George Lilja

George Vincent Lilja (born March 3, 1958) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Rams, New York Jets, Cleveland Browns, and Dallas Cowboys.

Lilja attended Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park, Illinois, where he was both a football and baseball standout.

As a senior in 1980, Lilja received numerous awards and honors, including being named the team's co-captain (with Anthony Carter), receiving the University's Myer Morton Award (given by the M Club of Chicago for the football player who shows the greatest development and most promise as a result of spring practice), and being named third-team All-American by the Associated Press.

[7] Teammate Brad Bates later recalled: "I was walking off the field with George Lilja, and he said, 'Let's turn around for a Kodak moment,' .

As a rookie, he suffered an ankle injury and spent the entire year on the injured reserve list.

[10] On November 21, 1984, he was signed as a free agent by the Cleveland Browns, to play under interim head coach Marty Schottenheimer.

[12] He contributed to both Earnest Byner and Kevin Mack rushing for over 1,000 yards,[13] becoming just the third running back tandem on the same team to achieve that feat in one regular season.

[19] On October 14, 1987, he was signed as a free agent by the Dallas Cowboys to provide depth at center.

In 1988, he was competing with Rafferty for the starting position, until suffering a broken left middle finger.

He is married to his wife Meg, and they have four children, Danielle, David, Bethany, and George III, and one granddaughter, Eloise.