Brandon Bair, a former NFL defensive tackle, never reached the end zone in his 21 NFL games. He never made a Pro Bowl. He has never been to the Super Bowl.
Bair was a hero in his own life. He saved a truck driver from being struck by a train last year.
It earned Bair the Carnegie Medal, North America's highest civilian honor for heroism.
Bair was driving along a highway in St. Anthony when he noticed a train hitting a semitruck. The truck burst into flames. After hearing the cries for help, Bair immediately called 911 and pulled Steven Jenson from safety.
Bair reached partway into the wreckage, and pulled Jenson, then 25 years old through a rear window between the driver and passenger seats.
The Carnegie site stated that Jenson was helped off the tracks by Bair. Jenson was then moved farther away by another man as the truck caught fire. Jenson was injured in his legs and had to be taken to the hospital for treatment. He was there for three weeks.
Bair, 37 years old, was signed by the Chiefs as an undrafted-free agent from Oregon in 2011. After the 2015 season, he retired from playing for the Eagles or Raiders.
The Carnegie Medal is awarded to North American heroes who "enter extreme danger while trying to save or attempt to save lives of others." According to the Kansas City Star Bair will be receiving a financial grant from the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission.
