Williams can still remember his rookie eyes popping out of his head when he participated in his first NFL goal-line stand in the pre-season opener at Green Bay. There was LeClair taking on two offensive linemen at the same time while letting out a scream that sounded like the last rep of a weight-room lift.

"And he didn't give an inch," Williams said. "I had the best seat in the house for the Jimmy LeClair House of Horrors.

"I knew (then) I needed to step up my intensity to play beside this competitor."

Williams swears the hardest he was ever hit in the NFL came at the hands of LeClair in a Monday night game when Steelers running back Franco Harris ran a delayed draw. As Harris had a habit of doing, he hopped and skipped as Williams closed on the front side and LeClair from the back. Harris scooted away as Williams and LeClair collided in a Columbia Parkway smashup that ended with Williams looking straight into the lights unable to feel one of his sides while LeClair also needed to be attended.

"It almost knocked both of us out," Williams said. "I ran into Alonzo Highsmith on the goal line and broke my face in '87 and I was able to get up. But the only time I wasn't able to get up is that time with Jimmy LeClair."

But the violence was softened by a Christian devoutness that was cultivated with the help of the Bengals chaplain of that time, Wendel Deyo, and saw him evolve into one of the leaders of the the team's bible study.

"We're forever grateful," Betty LeClair said. "Jim has said the best thing to come out of his career playing pro football has been finding Christ as our personal savior."

Betty and Jim LeClair's life also revolved around family. After a coaching stint at Mayville State University in Mayville, N.D., decades ago, they were drawn to the welcoming attitude of the small town between Fargo and Grand Forks on the east side of the state and settled. Jimmy actually served a term as mayor, not very surprising when you realize how they met as high school seniors in South St. Paul, Minn.

Betty McGinn was up for homecoming queen and LeClair was the football star for the South Side Packers. That week he was featured in the "Packer Profile," and he introduced himself by handing her the newspaper with his photo and asking, "Who's this good-looking stud?"

"He was a late bloomer. I hadn't noticed him until then," Betty said. "I noticed him at that point. He had a lot of confidence. That caught my attention."

Jim LeClair was also a late bloomer when it came to the pros. Wood watched him build himself up from a 210-pound rookie. When he faced off against Victor The Bear on Jan. 31, 1974 at a downtown Cincinnati sports and travel show, he had played two seasons as mainly a special teamer. Victor was probably more well-known at that point as a well-traveled attraction at sporting events that challenged humans to wrestling matches.