Two football players who combined to play in 12 Pro Bowls golfed at Stonehenge Golf Club last weekend.

Former Minnesota Vikings outside linebacker Matt Blair played for the NFC team in six Pro Bowls, and former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman L.C. Greenwood played for the AFC team in six Pro Bowls.

The two players came to Warsaw to golf in the inaugural Celebrity Pro-Am Charity Classic, which helped raise money for youths with disabilities.

Greenwood played for Pittsburgh from 1969 through 1981 and was a member of the vaunted defense nicknamed the "Steel Curtain." The 6-foot-6, 250-pound Greenwood recorded 73.5 sacks and 14 fumble recoveries in a career that saw him help the Steelers win four Super Bowls and seven division titles.

Greenwood, who played next to "Mean" Joe Greene, had two unforgettable Super Bowls. In Super Bowl IX, he deflected three Fran Tarkenton passes, and in Super Bowl X, he sacked Roger Staubauch three times.

But Greenwood may have been known for his shoes just as much for his play on the field. Nicknamed "Hollywood Bags" by his teammates, Greenwood wore gold shoes every game. His teammates wore black shoes, and Greenwood's shoe color earned the Steelers organization fines every game by the NFL for his uniform violation.

Greenwood, 54, resides in Pittsburgh where he is president and owner of Greenwood Enterprises.

Blair saw his work pay off when he recently was named to the Silver All-Time Minnesota Vikings team. Twenty-six Vikings made the team, 11 offensive starters, 11 defensive starters and four special teams players.

Blair played outside linebacker for the Vikings from 1974 through 1985, and he is No. 2 on the Vikings' all-time tackles list. He competed in two Super Bowls and three NFC championship games.

For the first 10 years of his career, Blair not only played outside linebacker, he also played special teams full time. Most of the time coaches take talented starters off the special teams a year or two into their careers to save them from the extra abuse, but not Blair.

A special teams standout, he holds records for most blocked kicks and punts (20) in the regular season. Not only did Blair play defense and special teams, he didn't miss a game the first 10 years of his career.

Blair's speed defined his style of play at linebacker. A defensive back in college, the Vikings turned the 6-foot-6 Blair into an outside linebacker, and because of his closing speed, they often used him in blitz packages and kept him in on passing downs.

"Walter Payton was the best running back I ever went against," he said. "He could deliver punishment when he ran, but he could also turn on a dime."

Blair, who still resides in Minnesota and has eight season tickets to Vikings games, is glad he played when he did. Now he gets to watch Minnesota quarterback Daunte Culpepper, who stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 285 but scampers around like a running back. Culpepper is as big as any of the defensive linemen who comprised the "Purple People Eaters."

"I'm glad I'm not playing," Blair said. "The prototype quarterbacks of today are mobile, hostile, big and fast."

While Greenwood had the shoes, Blair had the tooth.

"I remember one hit," he said. "It was a 1976 playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys. Calvin Hill came across the middle on a low flare pattern. I hit him pretty good. My helmet came off, and in the process, a broke a tooth off.

"We found the tooth laying on the field. I had it put into a necklace, which I wore until I got married. Now I'm divorced, and I got the necklace back out again."

Sports Illustrated recently did an investigative story on how football injuries have left former NFL players Johnny Unitas, Earl Campbell and Joe Jacoby, among others, crippled with a life of constant pain, and in some cases, disabilities.

Blair emerged from his playing days relatively injury-free, and even now, he looks like he still could walk out on the field and play.

"I broke a finger and tore some knee cartilage," he said, "But that was it."

Blair is active in charity work. He competes in golf tournaments for charities at least once, if not twice, a week. Last week he hosted the Matt Blair Celebrity Classic, an event that has raised $1 million over the last 10 years for various Twin Cities charities.

He also has published a book of photographs that raised more than $365,000 for the homeless in Minneosta, and he is working on a second book for the Children's Miracle Network. [[In-content Ad]]