Sam Ball was a National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 offensive lineman from 1966 through 1970. During that span he appeared in Super Bowl III

Super Bowl III

Super Bowl III was the third AFL-NFL Championship Game in professional American football, but the first to officially bear the name "Super Bowl". This game is regarded as one of the greatest upsets in sports history...

 and Super Bowl V

Super Bowl V

Super Bowl V was an American football game played on January 17, 1971, at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, to decide the National Football League champion following the 1970 regular season...

 for the Baltimore Colts

History of the Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts are a professional football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They play in the AFC South division of the National Football League. They have won 3 NFL championships and 2 Super Bowls....

. He played college football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 at the University of Kentucky

University of Kentucky

The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...

.

Ironically, he was also drafted in 1966 by the Jets

New York Jets

The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 in the 2nd rd, 15th overall. 1966 was the last year where NFL and AFL teams could draft the same player.

Jan 12th 1969 saw Sam Ball as the starting offensive RT (Right Tackle) for the Colts against the Jets in Super Bowl III

Super Bowl III

Super Bowl III was the third AFL-NFL Championship Game in professional American football, but the first to officially bear the name "Super Bowl". This game is regarded as one of the greatest upsets in sports history...

. He missed out on a Super Bowl ring as the Jets won 16-7, however he won one in Super Bowl V

Super Bowl V

Super Bowl V was an American football game played on January 17, 1971, at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, to decide the National Football League champion following the 1970 regular season...

.

The Jets drafted Sam Walton at RT in 1968, he struggled as a rookie before being replaced in the playoffs by Dave Herman

Dave Herman

Dave Herman is a former American collegiate and professional football offensive tackle. He played collegiately for Michigan State University and began his professional career with the American Football League's New York Jets, for whom he played from 1964 through 1969 and for the same team in the...

 who moved across from RG. Ball choosing the Colts over the Jets influenced the drafting of Walton as Ball would have been used to replace Sherman Plunkett

Sherman Plunkett

Sherman Eugene Plunkett was an American football offensive tackle who played in the National Football League from and in the American Football League from , for the San Diego Chargers and the New York Jets. He was an American Football League All-Star in 1964 and 1966...

.