George Christensen: A Detroit Lions Legend of the Early NFL but Why Don't Hall Voters Remember 'Tarzan'?

By John Turney 

George "Tarzan" Christensen is one of the foundational figures in the history of the Detroit Lions and National Football League. A towering presence on the field and key contributor to the Lions’ first championship, he produced a legacy so decorated with accomplishments that you'd think the Pro Football Hall of Fame would notice.

But then you'd be wrong.

Christensen has never advanced to the preliminary stage as a modern-era or seniors' candidate, and that's more than puzzling. It's downright unfair. He deserves a shot as a finalist. And, while that may never happen, it should.

A tackle on a Lions' team that set offensive and defensive records, Christensen was a six-time All-Pro (including four first-team selections), league champion and member of the 1930s' all-decade team - a resume that, at the very least, should draw the Hall's attention.

It did his peers.

"On our club," said Hall-of-Fame teammate Dutch Clark in the book, "The NFL's 60-Minute Men: All-Time Greats of the Two-Way Player Era, 1920-1945, "was a tackle who I think should be in the Hall of Fame. His name is George Christensen, and he was as good a tackle as I ever saw on a pro team. Most of the men who played with him or against him would say the same thing."

Christensen’s pro career began in 1931 with the Portsmouth Spartans, a team that soon became the Detroit Lions. At 6-feet-2 and approximately 240 pounds -- a significant size for the time, hence the "Tarzan" nickname -- the tackle quickly established himself as a force. 

Over his eight-year NFL career (1931–1938), Christensen appeared in 95 games and played a key role on a Lions' offensive line that helped produce an NFL record that stands today -- 426 rushing yards in one game, a feat that happened in a 40-7 defeat of the Pittsburgh Pirates (now Steelers) on Nov. 4, 1934. 

That same year, he anchored a formidable defensive front for a Lions' team that kicked off the 1934 season with an NFL-record seven consecutive shutouts. Over the course of the year, Detroit's defense allowed a league-low 59 points,  cementing its status as the top defensive unit.

The 1936 Detroit Lions squad established an NFL record for rushing prowess, too, racking up 2,885 rushing yards in a 12-game season -- a benchmark that stood unbroken until the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins surpassed it ... in 14 games. Once again, the big tackle was right in the middle of it, throwing blocks for Clark and other Lions' legends like Ace Gutowsky, Ernie Caddel and Glenn Presnell.

All of these accomplishments are why "Tarzan" was voted to the 1930s' all-decade team and first-or-second team All-NFL in 1931 (Green Bay Press-Gazette), 1932 (UP, Official NFL), 1933 (consensus -- made all the major teams), 1934-1936 (UP, Official NFL among others) ... basically, every year for his first six seasons.

"Good tackles were numerous," wrote Green Bay Press-Gazette voter George W. Calhoun when picking his All-Pro tackles for 1933,  "with Christensen of Portsmouth the best of the lot. This husky Spartan was a demon on the attack, while on the defense, he raised havoc with every club Potsy Clark’s hirelings bumped into this past season."

But there was more. He was considered one of the best punt blockers of that era, too, and recovered a blocked punt in the 1935 title game to lead the Lions to a 26-7 win over the  New York Giants. In other words, there was almost nothing George Christensen could not do.

Yet, despite his accolades, team successes, championship ring and role as a team captain, he's never registered with Hall-of-Fame voters, a snub that historian Chris Willis -- who served as Head of the Research Library at NFL Films and is an author of eight books on the formative years of the NFL -- considers an injustice.

In his latest contribution, "The NFL's 60-Minute Men: All-Time Greats of the Two-Way Player Era, 1920-1945", Willis argues that Christensen’s contributions have been unjustly ignored, particularly by Hall voters. And he's not alone. Jim Steen, a teammate of Christensen's, offered further praise, possibly coining a term commonly used today when he described Christensen's extraordinary size.

"George Christensen was the biggest man on the team at 238 pounds, and we used to consider him a freak," Willis quoted Steen as saying in 1974. "But I’ll tell you: He was one of the fastest men we had."

Big. Fast. Captain. Champion. All-Pro. Those are all things that shout "Canton." Yet "Tarzan" still waits. Maybe that changes some day. Maybe it doesn't. All I know is that it should.

Zack Martin -- A Clear-cut Hall of Famer, Right?

By John Turney 

Picture this: A gap so wide that it reminds you of the Grand Canyon.

That's the distance that separated former Cowboys' guard Zack Martin from the competition ... and that's not me speaking. It's the late Mike Giddings, founder of Proscout, Inc., an NFL scouting service. He once said there was as much daylight between Martin and the league's second-best guard as there was between legendary center Dwight Stephenson and whoever was next at center.

There is no higher praise. Giddings graded Stephenson as high as any center in what he called "the Proscout era."

But then his scouting firm graded Martin as its top guard in his rookie season ... and again for a second consecutive year ... and then a string of seasons where he again ranked first like (you guessed it) Dwight Stephenson. But that's just for openers when evaluating Martin, who retired recently announced his retirement. So, buckle up. It’s the kind of seismic praise we’re dealing with here.

And it's the kind of seismic praise that the Hall's board of selectors should consider when it meets in 2030 to chew over Martin's resume. If it does, guaranteed, voters won't have to ask, “Does this guy belong?" Instead, they'll say, "Do we let him waltz in on the first ballot, or do we embarrass ourselves by making him wait five minutes?"

