Roger Staubach's name flies under the radar when it comes to speaking on the greatest quarterbacks of all-time. Yet, Staubach was a crucial contributor to "America's Team's" success throughout the '70s. While his tenure in the NFL was considerably short, he left a lasting impact on the league and the Dallas Cowboys organization that will be memorialized forever. Hailing from Cincinnati, Ohio Staubach played his college football at the United States Naval Academy from 1962 to 1964. In at quarterback for the very first time, Staubach was sacked twice and went 0-2 for -24 yards. However, Hall of Fame coach, Wayne Hardin, kept his faith and continued to play Staubach who eventually won the Heisman Trophy, the Maxwell Award, and the Walter Camp Memorial Trophy his junior year after leading the Navy Midshipmen to a 9-1 record in 1963. Following his tenure at the Academy, Staubach joined the military and even did a tour in Vietnam.
Roger Staubach was selected 129th overall in the tenth round of the 1964 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys as a 'future' pick due to Staubach's military commitment. Staubach wouldn't play a single snap of professional football until the age of 27-years-old. Staubach wouldn't become the Cowboys starting quarterback until 1971 where he would lead the Texas-based football franchise to their first-ever Super Bowl victory in Super Bowl VI against the Miami Dolphins also winning Super Bowl MVP honors for his performance as well. After suffering a severe shoulder injury and missing most of the 1972 season, Staubach would return and lead the Cowboys to three more Super Bowl appearances (X, XII, and XIII). While the Cowboys lost both Super Bowls X and XIII to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Staubach was able to help his team secure a second ring at Super Bowl XII. After eleven seasons in the NFL, Staubach retired a Cowboys legend in 1980.
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."