detroit Lions' Lem Barney; the Los Angeles Rams' Eddie Meador; the Dallas Cowboys' Bob Lilly and Ralph Neely; the Philadelphia Eagles' Bob Brown; and the St. Louis Cardinals' Jim Bakken.

* There are only 2 living winners of the Heisman Trophy who won it before 1962: 1947 winner Johnny Lujack of Notre Dame, now 2 months short of his 96th birthday; and 1958 winner Pete Dawkins of Army, who is 82.

* And there are 3 living Heisman winners from Notre Dame: Lujack, 1964 winner John Huarte, and 1987 winner Tim Brown. Angelo Bertelli, who was the school's 1st Heisman winner, in 1943, died in 1999. Leon Hart, the 1949 winner, died in 2002. Johnny Lattner, the 1953 winner, died in 2016.

Joe Theismann finished 2nd to Jim Plunkett of Stanford in 1970. Joe Montana had a good college career, but never came close to winning it. In 1977, his junior year, he quaterbacked them to a National Championship, but Earl Campbell of Texas won the Trophy, and Notre Dame players Ken MacAfee finished 3rd and Ross Browner 5. In 1978, his senior year, neither he nor any other Fighting Irish player finished in the Top 10.

Top 10 Athletes From Kentucky

June 1, 1792: Kentucky gains admission to the Union as the 15th State.

Like Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Virginia, Kentucky is officially self-designated as not a "State," but a "Commonwealth": The Commonwealth of Kentucky. The University of Kentucky's football facility is even named Commonwealth Stadium. (And a school in Virginia is named Virginia Commonwealth University, or VCU.) In legal effect, however, there is no difference.

Top 10 Athletes from Kentucky

Note: This is for people. No matter what they achieved, I'm not counting Kentucky-bred horses Man o' War and Citation. I am, however, including Citation's jockey.

Honorable Mention to the great Racehorses produced by the greatest of horse racing States. Nursery Stud, outside Lexington, produced Man o' War, who set the standard for thoroughbred racing by winning 20 out of 21 races in 1919 and 1920, including the 1920 Belmont Stakes (but didn't enter the Kentucky Derby or the Preakness Stakes, as the Triple Crown was still in the process of becoming a big thing), and became the father of War Admiral and the grandfather of Seabiscuit.

Claiborne Farm in Paris, outside Lexington, produced Gallant Fox, 1930 Triple Crown; Omaha, 1935 Triple Crown; Seabiscuit, 1938 Horse of the Year; Kelso, Horse of the Year every year from 1960 to 1964; Ruffian, the 1975 winner of the Triple Crown for fillies, who came to a tragic end in a match race with the year's Kentucky Derby winner, Foolish Pleasure (a Florida native); and Spectacular Bid, 1979 Kentucky Derby and Preakness.

Calumet Farm in Lexington produced Whirlaway, 1941 Triple Crown; and Citation, 1948 Triple Crown. Although he was retired to Calumet, Secretariat was born and trained in Virginia.

Faraway Farm in Lexington produced War Admiral, 1937 Triple Crown. Stoner Creek Stud in Paris produced Count Fleet, 1943 Triple Crown. Scott Farm outside Lexington produced Native Dancer, 1953 Preakness and Belmont. White Horse Acres Farm in Lexington produced Seattle Slew, 1977 Triple Crown. Taylor Made Farm in Nicholasville, outside Lexington, produced American Pharoah, 2015 Triple Crown.

Honorable Mention to Charles Kurtsinger of the Louisville suburb of Shepherdsville, who rode War Admiral.

Honorable Mention to Steve Cauthen of the Cincinnati suburb of Walton. In 1977, he became the 1st jockey to earn over $6 million in a year, and Sports Illustrated named him Sportsman of the Year. He remains the only jockey to win that award. But his greatest achievement was yet to come. In 1978, he rode Affirmed to win the Triple Crown. It would be 37 years before Victor Espinoza, aboard American Pharoah, became the next jockey to win it.

