85: Tom Sestak-NFL

Sports' Forgotten Heroes

Tom Sestak is not a name familiar to many football fans. And that’s a shame because it should be. In fact, when those outside of Buffalo think about great defensive players who suited up for the Bills one of the first names that comes to mind is Bruce Smith. Certainly one of the greatest to ever play the game, Sestak wasn’t that far behind. During his career which spanned just seven seasons from 1962 through 1968, Sestak was regarded by many as the best defensive tackle in all of football, NFL or AFL. Drafted as a tighten out little McNeese State University, Sestak possessed size and raw ability. Bills coach Lou Saban immediately liked what he saw out of Sestak and converted him from TE to DT. The Bills had drafted Sestak in the 17th round of the 1962 AFL draft and his choice to go to Buffalo instead of Detroit (the Lions drafted him in the 16th round of the NFL Draft) wound up being the smartest move of his career. Had Sestak gone to Detroit, the Lions coach – George Wilson – might not have had the foresight that Saban did, tried Sestak at TE, and in all likelihood the 16th-round pick would have been sent home. Instead at 6-foot-4, 270-pounds, Sestak quickly established himself as a force to be reckoned with. He won the Rookie of the Year and within two years led the Bills to the first of their back-to-back AFL Championships and established himself as one of, if not the best defensive tackle in professional football. Greg Tranter, a member of the Professional Football Researcher’s Association, and who has written about Sestak and the Bills, joins the podcast for a wonderful discussion about a player whom time has forgotten.

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