Buccaneers: Top five players that only wore creamsicle uniform

Hugh Green – OLB (1981 – 1985)

Say what you will about the history of the Buccaneers (and there is a lot to say), but they’ve often had a good history on the defensive side of the ball, particularly at linebacker. When the defense is at its best, the Bucs are at their best.

Coming out of an NFC Championship appearance in 1979, their fourth-ever season, and a disappointing 1980, the Bucs decided they needed to bolster their defense. Enter Hugh Green.

Coming out of the University of Pittsburgh, Green was arguably the greatest defender college football had ever seen. In fact, one can still make that argument today. He was a three-time All-American, a Maxwell, Lombardi, and Walter Camp Award winner. He was also the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy as a senior in 1980.

Green may not have had that kind of success in the pros, but he was certainly no slouch, especially whilst wearing the creamsicles. A Pro Bowler in 1982 and 1983, Green racked up 12.5 sacks, five interceptions, and returned two for touchdowns in his four (and some change) seasons with the Bucs. His scoop and score of a Danny White fumble in the 1982 Wild Card loss to the Dallas Cowboys (pictured above) was one of the more memorable plays in the franchise’s history to that point. Certainly for a playoff game at the very least, and it was done in the creamsicles.