But Cauthen never won another race in the Triple Crown series, mainly because he went to Europe. He won several major races there, including England's Ascot Gold Cup in 1984, the Epsom Derby in 1985, and both races in 1987. He is the only jockey to win the Kentucky and Epsom Derbies, each the greatest horse race in its country. He was elected to the United States Racing Hall of Fame, but, in all honesty, career-wise, I can't put him in this Top 10.

Honorable Mention to Kentucky natives who helped the Yankees win the World Series: Don Gullett of South Shore (1977), Brian Doyle of Glasgow (1978), and Chris Turner of Bowling Green (2000).

Honorable Mention to David Akers of Lexington. A 6-time Pro Bowler, he helped the Philadelphia Eagles reach 4 straight NFC Championship Games, including reaching Super Bowl XXXIX. In 2011, with the San Francisco 49ers, he set single-season records for field goals with 44 and kicking points with 166. He was named to the Eagles' Hall of Fame and 75th Anniversary Team, and to the NFL's 2000s All-Decade Team.

On September 9, 2012, for the 49ers, he kicked a 63-yard field goal against the Green Bay Packers. It was the 4th time that record had been set, the 1st time by Tom Dempsey in New Orleans in 1970. A year later, a 64-yarder was kicked. However, Dempsey and Akers remain the only kickers to reach 63 or more yards outside the thin air of Denver.

Honorable Mention to Adrian Smith of Farmington. The point guard was the leader of University of Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp's "Fiddlin' Five," the 1958 National Champions. He was also a member of the 1960 U.S. Olympic team that won the Gold Medal in Rome, and was collectively elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

"Odie" Smith rejoined his Olympic teammates Oscar Robertson and Jerry Lucas on the NBA's Cincinnati Royals, and was named Most Valuable Player of the 1966 All-Star Game. His last pro season was in 1971-72, with the Virginia Squires of the ABA, alongside a rookie named Julius Erving. As far as I know, this makes him the only man to be a teammate of both the Big O and Dr. J.

10. Jim Bunning of the Cincinnati suburb of Southgate. While the Republican, who died last week, had a record in both houses of Congress that leaves a lot to be desired, he was only the 2nd pitcher to win 100 games in both Leagues, and only the 2nd to pitch no-hitters in both Leagues, including a perfect game. (In each case, the 1st was Cy Young.)

He was a 9-time All-Star, 7 times with the Detroit Tigers and 2 with the Philadelphia Phillies. Had there been separate Cy Young Awards for each League in 1964, he probably would have won it. He won the 1st game at Veterans Stadium in 1971. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, and the Phillies retired his Number 14 and elected him to the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame.

9. Harold "Pee Wee" Reese of the Louisville suburb of Ekron. He was 5-foot-10, so it wasn't a lack of height that got him his nickname. Rather, as a boy, he was a marbles champion, and marbles were often called "pee wees."

A Dodger from 1940 to 1958, including the 1st year in Los Angeles, he was Brooklyn's Captain from 1950 onward. He played shortstop on Pennant winners in 1941, '47, '49, '52, '53, '55 and '56. When the Dodgers finally won the World Series in 1955, it was fitting that the last out was a grounder to him. He was a 10-time All-Star, is in the Baseball Hall of Fame, and the Dodgers retired his Number 1.

More importantly, this Southern-born team Captain's acceptance of Jackie Robinson, the 1st black player in baseball's modern era, showed the bigots that Jackie wasn't going anywhere.

8. Cliff Hagan of Owensboro. For all the University of Kentucky's basketball achievements, their best homegrown player only makes it to Number 8 on this list. Hagan led UK to the 1951 NCAA Championship, then became a 5-time All-Star with the St. Louis Hawks, reaching the NBA Finals in 1957, '58, '60 and '61, winning the Championship in 1958, still the only title won by the team.

