NFL Greatest Players

Earl Campbell: You always could tell when the Earl Campbell Express was coming. The ground rumbled, bodies tumbled and fearless hearts crumbled.

He was equal parts freight train, thoroughbred and warrior, all blended into a heavily muscled, bowling ball-like 232-pound body. Campbell was raw power, a yard-eating machine that terrorized NFL defenders from 1978 through 1985.

To say that Campbell was not your everyday running back was something of an understatement. His 5-11 frame featured tree-trunk thighs that measured 36 inches, only two fewer than his waist, and a big, battering-ram head. He ran with a forward lean, providing a low center of gravity and a small margin of error for would-be tacklers.

He was a sincere, no-nonsense East Texas Southern Baptist whose heart was as big as his massive thighs. He refused to give up on any run, taking great pride in dealing out punishment while gaining every possible inch.

Campbell exploded onto the NFL scene after a Heisman Trophy-winning senior season at the University of Texas. Playing for his home-state Houston Oilers, he rumbled for an NFL-leading 1,450 yards in his rookie season and followed that with league-leading seasons of 1,697 and 1,934.

Through his first six seasons as the centerpiece of Houston's offense, Campbell averaged 1,383 yards rushing and helped the Oilers reach two AFC championship games.

The pride that prodded Campbell to stretch out every run over eight grueling seasons for the Oilers and New Orleans Saints also might have been responsible for his relatively short career.

All the pounding he absorbed, all the bone-jarring blows from second, third and fourth tacklers wore down his body and prompted a premature drop-off in performance. When Campbell retired after the 1985 season, he had 9,407 yards (1,176 per season), 74 touchdowns and five Pro Bowl appearances.