Gail Cogdill (1937-2016)

In today's NFL Worland born and Detroit Lions legendary TE/WR Gail Cogdill would be putting up monster numbers. He'd be the guy every fantasy football player would be clamoring for on draft day.

As a boy Cogdill lived in the Big Horn Basin area before his family moved to Spokane, Wash.

After a stellar career at Washington State University, for which he's in its football Hall of Fame, Cogdill was drafted by the Detroit Lions in 1960 as the 63rd overall pick.

As a Lion, Cogdill made the franchise look like geniuses as in his first season he would catch 43 passes for 642 yards and one touchdown. This would earn him the 1960 NFL Rookie of the Year award, something that Shawn Coggins, who is a relative of Cogdill and lives in Meeteetse, says Gail was always "very proud of."

From '61 to '63 Cogdill posted three straight seasons of 900-plus receiving yards and was also named to three straight Pro Bowls. His statistical career peak came in '63 when he hauled in 48 receptions for 991 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The following two seasons were injury-plagued for Cogdill. In '64 he suffered a shoulder injury, then in '65 he had a dislocated knee cap and with sports medicine not what it is today Cogdill had difficulty in getting back to his peak performance.

The Lions released him late in the '68 season but that wasn't the end for Codgill. The Baltimore Colts and legendary coach Don Shula came calling shortly after his release and signed him to their roster. The Colts went on to win the NFL championship then face Joe Namath and the New York Jets in Super Bowl III. As every NFL history buff knows, the Jets defeated the Colts 16-7 in a classic upset.

According to Shawn Coggins, the loss to the Colts still irked Cogdill and for the remainder of his life he still harbored ill feelings toward Namath.

Cogdill was released by the Colts the following offseason. He played two more seasons with the Atlanta Falcons before retiring in 1971. At the end of his career Cogdill recorded 356 receptions for 5,696 yards and 34 touchdowns. He was also the Detroit Lions franchise leader in reception yards and until Herman Moore broke the record in 1996. As of now he sits fifth all-time in receiving yards, seventh in receptions and ninth in touchdowns.

Another highlight of Cogdill's career was playing in the 1962 "Thanksgiving Day Massacre." The game was against the unbeaten Green Bay Packers who had previously beaten the Lions 10-9 earlier in the season. Cogdill and his teammates spoiled the Packers perfect season in a 26-16 victory that earned them a trip to the Ed Sullivan show.

As impressive as NFL career was, Gail Cogdill's big heart and selflessness will be remembered by most by those who survived him.

Shawn Coggins, who spent a lot of time with Cogdill and would make trips to visit him and his wife Diane, said that Gail would go out of his way to put on golf tournaments as a means of raising money for those who needed help.

"He was a good ole' guy and a hero in his days," said Shawn Coggins, "He was good for a lot of people. All he wanted to do was put on golf tournaments to help out those in need. He'd do it for charities and to even help former NFL players."

The players who laid the foundation for what the NFL is today have not been take care of like one would except from a league worth north of a billion. While this bothered Cogdill it didn't stop him from helping out his brothers in arms.

"Wasn't a big fan of NFL after he retired because of what a lot of the older players had gone through and never got any support. He understood it was their choice to play football but when he looks at how well they treat the players nowadays it upset him. So he'd put these tournaments on and donate the money to help the former players in need of medical assistance," said Coggins.

Coggins saw Cogdill this summer when he made a visit to Big Horn Basin area to visit family and take in area. "He knew he was dying and he's always considered himself to be a Big Horn Basin boy so he wanted to take in the country one last time," said Coggins.

As his final act of selflessness Cogdill donated his brain and stems cells to Boston University as part of their ongoing concussion research.

The memorial service for Gail Cogdill will be on Nov. 15 at 1 p.m. at the Heritage Funeral Home in Spokane, Wash. Instead of flowers the family is asking for donations to be made to the Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund or The Providence Child Center in Portland, Ore.