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Top 10 NFL careers of Tennessee football O-Linemen

By Caleb Calhoun

Raleigh McKenzie #63, Guard and Center for the Washington Redskins during the American Football Conference West game against the San Diego Chargers on 21 September 1986 at the Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, California, United States. The Redskins won the game 30 - 27. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Allsport/Getty Images)
Raleigh McKenzie #63, Guard and Center for the Washington Redskins during the American Football Conference West game against the San Diego Chargers on 21 September 1986 at the Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, California, United States. The Redskins won the game 30 - 27. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Allsport/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Robert Riger/Getty Images
Photo by Robert Riger/Getty Images /

player. 839. Pick Analysis. Years in NFL: 11. 4. Scouting Report. 1954-1956. John Gordy

Teams played for:

  • Detroit Lions, 1957-1967

Just as Jack Stroud revitalized Tennessee football in the single-wing under Robert Neyland, John Gordy did it under Bowden Wyatt. He was part of the same recruiting class as Johnny Majors and initially committed to play for Neyland but spent his first year playing for Harvey Robinson, Neyland’s direct successor, whom he fired after that year.

Wyatt came in the next year, and Gordy helped the offense explode while blocking for Majors, resulting in the Vols winning the SEC Championship and finishing the regular season 10-0 and ranked No. 2 in 1956 with him as team captain and Majors becoming a Heisman Trophy runner-up. After that, Gordy was taken in the second round of the 1957 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions.

At 6’3″ 248 pounds, Gordy could alternate between guard and tackle as well, but he became a full-time right guard in Detroit. As a rookie, he helped the Lions win the 1957 NFL Championship, which is the last championship the franchise has ever won. He started 10 games that year and both playoff games, proving his value. By the next year, he was the full-time starter.

Gordy, who passed away in 2009, made three Pro Bowls in addition to his championship before retiring at the end of 1967. He also was president and executive director of the NFL Players’ Association and helped negotiate the first collective bargaining agreement in any professional sport at that level. Over his 11-year career, he appeared in 134 games and started in 128 of them.

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