The first time I heard about Bob Whitfield (1989-91), he was still in high school, but he was already creating a buzz. A Sports Illustrated piece speculating about the future of the NFL included a projected All-Pro team for five or ten years down the road, and Whitfield was selected as a starting offensive lineman even though he was yet to play a single down as a collegian.
Nothing he did upon his arrival at Stanford did anything to change that perception. He was simply dominant. He started immediately, playing every single down even though he was only seventeen years old, and was named a first-team freshman All-America. He continued his improvement as a sophomore and junior, finishing both years with selections to All-Pac-10 and All-America teams, and he was twice nominated for the Lombardi Award and the Outland Trophy.
His impact was greater than all that, however. He gave the Cardinal some swagger when the very idea of Cardinal Swag was preposterous. In 1989 it was Whitfield who approached the Two-Faced Denny Green with the suggestion to wear all red in Big Game, but he made an even bigger statement in the 1991 Big Game. Both Cal and Stanford were enjoying fine seasons that year, and the week leading up to the game had seen enough trash talk from both sides to fill a landfill. Whitfield went down with a minor injury early on, and Cal players -- unconscionably undisciplined -- fired insults at him from the sidelines. The ABC cameras zoomed in on Big Bob just as he offered his response to the Golden Bear bench. Without turning his head, he raised his arm and extended his middle finger. The gesture filled the television screen beautifully, and Brent Musberger had no choice but to comment: "I think Big Bob is telling the Cal bench that he's okay." Now that's swagger, baby.
Twenty years have passed, and Stanford continues to churn out dominant offensive linemen, but none of them ranks with Bob Whitfield.
Previously ranked:
#4 Troy Walters
#5 Brad Muster
#6 Ron George
#7 Glyn Milburn
#8 Ed McCaffrey
#9 Owen Marecic
#10 Tommy Vardell
#11 Tank Williams
#12 Steve Stenstrom
#13 Riall Johnson
#14 Kailee Wong
#15 Eric Heitmann
#15 Chris Marinelli
#16 John Lynch
#17 Kwame Harris
#18 Chase Beeler
#19 Willie Howard
#20 Shayne Skov
#21 DeRonnie Pitts
#22 Anthony Bookman
#23 Sione Fua
#24 Richard Sherman
#25 John Hopkins
*My first thought was to try to come up with a list of the best Stanford football players of all-time, but I quickly realized that I'm not qualified. I've only been watching Stanford football since the fall of 1987, so I can't really comment intelligently on players who suited up before then. Sure, I know that Jim Plunkett belongs, but I know nothing about Randy Vataha. Sports Illustrated once named Ernie Nevers the greatest college football player of all-time, and that's certainly good enough for me, but how can I possibly rank him against players of a more modern era? So I decided to create a list of the best Stanford players that I've actually seen in my time as a fan, and since that's roughly twenty-five years, I'm calling it the Silver Squad. (Catchy, isn't it?) Anyway, I'd love to hear your own memories of these players, and I won't be offended if you argue about who should or should not have been included on this list. Enjoy.
