Johnny Unitas!
Interesting tidbit fro Wiki…” After his collegiate career, the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL drafted Unitas in the ninth round. However, he was released before the season began as the odd man out among four quarterbacks trying to fill three spots. Steelers’ head coach Walt Kiesling had made up his mind about Unitas; he thought he was not smart enough to quarterback an NFL team, and he was not given any snaps in practice with the Steelers. Among those edging out Unitas was Ted Marchibroda, future longtime NFL head coach. Out of pro football, Unitas—by this time married—worked in construction in Pittsburgh to support his family. On the weekends, he played quarterback, safety and punter on a local semi-professional team called the Bloomfield Rams for $6 a game.”
Imagine how many would have given up after that!? What character.
Also, Johnny Unitas tried out as a walk-on at Notre Dame. The ND coach told Unitas he was impressed with his performance, but because of his size (less than 140 pounds!) he was too small to play. So, he went to Louisville.
Johnny U was one of a kind.