I worked in an NFL shop in the early 1990's, and a man and his friend came into look around. He saw the helmets cased on top of the displays, and mentioned he had played in the NFL.
I asked him what it was like, and who he was- at this time he seemed to be a little slow and showed signs of playing the game in an era before advanced helmet protection.
He turned out to be Clarence "Ace" Parker, a legend in the 30's and 40's. Now, this man who seemed to be affected by the NFL is STILL the oldest living NFL HOFer, amazingly now 100 years old.
http://www.oldestlivingprofootball.com/oldestlivingproplayers.htm
Where is Ralph Wilson on the list? At 93 he is 15th for pro football and 3rd for the HOF, and still going! What an amazing list.