Nebraska Hall of Fame (1972)

William Lyman, Def. Tackle (1919-22, 1964)

Table Rock, NE

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    In 1922, Guy Chamberlin, the player-coach of the Canton Bulldogs, recruited Roy (Link) Lyman, a 6-2, 233 pound tackle from the University of Nebraska, to play pro football. Lyman was no stranger to Chamberlin, who was also a Nebraska alumnus.

     Chamberlin’s recruit went on to star with the Bulldogs during their back-to-back undefeated seasons of 1922 and 1923. The following season the Canton franchise was sold and several Canton players, including Lyman, moved on to Cleveland, where the Cleveland Bulldogs captured the 1924 NFL title. Lyman split the 1925 season between a new Canton franchise and the Frankford Yellowjackets.

     Following the 1925 season he joined the Chicago Bears during that team’s famous cross-country barnstorming tour that featured Red Grange. Lyman remained with the Bears for the rest of his career that ended almost as it had begun. The Bears won the NFL title in 1933 and a divisional crown in 1934, Lyman’s final season.

     Many pro football historians believe that the constant shifting by defensive players before each play in modern professional football can be traced back to Lyman, who regularly resorted to similar ploys. His sliding, shifting style of defensive line play confused his opponents and made him one of the most respected players of his time. Lyman explained that the idea of shifting was an instinctive move to fool a blocker. He had a unique ability to diagnose a play and many times he would make his move just as the ball was snapped.

     Whether it was luck or a result of his outstanding play, Lyman experienced just one losing season during his 16 seasons of high school, college, and professional football. A contributor to the end, Bears coach George Halas insisted Lyman was stronger and tougher during his last two seasons than when he first joined the team eight years earlier.

All Conference (MVC) (1915)

All-American (1915)

College Football Hall of Fame (1962)

Nebraska Football Hall of Fame (1971)

Guy Chamberlin, End (1913-15, 1965)

Blue Springs, NE

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     Guy Chamberlin played and coached in the earliest years of the National Football League when the only meaningful statistic kept was the teams' won-lost record. Winning was a category in which Chamberlin excelled. Of those coaches with 50 or more victories, Guy's 58-16-7 record and .759 winning percentage ranks among the best.

     In his six coaching seasons, five of which were spent as a player-coach, Chamberlin also won four NFL championships for the Canton Bulldogs in 1922 and 1923, the Cleveland Bulldogs in 1924, and the Frankford Yellowjackets in 1926. Although Chamberlin's high school in Blue Springs, Nebraska, was not big enough to field a football team, he became a two-time All-America at the University of Nebraska.

     Jim Thorpe, who had always been Chamberlin’s idol, lured Guy into pro football with the pre-NFL Canton Bulldogs in 1919. Chamberlin was one of the finest ends of his time. When George Halas began lining up players for his first Decatur Staleys team in 1920, Chamberlin was his prime recruit. He was big, tall and fast, excellent on both offense and defense and a 60-minute player.

     After two seasons with Halas and the Staleys, Chamberlin came back to Canton as player-coach of the Bulldogs. Thorpe was no longer with the team but Chamberlin assembled one of the powerhouse elevens of the 1920s. Canton, with undefeated seasons in both 1922 and 1923, became the NFL's first two-time champion. The Bulldogs were sold in 1924 to a Cleveland promoter who added several Bulldogs’ players to his Cleveland team. Chamberlin led the rebuilt Cleveland team to the NFL championship.

     In 1925, Chamberlin joined the Frankford Yellowjackets and a year later won another NFL title with a 14-1-2 record. Guy concluded his player-only career with the 1927 Chicago Cardinals and as a coach only in 1928 with the Chicago Cardinals.

Bob Brown, Guard/Linebacker (1961-63, 2004)

Cleveland, OH

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      Former Nebraska All-American Bob Brown will earn a permanent place among the greats of the game on Sunday when he is enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame at ceremonies held at Fawcett Stadium in Canton, Ohio.

     Brown played 10 seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles (1964-68), Los Angeles Rams (1969-70) and Oakland Raiders (1971-73), earning first-team All-NFL honors seven times in his illustrious career. The offensive tackle was a six-time Pro Bowler and was named NFL/NFC offensive lineman of the year three times during his career. Brown, who was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1993, was a unanimous All-American at Nebraska for Coach Bob Devaney in 1963 and was the second player selected in the 1964 Draft.

     Brown will be the third former Husker to be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame, joining Guy Chamberlin (1920-27) and William (Roy) Lyman (1922-34). Brown will join Chamberlin as the only former Huskers who are members of both the College and NFL Hall of Fame.  

All-Conference (1962, 1963)

All-American (1963)

College Football Lineman of the year (1963)

Nebraska Football Hall of Fame (1977)

College Football Hall of Fame (1993)