In its entry for Arlington, MA, a town six miles northwest of Boston, Wikipedia lists 59 names under the “notable people” heading. Eleven of the 59 have ties to sports, including: John A. “Johnny” Kelley, winner of the 1935 and 1945 Boston Marathons; Tom McNeeley Jr., a former heavyweight boxing contender who challenged Floyd Patterson for the heavyweight title in 1961; and Tom Yewcic, a former quarterback for the Boston Patriots, a former catcher for the Detroit Tigers, and the only person ever to play two professional sports at Fenway Park.

Wiki’s entry for Picher, OK., a town tucked into the northeast corner of Oklahoma which once was a major national center of lead and zinc but is now a ghost town, identifies only one “notable person:” Joe Ron Looney, the lead guitarist for the country music band Rascal Flatts.

Neither entry mentions Ron Yankowski, who was born in Arlington; spent his formative years growing up on a farm in Picher; played football for a junior college national champion as well as Kansas State before forging a 10-year career in the NFL as a defensive lineman with the Cardinals.

Yankowski hardly had time to make a name for himself in Arlington—his family moved to Picher when he was just six months old—but to do all he did in football and not be recognized as a notable person from Picher? Let’s just say Yank fell through the Wikicracks.

“I think I was left out of a lot of stuff,” Yankowski said without a trace of bitterness. “It didn’t bother me because I’ve enjoyed life. To come from a small town and go where I went was kind of unbelievable. I really thank God for watching over me.”