5. Rocky Bleier 

Compared to the other athletes on this list, Bleier isn’t exactly a household name, but his service nearly cost him his life. After his rookie season in 1968 as the running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Bleier was drafted into the Army and volunteered to serve in Vietnam. During a patrol in 1969, Bleier’s unit was ambushed and he shot in his left leg and suffered additional damage to his right leg when he was struck by shrapnel from a grenade.

For his actions, Bleier was awarded a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star, but was told he would never play football again. His attempts to rejoin the Steelers from 1970-1973 failed due to his war injuries and he was cut twice, but he never gave up. He returned to the team in 1974 as the backup to Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris. The Harris-Bleier tandem saw them both rush for over 1,000 yards in 1976.

In his 11 years in the NFL, all with the Steelers, Bleier was a part of 4 Super Bowl winning teams and rushed for nearly 4,000 yards.