Neil James Worden is a former American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 fullback

Fullback (American football)

A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...

 who played in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

. He was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 in the 1954 NFL Draft

1954 NFL Draft

The 1954 National Football League Draft was held on January 28, 1954.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:-Round eight:-Round nine:-Round ten:-Round eleven:...

 and played in the 1954 and 1957 seasons. He played college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 at the University of Notre Dame

University of Notre Dame

The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...

.

Collage Years

Worden went to play for Notre Dame

Notre Dame Fighting Irish football

Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...

 from 1950 to 1953. At Notre Dame he played under head coach Frank Leahy

Frank Leahy

Francis William Leahy was an American football player, coach, college athletics administrator, and professional sports executive...

, who was the former line coach for the Seven Blocks of Granite

Seven Blocks of Granite

The Seven Blocks of Granite was a nickname given to the Fordham University football team's offensive line under head coach "Sleepy" Jim Crowley and line coach Frank Leahy. The most famous Seven Blocks of Granite were: Leo Paquin, Johnny Druze, Alex Wojciechowicz, Ed Franco, Al Babartsky, Natty...

. Here, Neal played Fullback

Fullback (American football)

A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...

 behind an all pro line of Tackle Art Hunter

Art Hunter

Arthur Hunter is a former American football tackle who played twelve seasons in the National Football League, mainly for the Los Angeles Rams.-NFL career:...

, Center

Center (American football)

Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...

 Jim Schrader

Jim Schrader

James Lee Schrader was an American football center and tackle in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins and the Philadelphia Eagles from 1954 to 1964....

, and Guard Menil Mavraides

Menil Mavraides

Menil Mavraides was a guard for the Philadelphia Eagles football team in 1954 and 1957. With the nickname "Minnie," he was listed at 6'-2" and 220 lbs.-Early years:Mavraides was born November 17, 1931 in Lowell, Massachusetts...

 as the main blockers for Heisman Trophy

Heisman Trophy

The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...

 winning running back

Running back

A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...

 Johnny Lattner

Johnny Lattner

John Joseph "Johnny" Lattner is a former American football player in the United States. He was a halfback for the University of Notre Dame where he won the Heisman Trophy in 1953, and won the Maxwell Award twice, in 1952 and 1953....

.

His Senior year, the 1953 Notre Dame finished the season 9-0-1 and was runner up to the National Championship, and had an unprecedented 12 players drafted to '54 NFL

1954 NFL Draft

The 1954 National Football League Draft was held on January 28, 1954.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:-Round eight:-Round nine:-Round ten:-Round eleven:...

.

In a September 13, 1954 Milwaukee Sentinel article by Tony Ingrassia, Notre Dame's new head coach Terry Brennan

Terry Brennan

Terence Patrick Brennan is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Notre Dame from 1954 to 1958, compiling a record of 32–18.-Early life and playing career:...

 pleads; "Tell the people in Milwaukee to send me another fullback like Neil Worden." On the same day in the September 13th, 1954 Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...

 article Herman Hickman

Herman Hickman

Herman M. Hickman was a Hall of Fame college football player for the University of Tennessee and later a head football coach for Yale University. He played pro football for the NFL's Brooklyn Dodgers. He later was a TV and radio analyst and broadcaster, a writer and a professional wrestler.-...

describes the 1953 Notre Dame Team by writing;

Frankly, it's hard to see how any squad could lose such men as Halfback Johnny Lattner, Fullback Neil Worden, Tackle Art Hunter, Center Jim Schrader and Guard Menil Mavraides and still be a top-ranked team. Each was on some All-American or other. Lattner, Worden and Hunter were first-round Pro draft choices. Schrader was a second-round choice. Mavraides a third. But Notre Dame is not an ordinary football team, it's Notre Dame... Notre Dame doesn't lose two often.

Neil Worden finished his Notre Dame rushing carrier with 476 attempts for 2039 yards and 29 Touch Downs.