It was August 12, 1960. Soldier Field was the site. It was the Chicago College All-Star Football Game. This annual event pitted the National Football League’s defending champions against college all-stars. Khayat will always remember his first play. He sat at his guard and took his three-pointed stance. He looked ahead expecting to see his opponent’s eyes. He instead stared straight into the number 76 blue jersey. Khayat looked up. Khayat looked up, then again. He finally saw Eugene Lipscomb’s dark eyes and thick beard. Big Daddy asked, “Boy,” “does mama know where you’re at night?” Khayat was unprepared for this moment. Khayat, 22 years old, was a recent honors graduate. He was polite, blonde-haired and needed to shave only once a week. He weighed in at 220. Lipscomb was born in Uniontown in Alabama and was raised in Detroit slums. He was 29 years old when he became an NFL legend. Big Daddy was 6′ 8″ tall and weighed in around 300. His wingspan was seven feet and his arms were almost as long as Khayat’s legs. Although he had not graduated high school, he was a Marine veteran for four years. He was also a professional wrestler. Khayat likely gulped. He was a polite young gentleman and he answered Lipscomb’s questions. He replied, “Yes sir.” “She does.” This was Khayat’s second play. The game’s first play saw Lipscomb handle the starting left guard of all-stars so brutally that he took his place and never came back. Khayat and Lipscomb were left. Khayat said, “I thought that he might kill us.” Khayat’s first play saw quarterback Don Meredith — the late Dandy Don, Dallas Cowboys and Monday Night Football star — take the snap and pass the ball to a running back. Big Daddy literally tossed Khayat aside and tackled him for a loss. Khayat said, “For Big Daddy Lipscomb I was like swatting a flee.” Khayat’s mama probably said a prayer if she was looking. The funny thing is that Lipscomb was polite. Big Daddy would almost always reach down to pick Khayat up, no matter how many times he knocked him down. Big Daddy would tell Sweet Pea, “Nice try,” Sweet Pea was unable to block Big Daddy so he tried holding him. Khayat stated, “I held him in every way a man could hold.” To no avail. Younger readers may wonder if recent college graduates are wiser than seasoned pros. This is what happened every summer between 1934 and 1976. The majority of games were similar to the one from 1960. Johnny Unitas, a Hall of Famer, completed passes for the Colts at will. Big Daddy’s Baltimore defense won the game 32-7. (Khayat, a skilled placekicker, did kick the All-Stars’ additional point. Khayat, to his eternal credit, played every offensive play following the first one and survived. Khayat stated that Lipscomb hugged Khayat afterward, probably to congratulate him for his survival. After a three-year NFL experience, Khayat went on to become a lawyer. He was also a law professor and later a highly progressive chancellor at Ole Miss. Sports Illustrated once called Big Daddy Lipscomb “…, the prototypical of modern lineman. He was the first Bunyan of 300 pounds to be endowed with immense power and the two traits usually denied men his size: agility & speed. His stomach was not a roll-out of his pants. He was strong and fit, and was the best interior lineman in the league.” However, he wasn’t invincible. Lipscomb was overdosed on heroin in 1963. He was 31 years old. A post-mortem revealed that he was able to take out five men with enough heroin. Robert Khayat will never forget him as an NFL legend. Khayat said, “That was the night that I began thinking seriously about law school.” Rick Cleveland is a Mississippitoday.org columnist who writes a weekly sports column. Support this work by making a recurring contribution today to celebrate our Spring Member Drive. This will allow us to continue important work such as this story. Our reporters give a human face to policy’s impact on everyday Mississippians by listening more closely and understanding their communities. To ensure that our work is aligned with the priorities and needs of Mississippians, we are listening to you. Click the button below to let us know what you think. Republish this Story