Foote & Footman: A Story of the 3 Football Players Who Were Born to Play the Sport
Don’t let nicknames such as, “Johnny Football” fool you. At the time of writing this, there is, in fact, no one with the last name of Football in the United States.
I know, I know, I didn’t want this to be true, but through my research on Ancestry.com and geneanet.org, I couldn’t find a single soul with the last name of Football. Unfortunate.
This disappointing realization hasn’t stopped an influx of unique names to be brought to the table. From early 70’s wide receiver, Fair Hooker; to early 2010’s tackle, Guy Whimper; there has been a plethora of weird player names for you and your friends to laugh endlessly for hours about. Unfortunately, we might never see the day where D’brickashaw Football is tearing up the field. No, there isn’t a young little John Football out there, looking through the TV with dreams of being an NFL player, other than the one we already know and love. Despite this sad and utterly disappointing knowledge, there are still some out there who are closely related to this fictional last name. Call them football cousins, if you will.
Bring out your foot fetishes, everyone. Rex Ryan, it is your lucky day. Today, we are looking at Chris Foote, Dan Footman, and Larry Foote, and the legacy (their footprint, if you will) they have left on the field. Did they live up to their name?
*- all credit to https://www.pro-football-reference.com/
Chris Foote (Guard/Center)
Chris Foote made history in 1980, when he became the first person with the last name of “Foote” to be drafted. This momentous occurrence happened in the 6th round (144th overall), when he was drafted by the Baltimore Colts.
Foote didn’t start, but did make some fun additions to his stat sheet. He finished the season with 1 whole fumble recovery, as well as a single kickoff return for 9 yards. This season brought his only fumble recovery in his NFL career, as well as one of only two kickoff returns in his career. His only that went for a gain. His team wasn’t that successful either, as the Colts went 7–9 in his first season, and dropped all the way to 2–14 for his second
After another season in Baltimore, he, much like the franchise a few years after, was on his way to a new city. He found himself as a New York Giant for the next two seasons. Once again he didn’t start, and once again his team struggled, going 4–5 in the lockout shortened season in ‘82, then 3–12–1 in Bill Parcells’ first season in ‘83.
As he wasn’t starting much in the NFL, Chris Foote decided to make the switch over to the newest football craze: the USFL. In 1984 he played for the Los Angeles Express, and in 1985, he joined the Tampa Bay Bandits. Both times his team was able to make the playoffs, but yet again, he was never able to win a championship. He was able to achieve one thing he, at that point at least, had yet to do in the NFL. He started the only three games he had played that season! A win in his own right.
Unfortunately for ol’ Footy, the USFL disbanded after 1985, leaving him out of a job. He was unable to find a team in 1986, and it wasn’t until 1987 when he found an NFL team in the Minnesota Vikings. In 1988, he even started 5 games! He would continue playing and periodically starting for the VIkings until the end of the 1990 season, which would be the last time he would play for a NFL Team.
The day he retired, a big part of the NFL was missing. There was no one in the NFL with the word “foot” in their name for two whole seasons. Luckily, in 1993, our second hero had arrived.
Dan Footman (Defensive End/Defensive Tackle/Nose Tackle)
Footman was drafted by Bill Belichick’s Browns in the 2nd round (42nd overall), making him the earliest drafted NFL player with the word “foot” in their name… of all time. Footman was a pretty solid player for the Browns, too. While it did take time, he improved his game year after year. After three seasons with the Browns, Footman totaled 8.5 sacks, and 60 tackles, although his last season with the Browns alone credited him with 5.0 sacks and 39 tackles.
Unfortunately, much like Chris Foote of before, fate might not have been on his side. Foote found himself on the 1995 Browns, a team which became a sinking ship the moment Art Modell announced that he was moving the team to Baltimore. His best season yet was for nothing as the Browns went 5–11, losing 10 of the last 12 games.
Along with the rest of the Browns, in 1996 he had to face a change in scenery as he was now a Baltimore Raven. While he was able to force his first two fumbles that season, he was only able to pick up half a sack. Once the year was done, Footman was out to find a new home.
