10. Fred Williamson ~ "The Hammer" Williamson spent the 1960s playing football for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs. He was named to the Pro Bowl three times in 1961-1963 as a member of the Raiders. That’s three more times than Chris McAlister. He made his acting debut at the age of 31 in the 1969 TV-movie "Deadlock" and in 1970 became a regular on the series "Julia", as the law student boyfriend of star Diahann Carroll. In 1970, Williamson made his feature film debut in Robert Altman's M*A*S*H*. He went on to appear in another 22 films in the 1970s. Williamson appeared on television from occasionally and announced football games on ABC in 1974. He starred in the short-lived sitcom "Half-Nelson" which co-starred Joe Pesci. Williamson also directed and produced films.

9. Don Meredith ~ Dandy Don as he was known to America, is remembered more for his sense of humor and his good natured ribbing of Howard Cosell on Monday Night Football than he is for his football accomplishments. Many might be surprised that Meredith was a two-time Pro Bowler, NFL Player of the Year in 1966 and still holds the record for the longest pass completion by a Cowboy Quarterback. Dandy Don also played in a few forgettable movies and he also made regular guest appearances on the NBC series, “Police Story.” Those of us who are fortunate enough to have watched MNF when Dandy Don was in the booth will never forget his little ditty when a team had a game well in hand: “TURN OUT THE LIGHTS, THE PARTY’S OVER.”

8. Jim Brown ~ Brown was signed with the Cleveland Browns in 1957 and went on to break many NFL records. He was named Rookie of the Year in 1958 and Player of the Year in 1960; he played in every Pro Bowl game from 1958 through 1965, and in 1971 was elected to the Football Hall of Fame. While still a Cleveland Brown, Brown made his film debut in the 1963 Western Rio Conchos. He became a full-time actor upon his retirement from the NFL in 1967, co-starring that year in The Dirty Dozen. It was in this picture that he received critical acclaim from his audiences. In his acting career, Brown has appeared in over 40 films. He may have ranked a bit higher had he not tainted our view of him with his whining about Art Modell and Art's move to Baltimore.

7. Alex Karras ~ Karras turned professional in 1958, spending 14 years with the Detroit Lions where he was selected to the All-Pro team in 1960, 1961, 1963 and 1965. While still with Detroit, he made his first film appearance in Paper Lion with the recently deceased George Plimpton. This experience triggered Karas’ yearning to be in “show business”. He worked in the announcing booth on ABC's Monday Night Football and became a full-time actor in 1971 appearing in films such as Blazing Saddles and the Porky‘s series. He later starred alongside his actress wife Susan Clark in the TV sitcom Webster.

6. Fred Dryer ~ Dryer was originally drafted by the NY Giants where he played for the first few years of his NFL career. While he liked playing in NY, the team was horrible and he was happy to move on to LA where he teamed with Jack Youngblood to form one of the games most potent bookends on the defensive side of the ball. Dryer holds the NFL record for recording 2 safeties off sacks in one game against the Green Bay Packers. Dryer’s retirement from football was something that he looked forward to, describing it as a release from a minimum security prison.  He appeared in a few feature films, beginning with The Starmaker. However, he is best remembered for two TV roles, that of Sam Malone's irritating buddy, Dave Richards, in three episodes of the NBC sitcom Cheers and as fearless Detective Sergeant Rick Hunter in the series Hunter. A bit of trivia, Dryer was almost given the role of Sam Malone over Ted Danson until the producers decided that Sam should be a former baseball player and not a former football player. Other Dryer film appearances include Cannonball Run II and Day of Reckoning.

5. Ed Marinaro ~ A Cornell University graduate, Marinaro played in the NFL for the New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks. In Minnesota, Marinaro became the first rookie ever to start for Coach Bud Grant. Marinaro accumulated 1,319 yards in his 6 NFL Seasons with 6 rushing TD’s and 7 TD receptions. In the late 1970’s he turned to acting, landing the supporting role of Sonny St. Jacques on Laverne & Shirley. He was later cast as Officer Joe Coffey in Hill Street Blues from 1981 to 1986. He later appeared as Mitch Margolis in the weekly dramedy Sisters. Marinaro appeared in other forgettable movies but is deserving of this ranking largely due to his contributions to one of TV’s all-time great cop shows.