Now in Atlanta, the Hawks have not retired his Number 16, but UK have retired his Number 6. He is in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

7. Phil Simms of Louisville. A lot of people don't like his broadcasting, but he quarterbacked the New York Giants to 2 Super Bowl wins. He he got hurt in the NFC Championship Game the 2nd time around and missed Super Bowl XXV, but was 22-for-25 in pass attempts in Super Bowl XXI, winning the game's MVP and ending a 30-year NFL Championship drought for the G-Men.

He was a 2-time Pro Bowler, and the Giants retired his Number 11 and elected him to their Ring of Honor. I can't understand why he hasn't been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

6. Mary T. Meagher of Louisville. She didn't get a chance to go to the 1980 Olympics in Moscow due to the boycott, but "Madame Butterfly" won 3 Gold Medals at Los Angeles in 1984, adding a Bronze Medal at Seoul in 1988. The University of California swimmer won the Honda-Broderick Cup as the top female collegiate athlete of the 1986-87 schoolyear.

5. Wes Unseld of Louisville. A 2-time All-American at the University of Louisville, he was a 5-time All-Star for the team known from 1963 to 1973 as the Baltimore Bullets, in the 1973-74 season as the Capital Bullets, and from 1974 to 1997 as the Washington Bullets. He was the NBA's Rookie of the Year and it's Most Valuable Player in 1969.

He led the franchise to the NBA Finals in 1971, '75, '78 and '79, teaming with Elvin Hayes to win the title in 1978, and being named the Finals MVP. His Number 41 was retired by the team, now known as the Washington Wizards. He was named to the Basketball Hall of Fame and the NBA's 50th Anniversary 50 Greatest Players.

4. Eddie Arcaro of the Cincinnati suburb of Newport. He is the only jockey to have won the Triple Crown twice: On Whirlaway in 1941, and on Citation in 1948. He also rode 1955 Horse of the Year Nashua, 1957 Horse of the Year Bold Ruler (Secretariat's father), and Kelso, who was Horse of the Year in 1960, '61, '62, '63 and '64 -- and, into the 1980s, the all-time moneywinner among horses.

He won the Kentucky Derby 5 times, and the other 2 legs of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes, 6 times each. In all, he won 4,779 races, and was the 1st jockey to have over $30 million in winnings.

3. Dave Cowens of the Cincinnati suburb of Covington. It's a bit surprising that, given the Commonwealth's basketball history, the greatest basketball player they've ever produced is only Number 3 on this list.

Despite being within close range of such great basketball schools as Kentucky, Louisville, the University of Cincinnati, Xavier, Ohio State, Indiana and Purdue, he went to Florida State. He must have made a good choice, because the Boston Celtics made him the 4th pick in the 1970 NBA Draft. He was an 8-time All-Star, the 1971 Rookie of the Year, and the 1973 MVP, and led the Celtics to the NBA Championship in 1974 and 1976.

His Number 13 was retired by Florida State, and his 18 by the Celtics. He was named to the Basketball Hall of Fame and the NBA's 50th Anniversary 50 Greatest Players. Bob Ryan, who has covered the Celtics for The Boston Globe for half a century, and been a pundit on ESPN for a quarter of a century, and knows basketball about as well as any non-player ever has, has called Cowens his favorite player of all time.

2. Paul Hornung of Louisville. We associate him with Wisconsin, because he starred for the Green Bay Packers. And we associate him with Indiana, because the University of Notre Dame is in South Bend. But, since Notre Dame has a national student body, it's easy to forget where guys like Hornung, Joe Montana, Tim Brown, and so on actually come from. In Hornung's case, it's Louisville, Kentucky. (It's also strange to find out that fellow Heisman winner Roger Staubach, of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and the Dallas Cowboys, is from Cincinnati, Ohio. It's not like we've ever seen him wearing a Bengals uniform or a Reds cap.)

