Only Two NFL Hall of Famers Played College Football in Colorado

It may be surprising to learn that only two players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame played college football in Colorado.

There have been a number of outstanding college football players in Colorado through the years, but these two men have the distinction of being the only two making it to Canton.

John LeRoy "Jack" Christiansen, shown in the video above intercepting a pass(#24) played football at Colorado State before playing for the Detroit Lions from 1951 to 1958. In 1953, Christiansen led the NFL in interceptions with 12.

At 6-1 and 162 pounds, Christiansen didn't even intend to play football but rather to be a sprinter on the CSU track team. However, in his sophomore season, he started playing football - mostly as a return man and defensive back.

Christiansen was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1970  and passed away in 1986 at the age of 57.

Earl 'Dutch' Clark was born in the tiny town of Fowler, Colorado, just east of Pueblo. Clark went on to play college football at Colorado College in Colorado Springs. Two years after he graduated, Clark played two seasons in the NFL for the Portsmouth Spartans.

Clark left the Spartans to coach at Colorado School of Mines before returning to the NFL, rejoining his team which had become the Detroit Lions.

Clark was a quarterback and a placekicker, though they say he had poor eyesight and had trouble spotting his receivers. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1963 and died in 1978 at the age of 71.