Giddings laid out their choice as plain as day. Martin wasn’t just the best guard of his era, with a chasm between him and those jockeying for second place. He was one of the greatest at his position ... ever.

But he wasn't alone. All-Pro voters? They loved Martin. Coaches? Smitten. Players picking Pro Bowl squads and the NFL Network's Top 100 list, that annual flex-fest where the league’s best are ranked regardless of position? They couldn’t get enough of him. From 2017-24, Martin was a fixture on the list, often as the only guard. 

If you have video of those programs, rewind them to listen to the commentary. It supports those who view Martin as one of the all-time great linemen on either side of the ball, with accolades such as these:

"Dominates guys," said Pro Bowl defensive lineman Mike Daniels. "Good fundamental player, strong at the point and you ain't going to get by him to get the to the QB. His pass blocking is so phenomenal. He's the best pass-blocking guard in the NFL, hands down."

-- "Dominating run blocker, dominating pass blocker," said former Eagles' center Jason Kelce. "Zack’s got no weak spot."

-- "He's the gold standard," said Philadelphia All-Pro tackle Lane Johnson. "Strong ... never out of balance ... always going to the whistle. When I see him, he's a guy that is just like a robot -- not very many mistakes. That's why he's such a great player. His feet are constantly moving. He's constantly kicking ass -- that is just what he does."

But why stop there? Let's go back to 2014, the year Dallas made Martin a first-round draft choice, and see what scouts and draft "experts" had to say about him then: 

--  "Moves you off the ball in the run game and does not let you get to the QB in the pass game."

--  Road grader. Big physical specimen. Moves well. Hard to move him in his pass set." 

--  "He was coached really well. That is something you can tell about a player. He was coached really well from the beginning because his technique has grown with him." 

--  "You're talking about a player who demolishes people on Sundays."

-- "He could be an All-Pro at tackle, an All-Pro at center. Versatile."

-- "He's my dog. (In college), he was a freak at left tackle. He could play left tackle in the league if he wanted to." 

-- "Mr. Consistency."

-- Makes it look easy. Good feet good hands." 

--"No plays off. You get his best every play." 

Then you get to Martin's resume, and it speaks for itself.

The former Notre Dame star was among the most decorated offensive linemen in NFL history -- with eight consensus first-team All-Pro selections, nine Pro Bowls and an all-decade choice, even though he played only six seasons from 2010-19. Among guards, only John Hannah and Bruce Matthews were consensus first-team All-Pros more (both had nine), though Matthews earned a couple as a center. 

Martin's total was the same as Randall McDaniel's and more than Hall-of-Famers Jim Parker (seven), Larry Allen and Steve Hutchinson (six each) and Dick Stanfel, Alan Faneca, Joe DeLamielleure and Larry Little (five). It's also more than former tackle Anthony Munoz (seven), whom some consider the best offensive lineman ever.

That's the kind of company Martin keeps, and I can't imagine voters need much more to induct him immediately. 

If they did, however, they can dig a little deeper. For instance, Martin played so cleanly that he was flagged for holding just seven times in his career, prompting Pro Bowl guard Wyatt Teller to say that the stat "blew my mind. I get more holding calls in one game than he gets in ten years. "

In all, Martin was flagged for 21 penalties (holds, false starts, etc.), with 12 of those in his first two seasons. After that, he averaged less than one a year. By comparison, Eagles' center Jason Kelce -- also a perennial All-Pro -- was penalized 61 times in his 13-year career, including 32 for holding. Furthermore, the NFL's top tackle of the last decade -- San Francisco's Trent Williams -- was called for 91, while Baltimore's Marshal Yande -- an All-Pro guard who was a Hall finalist this year -- committed 43 penalties in 13 seasons.

You get the idea. Martin didn't stop drives.

Then there's this: He blocked for two NFL rushing champions -- DeMarco Murray (2014) and  Ezekiel Elliott (2016 and 2018) -- while Dallas ran for more yards during his career than all but three teams (Baltimore, Philadelphia and Buffalo). One difference: All three had quarterbacks who ran and ran a lot. So, if you're talking about the NFL's top traditional running games, the Cowboys ranked first.

If there's a downside -- and you have to look hard to find anything -- it's that the Cowboys never won a Super Bowl. In fact, they haven't even been to one since 1995). So maybe, just maybe, Canton's voters hold that against him when he's considered on the first ballot.

I hope not. Because they shouldn't. 

Hannah didn't get a ring. Neither did Bruce Matthews. Nor did first-ballot tackles Anthony Munoz and Walter Jones. Moreover, first-ballot Hall-of-Famer Joe Thomas never even played in a postseason game.

So throw out that potential obstacle. 

Predicting the future for Hall-of-Fame aspirants can be dicey. After all, even the great Randall McDaniel, whose resume mirrors Martin’s in some ways, had to wait a couple of years on Canton. And Will Shields? He went to 12 Pro Bowls in 14 seasons and was a seven-time All-Pro, yet wasn't elected to Canton until his fourth try as a finalist. 

But let’s not kid ourselves. Zack Martin is as close to a slam dunk for Canton as it gets. Towering over his peers, supported by a mountain of All-Pro honors and armed with glowing testimony from those who matter, Martin should walk into the Hall on the first ballot. 

Anything less would be crazy.