Ed O’Neill
Before he turned his attention to TV sitcoms, most notoriously on Married With Children, as the funnyman Al Bundy, O’Neil was a star defensive lineman at Youngstown State and Ohio University. He actually was so impressive that he got a tryout with the Steelers. Hollywood is glad he chose to go a different direction.
Richard Nixon
Right, so his presidency is not something to gloat about but back in the day, he was a seriously feisty linebacker while studying at Whittier College.