4. Merlin Olsen ~ Before he was forty, Merlin Olsen had won the Outland Trophy, been named NFL Player of the Year, earned a Master's degree in Economics, won acclaim as "TV's best color football man, and starred in his own TV series. Even more noteworthy, he missed just two games in twenty-two years of high school, college, and pro ball. Olsen went to the Pro Bowl 14 times, is ranked among the Top 100 Football Players of all time and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. After retiring, he became an NBC sportscaster and won plaudits for his insight and precision. He later made a more difficult transition to acting and became an audience favorite as Jonathan Garvey on Little House on the Prairie. He has since starred on both Father Murphy and Aaron's Law. You know, those Sunday evening shows that bring back those warm childhood memories and served as reminders that you still hadn’t finished your weekend homework. Uggghhhh.

3. Dick Butkus ~ Butkus. The name alone is worthy of a starring movie role. From 1965 through 1973, the Chicago Bears' Dick Butkus wreaked unprecedented havoc on the NFL. Butkus redefined the position of middle linebacker and is the standard by which all others who have ever played or will ever play the position are compared. A perennial All-Pro, Butkus was inducted into the Hall of Fame with Johnny Unitas on July 28, 1979. In his nine seasons, he took the ball away from opposition 47 times, a Chicago Bears team record. He recovered 25 opponents' fumbles, an NFL record at the time of his retirement, and he intercepted 22 passes. If records were kept of fumbles forced, there is no doubt that he would own the all-time high mark. On TV, he was seen as Al Fanducci in the 1976 miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man; Brom Bones in the 1980 adaptation of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, security guard Kurt in the weekly adventure series Half-Nelson and Ed Klawicki from 1987-1989 in the sitcom My Two Dads. Butkus has appeared as himself in other films such as Brian’s Song, Gremlins 2 and The Last Boy Scout. He appears here mostly because of being part of the duo that first brought us the Miller Lite debate, “Tastes Great, Less Filling.” We won’t hold it against him that he was commissioner of the XFL.

2. Bubba Smith ~ The other half of the Miller Lite duo, who could ever forget Bubba ripping open the so-called “easy opening cans” in those commercials with Butkus. Taken with the No. 1 pick in the 1967 draft by Colts, Bubba went on to a solid career plagued by injuries. He played in two Pro-Bowls and three championship games and two Super Bowls. In 1972 Bubba suffered a career threatening knee injury, the result of a collision with a first down marker. He made a comeback attempt in 1973 with the Oakland Raiders and then the Houston Oilers but the attempt was a failure due to the extent of knee damage. After a few seasons as a sportscaster, Smith started a whole new career as an actor, beginning with the role of Puddin in the 1980 TV-series version of the 1977 film Semi-Tough. He went on to play regular roles in weekly TV series such as Open All Night, Blue Thunder (pre-Viagara) and Half Nelson. As an actor, Bubba is best known as Moses Hightower in the slapstick, low budget Police Academy film series. And don’t forget those infamous law firm commercials filmed in old Memorial Stadium.

1. Carl Weathers ~ Weathers was a football star at San Diego State and went on to play Linebacker for John Madden’s Oakland Raiders in 1970 and 1971. During the off-season, Weathers acted in local stage productions. He went on to play with the British Columbia Lions in the Canadian Football League, then retired from sports in 1974. Weathers rose to fame as the Muhammad Ali-inspired Apollo Creed in Rocky. His character appeared in four Rocky films until Apollo was killed off by "superboxer" Dolph Lundgren in Rocky IV. Weathers' post-Rocky projects have included the title role in Action Jackson, the Sidney Portier part in the 1985 TV-movie remake of The Defiant Ones and the TV series Fortune Dane, Street Justice and Tour of Duty.

Based on his slick cool as Apollo Creed in a few of sports' greatest flicks and in Action Jackson (how many other football players had action figures made in their likeness AFTER football?), Carl Weathers is our pick.  We checked in with Rocky Balboa to see if he agreed and the answer was a predictable, "ABSUH-LOOTLY!"