Alex Wojciechowicz

Hall of Famer Alex Wojciechowicz first gained fame in college as a member of Fordham University’s famous "Seven Blocks of Granite" line, earning a two-time All-America status. Playing right next to Wojie was future Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi.

Wojciechowicz was the Detroit Lions number-one pick in the 1938 National Football League Draft and won the starting center job in his first game as a Lion. During his years in Detroit, the Lions slipped from being one of the NFL’s strongest teams to one of its weakest. But Wojie, as he was called, always played at a championship caliber, excelling on both offense and defense.

A popular player, he was often the comic relief on the football team, the kind that every team likes to have around. On the field, however, he was all business, one of the last of the "iron men" of football, a center on offense and a sure-tackling linebacker with unusually good range, on defense.

In 1944, he demonstrated his defensive talents when he intercepted seven passes, a Lions record for several years. Although Wojciechowicz received his fair share of personal recognition, he yearned to play on a championship team. That never happened in Detroit. But when he was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in the middle of the 1946 season, the two-time All-Pro selection joined a team that seemed poised to deliver him his dream.

A revitalized 30-year-old Wojciechowicz immediately became the nucleus and ringleader of a formidable Eagles defensive platoon. His veteran leadership and dogged determination made him a major contributor to the Eagles’ championship runs in 1948 and 1949. From the time he was picked as Detroit's number one draft choice in 1938 until he retired in 1950 after 13 seasons of pro football - one season for every letter of his surname – Wojie was a football player's player, one of the best the game has seen.