In today’s era of college football, nobody would be surprised to see the sport’s top athletes appearing in TV advertisements or endorsing products.
But before recent legislature allowed college athletes to collect revenue from their name, image and likeness, college football stardom was largely confined to the field rather than behind the camera or in magazines and commercials.
However, one Ohio State star bucked this trend — and did it before even becoming a Buckeye.
In 1984, Chris Spielman, then a star linebacker for his hometown Massillon Washington Tigers, became the first high school athlete to appear on a box of the popular cereal Wheaties.