From Daddio to Holloway: NFL players, personnel with Erie and northwestern Pa. ties
On to the second level.
The Erie Times-News' series on Erie-area connections to the NFL continues with former players, coaches and personnel with last names starting with D, E, F, G or H.
The research was done based on data available at pro-football-reference.com and the Times-News archives. We documented many of those with northwestern Pennsylvania ties who have contributed to the NFL's history before and throughout the Super Bowl era.
Those with Erie-area connections with last names starting with the letters A, B and C were featured in the first installment of this series.
Readers who know of a former or current player with ties to northwestern Pennsylvania — defined as Erie, Crawford, Mercer, Venango, Forest and Warren counties — but isn't mentioned below can email sports@timesnews.com for potential inclusion in the future.
The players include the following, listed in alphabetical order with last names starting with letters D through H:
Bill Daddio
The Meadville native and graduate was an All-America player for the University of Pittsburgh when the Chicago Cardinals chose him in the fifth round of the 1939 NFL draft.
However, Daddio didn’t make his league debut until 1941. Although he played various positions, his primary role was as their kicker.
Daddio converted nine field goals and eight extra-points over two seasons before he joined the U.S. Navy for World War II. He appeared in three games for the 1946 Buffalo Bisons of the former All-America Football Conference before he retired and became Allegheny College’s football coach for five seasons.
Daddio was a scout for the Denver Broncos when he retired in 1987. He died two years later at age 73.
Tommy Dowler
The East High School graduate, who died in 1986 at age 78, appeared in two games for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Not the baseball version, but football.
Ebbetts Field also was home for an NFL franchise from 1930-43 and again from 1946-48. Dowler dressed in two games for the 1931 team, which went 2-12 and never scored more than 20 points in any game.
George Flint
The Erie native was a youth when he moved with his family to Arizona, where he graduated from Phoenix’s North High School.
Flint stayed local as an Arizona State student and player, and then signed as an undrafted free agent with the 1962 Buffalo Bills. His five seasons in western New York included the franchise’s glory years, when he was an offensive guard for their 1964 and 1965 teams that won back-to-back American Football League titles.
Flint, 84, also spent the summer of 1967 blocking for the Canadian Football League’s British Columbia Lions. He returned to the Bills for one season and then retired.
Judson Flint
The Farrell native, who died in 2018 at age 61, spent much of his football career competing for teams in the immediate tri-state area.
Flint was a defensive back for Farrell and then in college for Division II California University of Pennsylvania. He soon transferred to Division I University of Memphis.
The New England Patriots chose Flint in the seventh round of the 1979 NFL draft, but it wasn’t until a year later that he finally saw action with the Cleveland Browns.
Cleveland was called the "Kardiac Kids" by the end of its 1980 season for a seemingly unending run of dramatic conclusions to its games en route to their AFC North Division championship. Flint was on their frigid sideline when the visiting Oakland Raiders, in a game known as “Red Right 88,” recorded an end zone interception in final minute that clinched a 14-12 victory in the teams' 1980 AFC divisional playoff game.
Flint played two more years with Cleveland and then one game with the 1983 Buffalo Bills. He recorded three interceptions and a fumble recovery over four years in the league.
Flint was a Farrell resident when he died in 2018 at age 61.
Bernie Flowers
The Tech Memorial graduate was drafted by the 1953 Baltimore Colts after an All-America career at Purdue. However, he opted to sign that same year as an end with the Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League.
Then, after one season up north, Flowers served two years in the U.S. Navy. His NFL career consisted of one game for the 1956 Colts, when he started as a receiver but didn’t record any statistics.
Flowers was still working as an insurance salesman when he died in 2011 at age 81.
David Green
The 70-year-old Jacksonville, North Carolina, native attended Chowan Junior College in his home state before enrolling at Edinboro and playing for the Fighting Scots in the mid-1970s. His career there warranted induction for the school's athletic hall of fame in 1988.
