It may not seem too likely but the city of Stamford has actually sent out some “diamonds in the rough” to the National Football League. The NFL includes 1,696 of the most skilled athletes in the world.

Stamford is not particularly known to produce NFL-quality football players. It is extremely hard to earn a spot in the NFL, but to play is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Vladimir Ducasse, Khairi Fortt, Silas Redd, and Andrew Richard “Andy”  Robustelli had all gone to high schools in Stamford, CT. Ducasse, Fortt, and Robustelli all attended Stamford High School while Redd attended King Low Heywood Thomas which is also located in Stamford.

Ducasse was born on October 15^th, 1987 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and is a professional football offensive lineman for the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL.  He moved to the United States in 2002. He went on to play offensive line at SHS and was named First Team All-State by the Connecticut High School Coaches Association. He also earned First Team All-Fairfield County by the FCIAC Coaches. He chose to attend the University of Massachusetts Amherst. At UMass Ducasse became a starter at left tackle by his sophomore year and was named a FCS First Team All-American by the Associated Press. He was drafted by the New York Jets in the 2010 NFL Draft, Ducasse has now become an offensive line guard for the Minnesota Vikings and in his whole career has played in 56 games and started 9 of them.

Next is Khairi Fortt, an American football linebacker for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL. He also attended SHS and played in the 2010 U.S. Army All-American Bowl which is composed of the nation’s top high school football players. Fortt began his college career at Penn State, and then transferred to Cal after the 2011 scandal that resulted in extensive sanctions against the Penn State program. He was a semifinalist for the 2013 Butkus Award. The Saints drafted Fortt in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL draft on September 3, 2014 he was placed on the short term injured reserve list, with the possibility of returning to the active roster later in the season. However, Fortt was waived on October 6, 2014. The Jacksonville Jaguars signed Fortt to their 53-man roster off of the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad on November 3, 2014. An interesting fact is that Khairi Fortt has two younger siblings, Omar and Anisa, that both played sports for SHS. Anisa just graduated and was a track and basketball star while her brother Omar still attends the school.

Now we have Silas Redd; an American football running back for the Washington Redskins of the NFL.  He also played in the 2010 U.S. Army All-American Bowl and went to Penn State University but ended up attending the University of Southern California for his junior and senior years. Redd was signed by the Washington Redskins on May 10, 2014 as an undrafted free agent. Over his first NFL season he has composed nine carries for 46 yards and a touchdown.

And the best is saved for last. Andy Robustelli was an American football defensive end in the NFL for the Los Angeles (now St. Louis) Rams and the New York Football Giants. He attended Stamford High School, where he excelled in football and baseball. At age 18, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He played football at Arnold College to then be drafted to the Rams in the 1951 NFL draft he was an All-Pro in 1953 and 1955. Robustelli spent nine seasons with the Giants, playing for six conference champions and one NFL championship team. He was a starter on the Giants defense from 1956 until his retirement after the 1964 season. He played in 174 NFL games and missed only one in his career. Robustelli returned to the Giants in 1974 when he was appointed the team’s Director of Operations. Robustelli was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971. Unfortunately Andy Robustelli died on May 31, 2011; he was 85.

When all of these different men are put together, it’s realized that the city of Stamford has actually started and began some amazing NFL careers.