Saturday, August 28, 1999
Cincinnati All-Century Team
100 years of the greatest Bearcats, as chosen by The Enquirer:
QB — Greg Cook, 1966-68. Led nation in total offense in '68 with 3,210 yards; No. 1 draftee by Bengals in '69.
RB — Reggie Taylor, 1983-86. UC career rushing leader with 4,242 yards. Played several years in Canadian Football League.
RB — Ray Nolting, 1933-36. UC's first All-American (1935). Later played for Chicago Bears, then became head coach at UC (1945-48).
WR — Jim O'Brien, 1967-69. Kicker/wide receiver led nation in scoring in '68. Still holds six major UC receiving records.
WR — Jim Kelly Sr., 1947-50. Star on Sid Gillman's great UC teams, led team in receiving twice. Later became a UC assistant coach. UC's athletic Hall of Fame is named for him.
TE — Elbie Nickel, 1940-42, '46. Played for UC both before and after World War II. Later became three-time All-Pro TE with Pittsburgh.
OL — Bill Feldhaus, 1934-36. One of UC's first two NFL players (with RB Ray Nolting). Future Detroit Lion helped lead Bearcats to 7-2 record in 1935.
OL — Ken Byers, 1959-61. Second-team All-America in '61, later played for N.Y. Giants and Minnesota. Played in two NFL title games.
OL — Jason Fabini, 1994-97. Three-time All-Conference USA choice became starter as rookie for New York Jets in '98.
OL — Bill Shalosky, 1950-52. Honorable mention All-America guard in 1952, and is the only Bearcat lineman to have his number retired.
OL — Jay Bachman, 1965-66. A UC center and team captain, drafted by Green Bay, also played several years for Denver.
K — Rich Karlis, 1978-80. Best known for his long career as a barefooted NFL placekicker, including two Super Bowls with Denver.
DL — Ron Kostelnik, 1959-60. Bearcat product became a standout on the great Green Bay Packers teams of the 1960s.
DL — Bob Bell, 1968-70. Remains UC's only defensive player to be a No. 1 NFL draftee (Detroit). Played nine years in NFL.
DL — George Jamison, 1980-83. Played DE at UC, co-leader on Bearcats' career sack list (18). Played linebacker for a decade in NFL.
DL — Howie Kurnick, 1975-78. Nose guard, outstanding playmaker, played briefly for Bengals before knee injury.
LB — Mike Woods, 1975-77. First-team All-America in 1977, drafted in second round by Baltimore Colts in 1978.
LB — Phillip Curry, 1994-97. UC's career tackling leader (487).
LB — Dan Rains, 1974-77. Known as clutch playmaker, played standup DE/outside linebacker at UC. Later played for Chicago Bears.
CB — Al Nelson, 1962-64. Standout RB and DB at UC, played in prestigious College All-Star game. Played many years as DB with Philadelphia Eagles.
CB — Artrell Hawkins, 1994-97. Top player on UC's 1997 Humanitarian Bowl winner, drafted No. 2 by Bengals and started as NFL rookie.
S — Joe Morrison, 1956-58. Played six positions at UC, and twice led team in interceptions. Played RB for New York Giants.
S — Brig Owens, 1963-64. Primarily played QB at UC, also punted and kicked field goals. Had long, standout career as DB with Washington Redskins.
P — Mike Connell, 1974-77. Holds UC records for single-season average (43.0 in '76) and career (42.5).
Coach: Sid Gillman, 1949-54. Record: 50-13-1 (.789).
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