AP Photo / Denver Broncos linebackers Tom Jackson, foreground, and Randy Gradishar, close in on Houston Oilers back Earl Campbell during a 1978 game in Houston. Jackson and Gradishar formed what has been a 50-year friendship during Gradishar’s rookie season in 1974.

Over 1,300 miles away from their respective hometowns, Denver Broncos linebackers Randy Gradishar and Tom Jackson quickly formed a brotherhood.

For 10 of Jackson’s 14-year NFL career, and for the entirety of Gradishar’s career, the pair were side-by-side on the field together.

Immediately, their shared Ohio connection created a spark that ignited a 50-year friendship that has carried to this day. It all started at the team’s training camp, then held at Cal Poly Pomona in Pomona, California.

“We met at training camp in 1974 when Randy was our first overall pick,” Jackson said. “I didn’t pay a lot of attention to those things back then. I knew that he was our number one pick, but obviously there was no telecast of the draft, and the hype before the draft was not anything like it is now. So when I say ‘meeting for the first time,’ it really was both mentally and physically seeing him for the first time. He wasn’t necessarily an imposing figure, physically he had good size, but not a big buck. Then I found out he was from Ohio State and from the state of Ohio. Not only that he played for Ohio State, but that he was from Champion, there was an immediate bond because (of that).”

The pair were the leaders of the Orange Crush unit, each with a different style that complemented the other well.

Jackson, the firebrand who famously chastised then-Raiders coach John Madden after a big win, and Gradishar, the football embodiment of Teddy Roosevelt’s “speak softly and carry a big stick” philosophy.

The two could have mixed like oil and water, but it was more like peanut butter and jelly.

“We couldn’t have been from more different places,” Jackson said. “He was from Champion, and I was from inner-city Cleveland. But we had a mutual love of football. … Randy’s life was small town. Working at the store, also doing some work on the farm, and it was family, faith work, that’s what they did. Randy learned that work ethic early on. That’s another thing that he brought to us. We all worked hard, but Randy enjoyed the work, and he made us enjoy the work as well. We all enjoyed it. He was a great leader, but the reason I say that is because he was leading guys who were pretty darn good leaders in their own right.

“One of the things that happens when you get to the pros is that all the guys that you’re around, those guys were all-stars with their college teams, and those were the guys who were leading their college teams. Then all of a sudden you’re on a team where you have to kind of acquiesce and go, ‘Okay, this is our middle linebacker and you’re assessing early on, figuring out what he’s about, and we found out that Randy was about doing the work and winning. Whatever it took.”

To Gradishar, the connection felt almost instant, but it’s not one he can describe. The two just work as a pair.

“From the first time we met in the summer of ’74, Tom and I had a special connection that is difficult to put into words,” Gradishar said. “On the field, we fiercely desired to improve our skill set, work as a team and win. Tom and I had a rare, disciplined work ethic; we loved that about each other. We were known as team encouragers — we loved encouraging teammates to be and give their best. We were also known as the team pranksters. We loved collaborating and developing practical jokes on the guys. And it went both ways. The other guys pulled some good ones on us. Off the field, we had great times just hanging out, tons of laughter, going out to eat, and stuff like that — we were just young guys having the time of our lives. Great memories.”

The team pranksters were often victims of each other’s tricks.

More accurately, Jackson became a victim of Gradishar’s pranks. As roommates on road trips with each other, Gradishar was afforded plenty of opportunities to pull off those tricks.

“Being his roommate on the road, I got a lot of that up close and personal example,” Jackson said. “Randy was always, for most of his years with the team, the guy who was in charge of chapel service on Sundays. So when you come in Sunday morning before guys have to get dressed for the game, we would have chapel service. Randy would oftentimes bring that person in, but he would always go meet whoever was going to be the speaker. He would take his shower, like 45 minutes before me and get dressed and leave.

“So I would get up, turn on the shower and Randy would have unscrewed the shower head so that — and I can’t remember how many times it happened — water would spray all over the bathroom. And I asked Randy, ‘How can you enjoy that?’ He goes, ‘I don’t have to be there. I just know it’s happening.'”

Another time, Gradishar used a cold night in Seattle as a fine time to test out the hotel’s electric blankets.

“The night before the game, I woke up and Randy was sitting on the edge of his bed, maybe two or three feet from me, and he’s staring at me while I’m sleeping,” Jackson said. “I open my eyes, and I go, ‘What are you doing?’ Randy goes, ‘It’s pretty hot, huh?’ I was sweating like a pig, which is what woke me up. They had those electric blankets in the room on the bed and Randy had turned my electric blanket up to like 95 degrees, whatever he could get it up to.

“He told me, ‘I’ve been watching you for the last 15 minutes. You slapped yourself about 20 times because you’ve been sweating so bad.'”

Twelve hours after that conversation, the pair were on the field playing a division rival.

While always taking games seriously, Gradishar found a way to keep things light.

“He made it fun. Randy was the one that decided our linebacker core should warm up somewhere different every day. Warm up on the roof of a building, warm up inside the locker room while everybody else is on the field, warm up around the corner from the team. He made it fun, but he was all business as soon as we got between those lines against another team.”

That balance of seriousness and silliness created a lethal combination on the field. He may have been a prankster, but when Gradishar spoke, the team listened.

“You’re playing a game where it’s tight, we’re behind by a couple of points. Randy gets in the huddle, and he says to us, ‘We’ve got to figure out a way to score, we’ve just got to do it.’ Which, if you look back on our stats, we scored a lot of points defensively, so when he would say something, it would resonate with us. When he was in, he was a stabilizing force for us. He gave us this sense of confidence, not that we (didn’t have confidence), but as a professional unit, when he’s speaking, we’re listening.

“Having him in the huddle was a confidence builder. It helped to stabilize us, keep us grounded, keep us playing hard, and not being discouraged. I can’t ever remember a time where Randy, or any of us, resigned ourselves to the fact that we were going to lose a game.”

The two Bronco pranksters and lifelong friends will reunite on Saturday in Canton. Jackson is providing Gradishar’s introduction, a decision that took all of two seconds on Jackson’s part.

“I’m presenting Randy and I am honored to do it,” Jackson said. “This was a while before it was finalized, but he knew he had gotten down to that point where it was likely (that he would be selected). He called me up and asked me if I would be willing to present him for enshrinement. The next words out of his mouth were, ‘You can think about it for a while,’ and the first words out of my mouth were, ‘I don’t have to think about it. I am more than happy to do this.’ I was honored that he wanted me to do it.”

The enshrinement ceremony begins at noon on Saturday. Gradishar will be the third speaker.

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