At Notre Dame in 1956, "The Golden Boy" was awarded the Heisman Trophy, giving him 2 distinctions that remain unique: He the only Kentucky native and the only player from a team with a losing record so honored. He also played basketball at Notre Dame.

The Packers drafted him, moved him from quarterback to running back, and in 1960, he set an NFL record by scoring 176 points: A League-leading 13 touchdowns, 15 field goals, and a perfect 41-for-41 on extra points. That record stood until 2006, but LaDainian Tomlinson needed 14 games to surpass what Hornung did in 12, eventually reaching 186. If the 2 touchdown passes Hornung also had that season are counted (though that's not how it's done), that's 188, and he would still hold the record.

In 1961, he set an NFL Championship Game record by scoring 19 points, and the Packers won. They would do it again in 1962 and 1965. He was sidelined with a neck injury for much of the 1966 season, and did not play in Super Bowl I, but it did earn him his 4th World Championships.

That injury ended his career at age 31. He rushed for 50 touchdowns, and had 12 more receiving. He was a 2-time Pro Bowler, won the 1961 NFL MVP, and was named to the NFL's 1960s All-Decade Team, the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame, and both the College and the Pro Football Halls of Fame.

In 2000, NFL Films did a special on the Hall of Fame, and asked honorees who they would pick if they were starting a team, and could take any player from all of history. Hornung was honest: "I would pick me." Since he could pass, run and catch, he's got a case. He might have been the most versatile player of the two-platoon era.

But he wasn't the greatest player of that time. And he wasn't the greatest athlete from Kentucky. You know who the greatest was.

1. Muhammad Ali of Louisville. Before he was The Greatest, and even before he was Muhammad Ali, when he was still Cassius Clay, his big talk earned him the nickname "the Louisville Lip." He lived long enough to establish the Muhammad Ali Center in downtown Louisville -- ironically, 2 blocks from an art museum named Frazier. (No word on whether either of them is run by someone whose title is "Foreman.")

Before Michael Jordan, no one had appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated more times than Ali. This included their 1974 end-of-year issue, where he was named Sportsman of the Year. The Ring magazine named him Fighter of the Year a record 6 times: 1963, 1966, 1972, 1974, 1975 and 1978. In 2005, George W. Bush -- a Republican, and whose own method of avoiding service in Vietnam somehow did not receive the same level of criticism -- awarded him the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The only excuse not to put Ali at Number 1 is if you don't believe that boxing is a "sport." If it is, then he might be Number 1 among all States. Granted, he only played 1 sport (although he was interested in all of them, particularly basketball, given that he was from Kentucky); and, given his physique and his ambition, he probably could have played at least 1 more at the professional level had he so desired. But he only tried 1. (He liked golf, but wasn't very good at it, and that's not a sport.)

But, at the sport that he tried, even if he wasn't actually (in lower-case letters) the greatest of all time, he was, at the very least, 1 of the top 3 heavyweights ever, along with Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano. But his talent, the force of his personality, and the times that shaped him, and which he helped to shape right back, are what made him The Greatest Of All Time.

"Fool, I told you I was The Greatest!"

Yes, you did. And you were right.

There could never be another Muhammad Ali. And even if there were, he would be only that: A second Muhammad Ali. There would always be the first, against whom to measure him.

Top 10 Sports Odd Couples

This is an update, with corrections where necessary, of a piece I first did in 2009, on (perhaps) the 40th Anniversary of the Felix/Oscar co-residency.

"On November 13, Felix Unger was asked to remove himself from his place of residence. That request came from his wife. Deep down, he knew she was right. But he also knew that, one day, he would return to her. With nowhere else to go, he appeared at the home of his friend, Oscar Madison. Several years earlier, Madison’s wife had thrown him out, requesting that he never return. Can two divorced men share an apartment without driving each other crazy?"

