• Stephen Alexander, TE
• John Andrews, TE
• Mel Baker, WR
• Steve Bird, WR
• Roger Carr, WR
• Wendell Davis, TE
• Scott Fitzkee, WR
• Jeff Graham, WR
• Ron Holliday, WR
• Anthony Jones, TE
• Nate Lewis, WR
• Randy McMichael, TE
• Calvin Muhammad, WR
• Dave Plump, WR
• Maury Schleicher, DE
• Jeff Staggs, LB
• Wilbur Strozier, TE
• Sammie Taylor, WR
• Aundra Thompson, WR
• Mark Walczak, TE
• Timmie Ware, WR

Gee, you’d think with all the guys that wore 81, the choices would be better than this.  But at least there was a recent 81 who made things interesting.

The Runner-up

Kassim Osgood

While Kassim certainly earned and received the accolades in terms of Pro Bowl nods, they were “only” for his Special Teams play.  And while one could argue that this season proves the importance of a quality Special Teams captain, the Golden Jersey is going to hold steadfast to it’s commitment to players who contributed to championship teams.  And as close as the teams Osgood played on may have come, they did not achieve the success of our winner’s teams – and Osgood’s contribution to those teams was nowhere near the winner’s.

The Winner

Tony Martin

Martin certainly established himself with the Dolphins before coming over to the Chargers in ’94, but he never did crack their starting lineup.  But once he took a Stan Humphries pass 99 yards against Seattle, his Charger legacy was begun.  And by the time he hauled in the winning touchdown pass in the AFC Championship game, it was cemented.  Unlike Dennis Gibson, that wasn’t Martin’s only moment of glory for the Chargers.  In fact, Martin actually had more receiving yards the following two years, and made the Pro Bowl in ’96 while hauling in a league-leading 14 touchdown passes.

Martin continued with some pretty stellar numbers even after leaving the Bolts, and had yet another huge Conference Championship game in 1999 to help elevate his team to a Super Bowl.  Unfortunately, the ring eluded him once again.  But the Golden Jersey has not.