Mike Stratton

David Michael Stratton (April 10, 1941 – March 25, 2020) was an American professional football player who played linebacker for 12 seasons in the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers, having attended Tellico Plains High School in Tellico Plains, Tennessee, a hamlet in the Great Smoky Mountains region where football players rarely attracted college recruiters. There he played tackle, fullback, and wingback.

Stratton spent 11 years with the Buffalo Bills and his final season with the San Diego Chargers. With the Bills he won two AFL championships, in 1964 and 1965, anchoring a defense that allowed just seven points in each of those consecutive championship games. His tackle of Keith Lincoln in the 1964 title game became known as "The Hit Heard 'Round the World." A six-time AFL All-Star, Stratton was named to the AFL All-Time Second Team and is regarded as one of the best defensive players in Bills history.