Just a little note about a little-known player who I find interesting:
Jay Donovan was tackle from Boston College. In 1963 he joined the Daytona Beach Thunderbirds of the Southern Football League. (I seem to recall reading that he was originally from Florida, but that might be wrong.) A year later, now back in Boston, he joined the Sweepers of the Atlantic Coast League. In 1965 he returned to the Thunderbirds, who by then had moved to Orlando. That team folded in the offseason, along with the Southern League as a whole, but Donovan landed on his feet with a new team in town. The Newark Bears of the Continental League moved to Orlando, renamed themselves the Panthers, and Donovan played with them through the 1968 season.
He never made an all-star team, and left only the barest statistical record, returning an interception for a touchdown in his rookie season. But given the fact that he played six years, a pretty long time for a minor leaguer, he was probably a starter for most or all of that time.
The really remarkable thing about his career, though, is the quality of teams he played for.
In 1963 Daytona Beach tied for first place in the Southern League with a 12-2 record, then suffered a 13-7 overtime loss to Jacksonville in a playoff for the championship
In 1964 the Boston Sweepers won the Northern Division of the ACFL with an 11-3 record, then beat the 12-1-1 Newark Bears in the championship game, 14-10.
In 1965 the Orlando Thunderbirds won their division with a 10-1-1 record, then walloped Jacksonville 48-21 in the Southern League's title game.
In 1966 the Orlando Panthers, newly arrived in the Sunshine State, went 12-2 and won a first-round playoff game before losing to the Philadelphia Bulldogs in the championship 20-17, in overtime.
In 1967 Orlando went 11-3, won a first-round playoff, then routed the Orange County Ramblers 38-14 to win the championship.
In 1968 the Panthers went 10-2 and won two more playoff games, the last a 30-23 decision over Orange County for another title.
So Donovan's team played for the championship in each of his six seasons, winning four times and losing twice, each loss coming in overtime. Take away a bad bounce here, a missed field goal there, and he might have played for SIX STRAIGHT champions. OK, he wasn't at the top level of football, but that must have been a satisfying career.