Allen Park -- Detroit’s blue-collar work ethic is the city’s defining and noble trait. For years, local professional athletes have understood this and embraced it, but few have actually lived it.
Detroit Lions nose tackle Sylvester Williams truly knows the meaning of blue-collar work.
For six months after finishing high school, he worked the assembly line at a Modine Manufacturing plant, piecing together radiators in his home state of Missouri. It was a good job that paid well, and his co-workers were good people, but Williams would look around and see guys who had been at the job for 30 or more years and he realized he wanted more from life.