Add former Green Bay Packers linebacker Rich Wingo to the list of football players that have made a post-athletic career out of politics. Wingo won the Republican primary for Alabama House seat 62, an area covering Tuscaloosa, Ala., and surrounding counties, with a landslide victory Tuesday over Jamey Clements in his first bid for public office (Tuesday's race was a primary, but Wingo reportedly faces no Democratic opposition in the Nov. 4 general election).
It should be no surprise that Wingo was victorious.
As a member of the 1978 Alabama national championship team, Wingo has plenty of local name recognition. He took 74 percent of the vote, according to The Tuscaloosa News. Wingo was part of the Crimson Tide's fabled goal-line stand against Penn State in the Sugar Bowl that season, which sealed the national title.
Wingo will take office in January. He played five seasons with the Packers from 1979-1984.
Other former NFL players that took to a political career include former Washington Redskins first-round pick Heath Shuler, former Pro Bowl receiver Steve Largent, ex-Eagles lineman Jon Runyan and, of course, former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jack Kemp.
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