Jim Parker ( American football ) James Thomas " Jim " Parker ( April 3 , 1934 – July 18 , 2005 ) was an American football player . He played college football at Ohio State University from 1954 to 1956 and in the National Football League ( NFL ) with the Baltimore Colts from 1957 to 1967 . Park was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1974 . College career . Parker played his first three years of high school football in Macon , Georgia , but then moved north to play his senior season for Scott High School in Toledo , Ohio , graduating in 1953 . He was recruited to play as a guard for the Ohio State Buckeyes from 1954 to 1956 , playing on both the offensive and defensive lines . Parker was known for his size , strength and quickness , and these talents , used for clearing a path for running backs , helped demonstrate the feasibility of head coach Woody Hayes ' three - yards - and - a - cloud - of - dust offense — an offensive philosophy that had been questioned as suitable for big - time college football . Due in part to Parker , Hayes won his first national championship in 1954 . The next year , Parker opened holes to help Howard Cassady win the Heisman Trophy , and Parker was named as an All American by the Football Writers Association of America . In 1956 , Parker was a unanimous All America selection and won the Outland Trophy . That year Parker himself finished eighth in the Heisman vote . Parker was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1974 , and was a charter inductee in Ohio State ' s own Varsity O Hall of Fame in 1977 . In 1999 Parker was selected as a first - team offensive guard on the " Sports Illustrated " college - football All - Century team . NFL career . Parker was selected by the Baltimore Colts in the first round of the 1957 NFL Draft as the eighth player selected overall . The Colts , with quarterback Johnny Unitas , relied on a passing offense very different from the running offense of Ohio State . Nevertheless , Parker soon came to be known as the premier pass blocker in the game . From 1957 until 1962 , Parker played as an offensive tackle . He was selected to five Pro Bowl teams in those six years . In 1963 Parker moved to the offensive guard position , as a favor to his college coach Woody Hayes , to make room for another former Buckeye , Bob Vogel . Parker was selected to three more Pro Bowls from the guard position . Many consider Parker to be the greatest lineman to ever play pro football . Parker was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 , his first year of eligibility . He was the first full - time offensive lineman so inducted . In 1994 , Parker was selected to the NFL 75th Anniversary All - Time Team . In 1999 , he was ranked number 24 on " The Sporting News " ' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players , second among guards behind John Hannah , and third among offensive linemen behind Hannah and Anthony Munoz , both of whom began their careers well after Parker retired . For his 1984 book , " The New Thinking Man ' s Guide to Pro Football " , Paul Zimmerman " polled 25 old - timers and asked them to name their candidates for ' best ever ' offensive linemen , " and Parker was among those listed , stating that Parker was " the best pure pass - blocker who ever lived . Knew all the tricks — the quick push - off , the short jab — that are legal now . "