It's strange how rare it is for the NFL greats to have actually been from the state that their team plays in, let alone the city, whereas it's especially common in the MLB where scouts will often find a gem right in the teams backyard. The closest thing I can think of to an NFL legend who is also a hometown hero is Jim Plunkett. Plunkett was born in San Jose, about 30-40 minutes from Oakland. He attending high school in San Jose too, and went on to play football at Stanford University. Stanford's campus is also only 20-30 minutes from Oakland.

What's interesting about Plunkett is, he spent nearly half of his career bouncing around from team to team before finally winding up on the Raiders in 1978. Within 5 years of signing with the silver and black, Plunkett would lead them to two Super Bowl wins. What's more, Plunkett started both of those years out on the bench as a backup, and was thrown into the starting role due to an injury to the starting QB. Now I'm no Raider fan, but I do know that the Raider Nation loves Plunkett as much as any player to ever step foot into Oakland Coliseum.

I would pick Chuck Bednarik, Hall of Fame center and linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles. Bednarik wasn't born in Philadelphia, but just an hour north in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He played for the Eagles from 1949 through 1962 and was instrumental in leading the team through the 1950's and to the 1960 NFL Championship, which was the first and only championship in franchise history. Bednarik was an all-NFL linebacker from 1951 through 1957 and again in 1960. Bednarik regularly played both offense and defense during the same game through 1956. Due to injuries, he played in 58 of the 60 mintues in the NFL Championship victory over the Green Bay Packers in 1960 at the age of 35. Bednarik missed only 3 games in his 14 year career. He played in eight Pro Bowls and was MVP in the 1954 game. He is known for very hard hits and one in particular came on November 20, 1960 against the Giants. He knocked out Frank Gifford on a play that forced Gifford to miss the rest of the season and the entire 1961 season before returning in 1962.

http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/multimedia/photo_gallery/0809/mlb.yankee.stadium.moments/images/00.001074864Finalfinal.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQb_-sTlR3Q

Hey, being from the Michigan area I would have to go with Earl Morrall of the Michigan State Spartans and Detroit Lions. He was born in Muskegon, Michigan and then was the second overall selection by the San Francisco 49ers. He was an outstanding quarterback in college and even better one in the National Football League. He toiled as a backup for years before coming to the Lions near the end of the 1959 season. During his 6 1.2 years in the Motor City he was the QB the fans screamed for, and coming in, in a relief role he led many come from behind victories for the Detroiters. He hit his peak after moving to Baltimore and Miami and was first team All Pro in both 1968 and 1972. Current Lion quarterback Drew Stanton seems to be headed down the same path. Anyway Earl had a 63 wins as a starter against 37 losses and 3 ties, but just couldn't seem to wrestle the job away from the starter for any period of time. I guess he was just a winner more than anything else. In 1972 he led he Dolphins to an undefeated season before they dropped the Super Bowl to the Dallas Cowboys.