Widener alum Joe Fields '75 has been placed on the ballot for the National Football League's 75 greatest draft choices of all time.

The team is being selected in honor of the league's 75th anniversary draft.  Fans can cast their vote through April 18 and Fields can be voted by clicking here.

Told too small to play pro football at 6'2", Fields in 1975 was drafted in the 14th round with the 349th overall pick by the New York Jets.  He had a distinguished career in which he played 186 games over 14 seasons and for eight years was co-captain.  Fields played with the New York Jets from 1975-87 and with the New York Giants in 1988.

Among his NFL distinctions include...

* 1980: Voted by fans as Player of the Year for offseason charity work and play on the field.
* 1981: Selected All Pro by College & Pro Football Weekly and New York Daily News, second team All-Pro by AP and Sporting News; UPI All AFC, voted into the Pro Bowl and named New Jersey Sports Writers Pro Athlete of the Year.

* 1982: Selected All Pro by AP, NEA, Pro Football Writers Association, Football Digest, College & Pro Football Weekly, All-AFC second team UPI and voted into the Pro Bowl.

* 1984: Center named to John Madden's First All-Pro Team.

* 1985: Named All-NFL, All-NFL second team AP and received the NFL Trainers Ed Block Courage Award for determination on and off the field.

Fields enjoyed a solid three-year career at center from 1972-74, leading Widener to a 24-3 record and helping lay the foundation for the national championship teams.  Thanks in large part to Fields, the 1973 team led the country in rushing offense despite him playing three games with a broken toe.

Like another coach on the field, Fields was called by head coach Bill Manlove in the 1974 Widener media guide the “finest center I've ever coached.”  He was regarded by many during his time to be the Middle Atlantic Conference's premier center.

Fields in 2008 was inducted into Camden County Sports Hall of Fame along with Manlove.