Drafted in the 17th round of the AFL draft in 1962, out of McNeese State, Sestak defied the odds and in his rookie season became the cornerstone of the dominating Bills defenses of the '60's. He was selected to the AFL All Star game that year.
Tom Sestak went on to play in two more All Star games and was chosen for a fourth straight year in 1965 but sat out due to an injury. Sestak possessed the size, power and the speed of a running back to dominate games like Bruce Smith does today.
Because defensive stats were not recorded in Sestak's day, it is unknown how many tackles or sacks he had. If defensive stats were kept back then, I'm sure Tom Sestak would still hold a lofty place near the top of the record book.
Aching knees prematurely ended Sestak's career after the '68 season and we were all left to ponder, what might have been, had he stayed healthy.
He later ran a restaurant in the Buffalo area with former teamate, Paul Maguire, a place aptly named, Sestak and Maguire's.
Tom Sestack died of a heart attack in 1986 in Buffalo, N.Y. at the age of 51.
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