Football fans might know Fred Dryer for his career playing for the NFL in the '70s, but TV viewers might better recognize him from his starring role in an '80s crime drama. For seven seasons, the former defensive end played the titular hard-edged, take-no-prisoners LA cop in the NBC series "Hunter." Premiering in September 1984, "Hunter" starred Dryer as Detective Sergeant Rick Hunter, a physically imposing man who grew up in the world of organized crime but opted to bring justice to the streets as a plainclothes officer. "Dirty Harry is such a straight-ahead hardass; I just couldn't do that week after week," Dryer said, according to TV Guide. NBC said no, but it wouldn't be the last TV audiences saw of Rick Hunter.