That was the opening narration in the 1st couple of seasons of the TV version of The Odd Couple, a situation comedy based on Neil Simon’s play. The play debuted on Broadway in 1965, with Art Carney as fussy commercial photographer Felix and Walter Matthau as messy sportswriter Oscar. (Simon said he wrote the Oscar part with Matthau in mind, but Matthau supposedly wanted to play Felix. That wouldn’t have worked.)

In 1968, a film version was made, with Jack Lemmon playing Felix and Matthau again as Oscar. From 1970 to 1975, ABC aired the sitcom, and it has become next to impossible to imagine anyone but Tony Randall as Felix and anyone but Jack Klugman as Oscar – and while Randall went on to Love, Sidney and Klugman to Quincy, M.E., it has become equally difficult to imagine them in any other roles.

I have, however, seen 2 other productions of the stage version of The Odd Couple, one a high school play and one a professional from the "Plays In the Park" series at Roosevelt Park in Edison, New Jersey. Both were really good, especially considering that the high schoolers were playing middle-aged men. I really believed these 16, 17-year-old guys were Felix, Oscar, Murray, Speed and the others. (I also saw the "Plays In the Park" guys do a pretty good version of Grease.)

Now, the year that Gloria Unger asked Felix to hit the bricks has never been specified. But since the sitcom began in 1970, it could have been 1969.

Having gotten the DVDs, and seeing some of these episodes for the first time ever, and others for the first time in many years, I've noticed a lot of continuity errors.

For one thing, an episode was filmed showing the breakup of Oscar and his wife, Blanche, played by Klugman's real-life wife, Brett Somers. It was a New Year's Eve party at the apartment we know as belonging to Oscar, and she caught him with another woman -- but, to borrow the cliché, it really wasn't "what this looks like." Blanche didn't "throw him out, requesting that he never return": She walked out on him.

Also, there were 3 separate episodes that explained how Felix and Oscar met: One while they were on jury duty, one when they were in the Army in World War II, and one when they were children.  The names of Felix's children also differed.

It's also worth noting that the TV show exists in a different "universe" from the play and movie. In the latter, Felix's name is spelled "Ungar," and he's a writer for a local TV station's news broadcasts.  Also, in that version, Oscar has kids. Both formats would do reunion movies, with both having the plot of Felix's daughter getting married: In the movie version, Oscar moved to Florida, they hadn't seen each other for 17 years, and they were reunited when Felix's daughter is marrying Oscar's son.

In the TV version, which came 5 years earlier (1993-1998), both men still live in New York, they're still friends, and Felix is still, for the 2nd time, married to Gloria. Their daughter Edna is getting married, but not to Oscar's son, as TV Oscar had no children.

But Felix does too much in trying to plan the wedding, so Gloria yet again kicks him out, just until the wedding is over. Different actors, including Dick Van Patten, play the old poker buddies Murray, Roy and Speed, and Gloria is now played by Barbara Barrie.

Oscar, as Jack Klugman then was in real life, is recovering from throat cancer surgery, having had a vocal chord removed, reducing his voice to a rasp. The two old chums help each other through their respective difficult times, but not without reintroducing their old difficulties.

Most TV shows set in real cities use fake addresses, to keep tourists from gawking at the buildings so that the real-life residents can be left alone. However, the Couple's apartment was established as being on Park Avenue, and the number 1049 can easily be seen on the awning. 1049 Park Avenue is a real address, and except for a different awning, the building looks pretty much the same as it did when the show debuted on September 24, 1970, over 43 years ago.

And while the show did a lot of location shots, including in front of that building (including 3 different angles of the scene of the taxi pulling up behind an orange Volkswagen), it was filmed at Paramount Studios in Hollywood.

Top 10 Odd Couples In Sports

These are all people in sports who, at least for a time, plied their trade together, but seemed opposites, and often feuded. In some cases they eventually made up, in some they did not.

In each case, the "Felix" analogue is listed first, the "Oscar" equivalent second.

