Those guys are all HOFers, I was thinking more underappreciated guys. Joe Niekro? Billy Doran? Drew Hill? Ernest Givins? Sam I Am? Chucky Brown? Jose Cruz might be the best choice. He's almost too much of an icon to qualify, though.
I think Childress does qualify. He was drafted as a DE, moved to DT when they went to the 4-3, and played some nose guard. He missed only 3 non strike games in his career. Then again, we might have forgotten one of the most important role players in Houston sports history... <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/aWGuUwjS4Pc&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/aWGuUwjS4Pc&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>
Dude, you beat me by like 12 minutes... ...I was about to quote Buck: ...and say, Mario Freaking Elie, baby!
I remember an Al Smith hit on Icky Woods. I was screaming and laughing for like five minutes. I'm grinning like an idiot now just remembering it. Smith stepped into a running lane and Woods bounced off him, must have fell backwards like three yards. Freaking awesome.
Dude was a beast in the middle, he & Childress were my favorite Oilers of that time. BINGO, guys. Mario Freaking Elie for the win.
The Nolan vs. Biggio argument is interesting. Biggio is the better Astro, but Nolan is the better overall player and an iconic figure. Depends on how you look at it. For the future- Yao and Mario!
The *one* season I ever fooled with fantasy league football, I had Haywood *and* Warren, and it was Haywood's 100-catch season. I also had Lorenzo White and he had several 100-yd games that year. Made the playoffs.
Nope, already been set in stone, so to speak. Horry, The Great Billy Spiers, Al Smith, Elie. What's the Mount Rushless of Houston sports? High expectations followed by poor play combined with general a-holeness is preferable, one or the other will suffice. I'll start: Scottie Pippen
Everyone I can think of is lower-profile: Shandon Anderson, Jason Jennings, Greg Swindell, Kent Bottenfield, who was that guy last year on the Rox...
OK...scrap the a-holeness, Houston's been thankfully short on scumbags throughout the years. Going strictly on unmet expectations: Pippen Swindell Carr? ...? I'm ignoring Jennings because he was hurt, and Eddie Griffin because dude had beaucoup problems.
Bucky Richardson? I remember one meaningless late season game I went to and the crowd was screaming crazy for him to come in the game.
Doug Drabek. Signed the big deal with the Astros and had only 1 good season. The rest of the time he was a total bust.
Yep, ol' Drawback & Swindle. Drabek at least had 1 very good & one average season in town; Swindell was mediocre at best, so that's why he got the nod (then he decided to put together a 6 or so year run as a very, very good reliever after leaving Houston. Bastardo) Was just thinking about young guys who had incredible potential but were complete knuckleheads: Mitch Meluskey, Phil Nevin & Jeff Juden (who had the dubious distinction of getting his arse kicked by John Cangelosi, a guy a full foot shorter than him). Can't think of anyone comparable in football or hoops, but I'm not thinking too hard. Also thought that this needed mention in this thread: Danny Darwin was a complete & total badass.
