Only Mike Reid Until Penn State Football

Arguably one of the best known former Penn Staters for good non-football reasons, Mike Reid came to Penn State out of nearby Altoona, PA. He was a defensive tackle on the undefeated 1968 & 1969 football squads, and in his senior year, won both the Outland Trophy (given to the nation's top interior lineman) and the Maxwell Award (given to the nation's overall best football player); he also finished fifth in Heisman voting that year. For you wrestling buffs, he also competed in that sport as a Nittany Lion, winning the Eastern heavyweight wrestling title in 1967 before concentrating on football.

Reid was drafted #7 overall by the Cincinnati Bengals in 1970, where he went to two pro bowls and had multiple appearances on All-Pro lists in his five years as a pro. Injuries (and his interest in music) cut his very promising NFL career short, but, luckily, Reid had a Bachelor of Arts from Penn State to fall back on.

After retiring from the league, Reid became a professional pianist and transitioned into songwriting. He would go on to win a Grammy and have twelve #1 hits, and another hit that never got to #1 but is one of the best songs of all time:

Thanks for that, Mike (and for your on-field contributions, of course!).

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