There are a ton of Raiders alumni that could be argued as the franchise's greatest player of all-time. Bo Jackson, Charles Woodson, Ken Stabler, Marcus Allen, Time Brown, Howie Long, the list goes on... However, the talent of the Raiders' offensive linemen throughout the 1970s went unmatched. So, we're giving the Raiders' crown to none other than Hall of Fame offensive guard, Gene Upshaw. While Art Shell and Jim Otto were also apart of that great o-line Upshaw was team's o-line enforcer.
Following his collegiate football career at Texas A&I University, Upshaw was picked 17th overall in the 1967 NFL Draft. Upshaw would go on to play his entire career as a member of the Raiders starting in 207 out 217 games he was listed active for. The 6x Pro Bowler was a member of the team's two Super Bowl victories in Super Bowl XI and XV and was nominated for three First-Team All-Pro roster spots throughout his career. Unforunately, Upshaw tragically passed away at the age of 63-years-old days after finding out he had pancreatic cancer in 2008. Gene Upshaw will be remembered for his contributions to game of football forever.
When we think of inventors, the image that comes to mind is usually that of a frazzled scientist toiling away in a lab, not celebrities pulled from the pages of Us Weekly. However, a number of well-known public figures hold patents for various innovations. Some are related to the work that made them famous, while others are offshoots of hobbies or just a single great idea.
Part of guitar wizard Eddie Van Halen's signature sound was his two-handed tapping technique, but letting all ten fingers fly while simultaneously holding up the guitar's neck could get a bit tricky. Van Halen came up with a novel way to get around this problem, though; he invented a support (top) that could flip out of the back of his axe's body to raise and stabilize the fretboard so he could tap out searing songs like "Eruption." While Van Halen was obviously interested in improving his guitar work, the patent application he filed in 1985 notes that the device would work with any stringed instrument. Want to tap out a scorching mandolin solo? Find someone selling Eddie's device.
It’s probably not surprising that James Cameron—who designed a submersible to take him to the deepest known part of the ocean—will often invent technology to make his films if what he needs doesn’t exist. He holds a number of patents, including US Patent No. 4996938, “apparatus for propelling a user in an underwater environment,” that he and his brother, Michael, created to film The Abyss and patented in 1989. The device is basically an underwater dolly equipped with propellers that makes it easy for a camera operator to maneuver in the water—and allowed Cameron to capture the shots he wanted for the 1989 film, part of which was filmed in an abandoned nuclear reactor.
In 1987 Jamie Lee Curtis designed and patented a disposable diaper that included a waterproof pocket that held baby wipes. She hasn't profited from her idea yet, though, since she refuses to license the patent until diaper companies make biodegradable products.
You know him as a rock legend, but Neil Young also loves trains—so much that he owns a stake in a model train manufacturing company and has an extensive collection. He also holds seven patents related to model trains, including Patent No. US5441223, "Model train controller using electromagnetic field between track and ground."