Brockton High School graduates who have played in the NFL

Brockton High School has produced countless athletes over the years, and its sports programs draw in students from surrounding towns who want to play in Brockton. While most students choose life paths outside of sports, a handful of Brockton High alumni have made it professionally.

Some players from Brockton High’s football team have gone on to play in the National Football League over the years. While most of them played professionally for fewer than five years, they still made it to the big leagues.

Last season, Brockton brought in a high-profile coach in former New England Patriot Jeramiah Wiggins, who left his position following the end of the football season. Although Brockton High had a subpar record, some students could still become big names down the line.

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Here are the Brockton High School alumni who have played in the NFL.

Al Louis-Jean

Most recently, Brockton High saw one of its own in the NFL in 2014 when cornerback Al Louis-Jean played for the Chicago Bears. At age 21, Louis-Jean played nine games for the Bears with no starts. After a one-year career, he totaled 9 tackles.

Louis-Jean graduated from Brockton High in 2010, then played for Boston College until 2013. As a 6-foot-2, 194-pound defensive back, he went undrafted in the 2014 NFL before signed with Chicago as a free agent. Currently, he plays for professional Indoor Football League team the Tucson Sugar Skulls.

Mark Hartsell

Before Louis-Jean, Brockton residents may have heard about Mark Hartsell. After going undrafted in 1996 and playing in Europe for a year, Hartsell signed with the Chicago Bears in 2000.

The quarterback from Brockton High played in one game for Chicago, during which his one attempted pass was incomplete. Hartsell left the Bears after one season and now works as an assistant football coach at Seekonk High School.

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The most successful NFL career of a Brockton High alum came from Greg McMurty in the early ’90s. The wide receiver was drafted to the New England Patriots as the 80th overall pick in 1990. McMurty played for New England for four seasons before moving to the Chicago Bears in 1994.

Across his career, McMurty played in 67 games and started in 44. He totaled 1,631 receiving yards, 128 receptions and 5 touchdowns.

As a student at Brockton High, McMurty was known as a great football and baseball player. He was selected by the Boston Red Sox as the 14^th overall pick in the 1986 Major League Baseball but turned down the offer to continue his football career at University of Michigan.

More: Catching up with Brockton legend Greg McMurtry

Dom Principe

Brockton High School’s Dom Principe was drafted by the New York Giants as the 80th overall pick in 1940. He played 25 games there over three seasons, and made one interception for a 12-yard return.

After the 1942 season, his football career was put on pause while he severed in the U.S. Navy during Word War II. Principe returned to the NFL in 1946 and played 10 games for the Brooklyn Dodgers at fullback. During his one season in Brooklyn, he scored two rushing touchdowns. Principe died in 2010.

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Providence Steam Rollers

The earliest Brockton alum who played professional football dates back to 1925, when Spike Staff joined the now defunct Providence Steam Rollers for its inaugural NFL season. Staff played one game that season.

Three former Boxers played for the Steam Rollers during the 1920s including Staff, Jack Triggs in 1926 and Orland Smith. Smith joined the Rhode Island team in 1927 and played there until 1929.

Providence became the first New England team ever to win an NFL championship in 1928, and Smith played nine games and started twice during that championship year. Following the win, the team started to deteriorate and folded by 1933.