10. Al Kaline and Denny McLain, Detroit Tigers, 1965 to 1970. Kaline has been Detroit's most popular living sports figure for over 50 years – more even than Gordie Howe and Steve Yzerman. For 5 years, McLain was a talented pitcher who tried to get away with a lot – but not everything they said he tried to get away with in Year 6.

Without McLain's remarkable 31-6 season in 1968, Kaline would have retired without appearing in a World Series. But McLain alienated so many of his teammates with his annus horribilis of 1970 that few had anything good to say about him when he was gone.

And even in 2007, when the twice-imprisoned McLain published his memoir I Told You I Wasn’t Perfect, he still took shots at Tiger teammates like Kaline, Bill Freehan and Mickey Lolich. Tug McGraw may have thrown the pitch and used it as the title of his first autobiography, but if there was ever a pitcher in baseball who was a true screwball, it was Denny McLain.

9. Terrell Owens and Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles, 2004-05. McNabb is no slob, but in being willing to do whatever it takes, including risking injury, he is the Oscar here. T.O. is the Felix because he's so whiny and needy and has to have everything done his way. They were only together for 2 seasons, and with injuries to both it added up to maybe one season's worth of games. But if you're an Eagles fan, it probably felt like longer. A lot longer

T.O. last appeared in an NFL game with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2010, and was cut by the Seattle Seahawks last year, but has not officially announced his retirement. McNabb has, having last appeared with the Minnesota Vikings in 2011, and a few weeks ago the Eagles retired his Number 5 and inducted into their Hall of Fame.

McNabb will be eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the election to be held in January 2017, and he will almost certainly get in, although perhaps not the first time. T.O. had over 1,000 catches and nearly 16,000 receiving yards, 2nd all-time behind Jerry Rice, and is the only player to have scored a touchdown against all 32 teams currently in the NFL. He will be eligible a year before McNabb, but he generated a lot of bad blood. I'll bet you any money you like that, in order to avoid an awkward situation, they don't get elected the same year.

8. Julius Erving and Moses Malone, Philadelphia 76ers, 1982-86. Doctor J was the most stylish player in NBA history – on the court, anyway. (Off the court, even the Doctor couldn’t touch Walt Frazier.) By comparison, Big Mo was, to use a hockey term, a grinder. He wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty, which is not the same thing as playing dirty. (He was a 1980s Sixer, not a 1970s or '80s Flyer.) The 76ers reached the NBA Finals with Julius in 1977, 1980 and 1982, and the Conference Finals in 1981, but they couldn’t get over the hump.

Philadelphia fans have often mocked the pretty boys of sports, long-haired quarterbacks, the mulleted hockey snipers, the bee-ballers who were more flash than dash. Dr. J was a rare exception, because they say that he worked hard to make those beautiful moves. But the Sixers needed that blood-sweat-and-tears type to get them to the title. Andrew Toney was one, Bobby Jones was another, but Moses Malone was a special player.

Few players have ever had the kind of season he had in 1982-83. Dr. J got his ring, but I hope he at least took Moses out for a nice dinner at Le Bec Fin afterwards.

7. Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, Chicago Bulls, 1987-98. I'm not sure I have to explain this one. I suppose I could list Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal. Kobe would definitely be the "Felix."

6. Punch Imlach and Frank Mahovlich, Toronto Maple Leafs, 1958-68. Punch (real name George) was the coach and general manager of the Leafs team that won 4 Stanley Cups in 7 years from 1962 to 1967. Mahovlich, a.k.a. the Big M, was his best player.

In the NHL's official 75th Anniversary book, hockey historian Charles Wilkins wrote, "It has been postulated (by, among others, Frank himself) that Punch drove Frank nuts. It has also been postulated that Punch was one of the few people who understood Frank. It stands to reason that one extraterrestrial – one, albeit, from the opposite end of the galaxy – should understand another." For the record, Imlach was Toronto born and raised, while Mahovlich is from Timmins, Ontario.

