Style Points

We here at Style Points live for barbeque and cold beer.  In fact, we’ve contacted Google Ads about taking payment in pork loins and Rolling Rock (yeah, I like Rolling Rock.  Wanna fight about it?).  Anyway, we often forget who makes all of our gluttony and sloth possible.  That’s right, our servicemen.  So to commemorate Memorial Day and pay tribute to all the men and women that take up arms to defend our country, we offer our ten greatest athletes who have also served their country in the U.S. military.

10.  Chad Hennings – The guy won the Outland Trophy while at Air Force did four years of active service, then joined the Cowboys (we didn’t hold that against him) and won three Super Bowls.  This guy’s bucket list looks like Dresden after the fire bombing.  Speaking of which, he also piloted an A-10 Thunderbolt while enlisted.  Bad. Ass.

9.  David Robinson - He did two years of active service in the Navy after twice achieving All-American status at Annapolis.  He continued to serve in a reserve role (in addition to his public relations work for the Navy) after joining the San Antonio Spurs.

8.  Joe Dimaggio - Would’ve been much higher on this list but all of his posts were stateside during World War II.  Apparently, he spent most of his time teaching physical education.  How many guys sat around telling their kids and grandkids that The Yankee Clipper showed them the proper way to do jumping jacks?  Also, including Dimaggio gives me the leeway I need to include a picture of Marilyn Monroe which I couldn’t pass up.

7.  Hoyt Wilhelm - Not only was he the first closer to enter Cooperstown, he also earned a Purple Heart at the Battle of the Bulge.  Plus, he’s got a cool first name that you never see anymore.  Thank God his mother wasn’t of this generation.  Tyler Wilhelm sounds less than stellar.

6.  Yogi Berra - It’s a scary prospect to consider the possibility of Yogi communicating important information under duress.  We could’ve just as easily stormed the beaches of St. Tropez instead of Normandy if Berra had been allowed near the radio.  Luckily, he did his time on a Navy rocket launcher.

5.  Roger Staubach – Rodger the Dodger managed a Heisman, two Super Bowl wins, and a Hall of Fame career.  Somewhere in the middle of all that he managed to do a tour in Vietnam for the Army.  Could you even imagine one of today’s franchise quarterbacks in Iraq?  Tony Romo, for example?  Yeah, sorry for ruining your keyboard.  Try wet wipes.

4.  Bob Feller – The Heater from Van Meter enlisted in the Navy two days after Pearl Harbor and volunteered for combat duty.  He was decorated with five campaign ribbons and eight battle stars.  After spending four years of his prime in the military he returned to the big leagues where he dominated for eleven more years.

3.  Ted Williams – Teddy Ballgame, on top of all his achievements on the baseball diamond, was a world class fighter pilot.  He served with the Navy in WWII and Korea.  As impressive as his career numbers are just imagine where they would be if he had those four years of his prime back.

2.  Rocky Bleier – The rugged Pittsburgh Steeler running back was drafted into the Army after his rookie season and was wounded in Vietnam.  He was told he’d never play football again by the military doctors.  Needless to say, he overcame his physical limitations to rejoin the Steelers.  His Wikipedia page is pretty damn impressive, if you’ve got the time.

1.  Pat Tillman – We here at Style Points have a great deal of respect for Pat because he enlisted during a very different era and gave selflessly of himself to a cause he believed in.  In the end, he paid the ultimate price and should never be forgotten.

Style Points takes our collective hats off to all those serving in uniform who allow us to sit in our pajamas and make offensive jokes and search for pictures of Jessica Biel in her undergarments.  We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.