His new home for 1997 would be in Indianapolis, where he would have the best season of his career. Under the Colts’ defensive scheme, he was able to rack up 44 tackles, and incredibly 10.5 sacks (he had more sacks that season alone than all his other NFL seasons combined). He also left all other teammates in the dust in said category. The second highest sack leader produced less than half the production Footman had.
Footman’s great season, unfortunately, was just a bright spot on an otherwise disappointing Colts season. The 3–13 Colts were the worst team in the league; a time which would later be known as the last season before the Peyton Manning years.
No game could sum up the 97 Colts’ season more than week 7 of the 1997 season against the Pittsburgh Steelers…
After a failed two-point conversion by John Harbaugh and the Colts, the Steelers looked to be in control of the game. They were starting to head into waste-clock mode. But on Jerome Bettis’s second run of the drive, he lost the football. And who was there to recover it? None other than the foot man himself… Dan Footman. The Colts were in the perfect position to win, and it couldn’t have been without Footman.
Did the Colts win the game? No. Cary Blanchard hooked the kick wide left, the Colts lost and moved to 0–6 on the season. Footman’s good work was for nothing. In a way, a lot of this game would seem to resemble the 2005 Divisional Round playoff game between the same two teams, but that is a story for another time…
After a disappointing ‘97 season, things were looking up for the Indianapolis Colts, they had just found their franchise QB, and Footman was looking promising.
The unfortunate truth, though, was that one injury could change everything. After only three games, Footman was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury. Footman would never play an NFL game again.
It was a tragic time for our old friend, and once more the NFL had fallen into another footless spell. It wasn’t until 2002, where we would find our last hero…
Larry Foote (Linebacker)
Larry Foote was drafted in the 4th round (128th overall) of the 2002 NFL Draft. Our third and (as of right now) final hero seems to have been the most successful in the NFL. He did what our previous two couldn’t: win a Super Bowl. As a matter of fact, he won two! I am getting ahead of myself, though.
After showing flashes his first two seasons, Foote became a full-time starter. In 2004 he totaled 70 tackles as the Steelers went 15–1. The next season he became even better, totalling 102 tackles. In the playoffs, he made several big plays including a momentum-shifting interception in the AFC Championship game. When all was said and done, Larry Foote was a Super Bowl champion.
The next season, Foote continued to start, but in the 2007 off-season, the Steelers would make a move that would threaten his future: they would draft Linebacker Lawrence Timmons with their first round pick.
While Timmons was threatening to take his play time, they were able to coexist for the next two seasons. In 2008, Foote won another Super Bowl, but his time had come to leave the team. He requested to be released during the 2009 off-season.
The question for Foote now was: where could he go? Well, luckily for him, there was a team in need of… well most things. That team was the Detroit Lions, and coming off their 0–16 season, there was nowhere for them to go than up.
On the Lions, he did decently well, tallying the most tackles for himself since his big year in 2005, but other than that, the Lions still had a lot of work to do, only going 2–14. Foote only signed a one year deal, and once the season was done, he became a free agent once more.
It seemed like Foote was ready to accept his lowered playing time as he re-signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers the very next season. For 2010 and 2011, he saw playtime, but was barely a starter. Foote’s big break came in 2012, where he once again was made a starter, and made the most of it by tallying up the most tackles (113) and sacks (4.0) in his career.
The thing about history, however, is it has a way of repeating itself. Much like Footman, after his best year yet, he suffered a season ending injury. This came in only his first game, and was his last ever game in a Steelers uniform.
Larry Foote’s last season came in Arizona. He started every game he played in, but it seemed as if his age was starting to catch up with him. Once the year was over, Foote had announced his retirement from the NFL. This began a new chapter in his football spotlight: soon after his retirement, he announced his coaching career. From 2015–2018, he was the Cardinals’ linebackers coach. In 2019, he followed Bruce Ariens to help with the Buccaneers. His success as a coach has been intriguing, and who knows where he will be five or ten years down the road. As of right now, he is the only person keeping the “foot” in “football.” Long live Larry Foote.
