Tiki retired with his name smeared throughout the Giants' and NFL's record books. He was one of 21 players to rush for 10,000 yards at the time of his retirement. His 10,081 yards made him at the time the second most prolific runner in NFL history behind Floyd Little. Tiki's retirement ceremony was attended by more than 30 family members and friends. The New York Daily News reported that he had been diagnosed with leukemia.
Tiki was born Thomas Walter Johnson in Meridian, Mississippi on January 4, 1940. He moved with his family to Gary, Indiana when he was a child. The family then moved to East Rutherford, New Jersey when Tiki was 11 years old. He played high school football for three seasons at East Rutherford High School before moving on to play college football at Boston University. Tiki rushed for 1,077 yards and 12 touchdowns his senior year in 1962 before entering the NFL draft. He was selected by the New York Giants as their sole pick in the 1963 NFL draft. Tiki announced his retirement after nine seasons during which time he had appeared in 152 games and scored 42 touchdowns.
After retiring from football, Tiki started a sports-themed restaurant chain called Tiki Town located across the United States. In 1969, he opened the first location of Tiki Bar & Grill in New Jersey.
Emmitt Smith was a rushing back in the National Football League (NFL) who finished his 15-year career as the league's all-time top rusher. He announced his retirement following the 2004 season. At the time of his retirement, Smith was the leader of the Dallas Cowboys team that he had helped bring victory after victory during the 1990s and early 2000s.
He played at the collegiate level at Mississippi Valley State University and went on to play ten seasons in the NFL for the Cowboys. During his career, he won the NFL Most Valuable Player Award in 1994 and was a two-time Super Bowl champion with the Cowboys. In addition, he was a three-time first-team All-Pro selection and earned four consecutive Pro Bowl bids while with the Cowboys.
In 2001, Smith led the NFL in rushing yards with 1,848. That same year, he was also selected to his second straight All-Star Game and gave hope to runners around the NFL when he announced his intention to continue playing after tearing up his knee in a game against the Washington Redskins. However, he did not return for another season and officially retired after the 2004 campaign. He ended his career with 16,292 total yards from scrimmage and 102 touchdowns.
After retiring from football, Smith returned to Mississippi Valley State as the school's athletic director.
Nitschke's number was retired in a short ceremony during a game against the Chicago Bears in 1983. The Packers retired Reggie White's No. 92 as the sixth number. Nitschke was not present for the ceremony because he was still recovering from knee surgery. John Bonamego, who managed the team's publicity department at the time, said after the ceremony that Nitschke had wanted his retirement to be announced in the press release that announced his death.
Number 92 has been worn by several players while on the roster but only by Green Bay regulars during home games since it was retired in 1983. The last player to wear it during a regular season game was Mike Reinfeldt in 2007 when Aaron Rodgers was out with an injury.
Number 92 is currently worn by Larry Dean Taylor of Jackson, Tennessee.
Taylor signed with the Packers in 2011 and played defensive end for them for three seasons before being released in 2014. He then moved to offensive tackle where he continues to play today. The number 92 was issued to him by the organization because no one else was available. He is the only wearer of this number.
Number 92 was originally assigned to Bill Nitschke but was later re-assigned after his death.
Lofton was the first player to catch for more than 14,000 yards and departed the Green Bay Packers in 1986 as the franchise's all-time greatest receiver with 9,656 receiving yards—though he has since been surpassed by Donald Driver. Lofton is still ranked ninth in career receiving yards. He ended his Green Bay tenure with the team that drafted him after just one season because they didn't want to pay him like a top receiver; instead, they paid him like a special teams player (minimum salary). Lofton then played for the New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings before returning to his home state of Louisiana for three seasons with the New Orleans Saints.
In 1983, the Green Bay Packers traveled to Detroit to play the Detroit Lions in what is currently known as "The Best Football Game Ever Played". The game was tied at halftime with no score on any side of the ball and it appeared that the Lions had won due to how few points Green Bay scored in their half of the field but the second half started with both teams scoring touchdowns and the game ending in a tie. In fact, this game has been cited as one of the main reasons why the NFL decided to change the length of its games from 60 minutes to an entire quarter of football. The longest game in NFL history up until that point was also played between these two teams and it took place in 1972. The Green Bay Packers were defeated that year by Detroit 26-6.
He is the only player to have played in four separate decades and holds the record for most extra points attempted (943) and made (943). (959). He played for Bear Bryant, George Halas, Clem Crowe, Lou Rymkus, Wally Lemm, Pop Ivy, Sammy Baugh, Hugh Taylor, and John Madden during his career.
BQB With almost 300 games played, Tom Brady tops all active players. Jerry Rice set an NFL record by playing 303 games largely on offense. Brett Favre has the most NFL games under his belt. As an offensive lineman, Bruce Matthews (left) set a record with 296 games played.
All of the above has been etched as one of the nation's most prolific storylines in all of sports, which is why Walter Payton's number should be removed from all football. No other football player can compete with what Payton has accomplished as a man and as a football player.
Walter Payton announced his retirement after the 1987 season. In 13 seasons in Chicago, he carried for 16,726 yards, a record that remained until Emmitt Smith broke it in 2002. Payton was a nine-time Pro Bowler, seven-time First-Team All-Pro pick, Bert Bell Award recipient, and All-Decade Team selection in both the 1970s and 1980s.
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