 Sample in 1960 | |||||||||||
| No. 47, 44, 24 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Defensive back | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born: | June 15, 1936 Cape Charles, Virginia, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Died: | April 26, 2005 (aged 68) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 203 lb (92 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | Overbrook (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) | ||||||||||
| College: | Maryland State | ||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1958 / round: 7 / pick: 79 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
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John B. Sample Jr. (June 15, 1936 – April 26, 2005) was an American professional football defensive back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Baltimore Colts (1958–1960), Pittsburgh Steelers (1961–1962), and Washington Redskins (1963–1965), and in the American Football League (AFL) for the New York Jets (1966–1968), winning three league championships.
Sample had the distinction of beginning and ending his career with championship wins in two of the most famous games in professional football history, and winning an NFL championship, an AFL championship, and a world championship.
In his rookie season, he won an NFL championship ring with the Colts in their victory over the New York Giants in the 1958 NFL Championship Game, which became known as "The Greatest Game Ever Played".
In his final season, he helped the Jets win the AFL Championship against the Oakland Raiders, and then to defeat the Colts in the third AFL-NFL World Championship (Super Bowl III) in January 1969, recording an interception in the Jets' 16–7 win. He is the only professional football player to have won all three: an NFL, AFL, and Super Bowl championship.
In between, Sample won another championship in the 1959 NFL Championship Game, scoring a touchdown on a 42-yard interception return in the Colts' 31–16 victory over the Giants.