Green's brief NFL career didn't occur until after his glory days as a Canadian Football League star. He played three seasons for the Montreal Alouettes, who lost the 1978 and 1979 Grey Cup finals to the Warren Moon-quarterbacked Edmonton Eskimos, and was voted the league's most outstanding player for its 1979 season.
Green concluded his CFL career with the 1981 Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He signed as an undrafted free agent with the 1982 Cleveland Browns, but was relegated to special teams for nine games.
Al Grygo
The Erie native and former Chicago Bear attended the University of South Carolina. He found his way to the Windy City in 1944, when many of the NFL’s top players were fighting in World War II.
Grygo ran for 420 yards and a touchdown over a two-year NFL career. He also caught 10 passes for 110 yards and one score.
Grygo died in 1971 at age 53.
Forrest Hall
The left halfback for the 1948 San Francisco 49ers, who was born in Oil City, was chosen by the Philadelphia Eagles . in the ninth round of the 1945 draft. His one season as a pro occurred as a player in the former All-American Football Conference that existed from 1946-49.
Hall ran for 413 yards and two touchdowns as a halfback for San Francisco. The 49ers and the Cleveland Browns, plus the original Baltimore Colts, were admitted into the NFL when AAFC folded two years later.
Hall was a Phoenix resident when he died in 2001 at age 79.
Pete Hall
The Sharon native and Farrell graduate parlayed his varsity success with the Steelers into a roster spot on Marquette University’s former football program.
Hall, 84, was involved in the drafting crossfire between the NFL and AFL that lasted most of the 1960s. He was chosen by the AFL expansion Buffalo Bills in 1960 at the same time the New York Giants chose him in the 12th round of the NFL draft.
Hall opted for the established Giants, although he didn’t make their roster until the following year. He caught two passes over 12 games for their 1961 team, which lost 37-0 to the Green Bay Packers in that year’s championship game.
Eric Hicks
The 1994 Mercyhurst Prep graduate is unique in that he experienced a 10-year NFL career even though he wasn’t drafted.
Hicks wasn’t chosen despite his accomplishments as a linebacker for the Lakers and then at the University of Maryland. The Kansas City Chiefs took a chance and signed him as an undrafted free agent.
Hicks more than made the most of his opportunity. He started three games as a defensive end for his rookie season and then became a regular starter at the same position through 2006.
Hicks retired after a final NFL season with the 2007 New York Jets. He’s coached in The Spring League, a semi-professional developmental league based in San Antonio, Texas, since 2020.
Bill Hillman
The Erie native is one of two Kane High School graduates who experienced NFL action.
In his case, it was with the 1947 Detroit Lions, who chose him during the 27th round — yes, 27th round — of that year’s draft.
Hillman played in college for the University of Tennessee before World War II. His pro career with the Lions consisted of two games that saw him only rush or catch the ball three times.
Hillman died three years later in Lantz Corners, McKean County. He was only 28.
Randy Holloway
The 1974 Sharon graduate initially gained Mercer County fame as a member of the University of Pittsburgh’s 1976 NCAA Division I national championship team. He was a defensive lineman for the Panthers, which meant he occasionally watched Tony Dorsett run the ball as that season’s Heisman Trophy recipient.
Holloway’s performance was spectacular enough for the Minnesota Vikings to chose him with their first pick of the 1978 NFL draft. He played six full seasons with the famed Purple People Eaters defense and split 1984 between the Vikings and St. Louis Cardinals.
Holloway, 68, recovered nine fumbles and recorded an interception during his professional career. He returned to the Twin Cities area and worked in property management and development for more than 20 years.
Active in 2023-24: Cathedral Prep grad Juice Scruggs sees first NFL action, joins Conner, Luketa as active players from Erie
Next up: J through L
Check back soon on GoErie.com as the list of northwestern Pa. players/personnel who have connections to the NFL continues with last names starting with letters J through L.
Contact Mike Copper at mcopper@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNcopper.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Reaching the NFL: Past, present personnel with Erie PA connection