But Wilkins wasn't kidding about Punch driving Frank nuts: Twice, Frank was admitted to Toronto General Hospital for "chronic fatigue" -- in those days, a clinical diagnosis of depression was still a stigma. But, much like Yankee Fans with Frank's contemporary Mickey Mantle, the Leaf fans went from booing him to cheering him upon his return, because now, he was the underdog.

Eventually, Punch had enough of him, and, in the process of dismantling the dynasty, traded Frank to the Detroit Red Wings. It didn't work out for Frank there, and they traded him to the Montreal Canadiens, where he was reunited with his brother Peter, and together they won 2 Stanley Cups.

Frank later served with the Senators in Ottawa – but not the hockey team. He was appointed a member of the Canadian Senate. (Their government is a bit different from ours.) He is now retired from politics, and if he isn't the greatest player in the Leafs' 96-year history, he's certainly the most popular living one. Punch died in 1987.

5. Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson, Dallas Cowboys, 1989-94. True, Jimmy is quite fussy about his hair, but that's about it. And Felix would probably have found Jerry to be an incredibly crass, classless individual. Well, let me put it this way: "New York class" and "Dallas class" are two very different things. Jerry is definitely the "Felix" here.

4. George Steinbrenner and Billy Martin, off and on from 1975 to 1988. This might have been Number 1 if it could ever have lasted. Phil Pepe of the New York Daily News has compared it to Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton: When they were together, they couldn't stand one another; when they were apart, they missed each other terribly. Liz and Dick married and divorced twice, while the Boss and the Brat split up five times.

But they will be forever linked. Without George, Billy would never have managed the Yankees; without Billy, George might never have won a World Series. Actually, you could throw in Reggie Jackson and make this an Odd Trio, although there wasn't a comparable character in The Odd Couple to Mister October.

3. Vince Lombardi and Paul Hornung, Green Bay Packers, 1959-67. Hornung was one of the greatest all-around football players who ever lived. Just ask him. Lombardi never bragged about his achievements, though they were legion. His greatest achievement may have been reining in his natural conservatism (personal conservatism, that is -- like most Catholics of his generation, Lombardi was very much a Democrat) and getting along with Hornung, and getting him to make the most of his talent for the sake of his team.

2. Christy Mathewson and John McGraw, New York Giants, 1902-16. It doesn't seem right to list the player first and the manager second, but, in this case, the player was the Felix and the manager was the Oscar.

This was the total opposite of the Lombardi-Hornung relationship. McGraw was the short, nasty, profane, hot-tempered bastard, and a devout Catholic in spite of this, a combination which makes him sound a lot like Lombardi. But Lombardi would never have cheated to win. McGraw, as a player, was proud of the corners he cut. (iterally: If he was on 1st base, and he thought the umpire wasn't looking, he'd run right to 3rd base without going for 2nd. He got away with it a few times in those days of just 1 umpire.

By contrast, Mathewson was tall, handsome, and a superb all-around athlete like Hornung (his alma mater, Bucknell University, named its football stadium after him), but would have been totally out of place in a red-light district, never needed a curfew, and the only time he ever gambled was on checkers. (But he was a hustler at that game, and very good at it.)

McGraw used to say, "The main thing is to win," while Lombardi said, "Winning isn,t everything, but it's the only thing." Still, I think Lombardi would have appreciated Mathewson more than he would have McGraw. Hornung? He definitely would have liked McGraw better.

1. Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees, 2004-present. Okay, maybe A-Rod isn't a slob, but his personal life, his contract issues and his on-field performance have often been quite messy.

But, as with the TV show – which ended in 1975 with Gloria taking Felix back and Oscar getting the 1049 Park Avenue apartment all to himself again – things have worked out: Derek and Alex have won a World Series together, and have been publicly supportive of each other since.