Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rocky Bleier won four Super Bowls in the 1970s after being seriously wounded in Vietnam in 1969. (AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)
While discussing former sailor Kyle Eckel’s return appearance to the Super Bowl, a co-worker asked me: How many guys who’ve played in the Super Bowl have also served in the military?
All I could think of the top of my head were legendary Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, Rocky Bleier, the Steelers running back who returned to play after being wounded in Vietnam, Chad Hennings, the Cowboys defensive lineman who flew A-1os in the Air Force, and Paul Hornung, the Green Bay Packers Hall of Famer who almost missed the 1961 NFL championship game because of his duty in the Army Reserve.
After doing some research, here’s the list of Super Bowl vets I came up with so far. It’s probably woefully incomplete, so let me know who I’m missing:
Army
Rocky Bleier (Pittsburgh Steelers 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980)
Army Reserve
Boyd Dowler (Green Bay Packers 1967, 1968)
Paul Hornung (Green Bay Packers 1967)
Kevin Green (Pittsburgh Steelers 1996)
Ray Nitschke (Green Bay Packers 1967, 1968)
Air Force
Chad Hennings (Dallas Cowboys 1993, 1994, 1996)
Steve Russ (Denver Broncos 1998)
Navy
Bob Kuberski (Green Bay 1997, 1998)
Max Lane (New England Patriots 1997)
Phil McConkey (New York Giants 1987)
Roger Staubach (Dallas Cowboys 1971, 1972, 1976, 1978, 1979)
