What a 13-time Pro Bowler looks like.
Pro Bowls aren’t a great measure of NFL ability, but they’re one of the few statistics that enable comparisons across positions.
Ray Lewis has made 13 Pro Bowls in his 16-year career, and he can tie the NFL record if he makes another trip to Hawaii this season. Only two players in NFL history have ever made 14 Pro Bowls in their career.
As you would suspect, both are in the Hall of Fame. Among eligible players, Will Shields is the only non-Hall of Famer with 10 or more Pro Bowls on his resume, and Shields will surely be inducted within the next couple of years.
But can you name either of the two men who have made 14 Pro Bowls?
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Both men were lineman, one on each side of the ball.
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One retired in 1976, the other in 2001.
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| Trivia hint 3 |
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Both spent their entire careers with one franchise, and these two franchises met in the Super Bowl following the 1999 season.
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Merlin Olsen and Bruce Matthews. Olsen made the Pro Bowl in each of his first 14 seasons, a record that is unlikely to ever be matched. Matthews made the Pro Bowl in each of his last 14 seasons, another record that is tough to envision being equaled.
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Tagged as:
Pro Bowl,
Weekend Trivia
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Got this one without hints and with very little thought. I’m thinking that’s a sign I have looked up similar things too often.
Nice. If you’ve got any thoughts on some trivia questions, shoot ‘em my way.
I got Matthews pretty quickly, but even with all three hints, Olsen eluded me. Why is he not more well-known?
It was the opposite for me – I got Olsen (probably because I remember hearing that statistic innumerable times after he died), but missed Matthews.
Same for me. I knew Olsen. I was thinking one of the Vikings guys like Carl Eller or Alan Page was the other.
Olsen played a long time ago, so depending on your age, his fame is variable. But Matthews played more recently. He is a fairly anonymous player for having made it to 14 Pro Bowls.