CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA astronaut Leland Melvin has done what many young boys growing up have only dreamed of doing.

If you're thinking it's because he's flown in space, guess again. On that score Melvin is still a rookie, waiting for his first flight. No, Melvin, 39, once played in the National Football League.

For a short time in 1986, Melvin was a wide receiver for the Detroit Lions. He also has worn the uniform of the Dallas Cowboys, and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.

But a pulled hamstring and good advice from his mentors at the time took him off the football field and put him on a path that eventually led to the astronaut office in Houston.

"I believe things happen for a reason and I wouldn't be here in the astronaut corps if that injury hadn't happened," Melvin told SPACE.com . "It's one of those things where maybe it was a blessing in disguise."

Born in Lynchburg, Va., Melvin didn't particularly care for football as a young boy. He recalls being dragged kicking and screaming to see an NFL player and could care less about getting an autograph.

But with an interest in sports in general, and blessed with speed and sure hands, it became inevitable that Melvin would wind up playing high school football.

In 1981, as a senior at Heritage High School, Melvin found himself with a chance to win that fall's Homecoming game in front of a stadium full of cheering fans. His marching orders: run down the sideline, catch a bomb and become the Homecoming Hero.

"There happened to be a scout, unbeknownst to me, in the stands from the University of Richmond," Melvin said. "They hiked the ball, I beat the guy in the end zone, the ball's coming, it hits my hands and it bounces high and far. The whole crowd is screaming for me to catch it, and suddenly I'm the bad guy."

Dejected, Melvin returned to the huddle and the coach calls the exact same play.

"I'm thinking he has faith in me, he believes in me," Melvin said. "But the scout is now walking out of the stadium thinking 'This guy can't play for us, he drops the touchdown pass.' The scout is walking out, he hears the crowd screaming and I'm in the end zone with the ball in my hand."

Melvin was the hero of the night and the college scout changed his mind. If Melvin could recover from dropping a touchdown pass at the Homecoming Game, maybe he could play college ball.

At Richmond the young football player worked his way through the program, playing the game and studying chemistry. As a freshman his team went 0-10. The record improved to 3-8 in his sophomore year and 8-3 in his junior year. He helped his team go to the playoffs in his senior year.

With a reputation for being a guy that can turn something around, the pro scouts began to take notice and after graduating from college in 1986, the Lions drafted him in the 11th round to come play ball in Detroit.

It was two weeks into training camp that Melvin's flight path to the NFL Hall of Fame made a major course correction. He pulled a hamstring and became damaged goods. Although he played fairly well in a couple of pre-season games, he was cut from the team just before the season began.

A whirlwind week followed. He remembers being cut from Detroit on a Tuesday, being in Dallas on Wednesday to be looked at by the Cowboys and by Friday was in Toronto, signed with the Argonauts on a practice contract, while waiting for Dallas to make up its mind.

Two weeks passed and then Melvin got a call from his agent, telling him to return to Dallas because they want to sign him for the next season. To kill time and make a buck, Melvin started driving as a courier for his agent.

Then one day a friend suggested he stop being a courier and go work at the University of Virginia. A professor of materials science needed laboratory assistance. Melvin put up resistance, still hoping to attend Dallas mini-camp in the Spring.

"My friend said go talk to him anyway," Melvin said. "The professor said 'Why don't you come do some research with me instead of driving a car and delivering packages?'" So he did.

The holidays passed, it was January and his boss suggested Melvin enroll in a masters program for materials science. Dallas was still in the back of Melvin's mind but his professor said sign up anyway.

"My motto has always been 'listen.' People sometimes know things that you don't know, so listen," Melvin said.

Taking courses via television at night and catching footballs at Dallas by day, Melvin made one final run at joining the ranks of America's Team in April at the Cowboy's mini-camp.

Melvin was stretching on the field with Dallas quarterback Danny White when he suggested Melvin run some half-speed, 10-yard passing plays. Then the Cowboy's legendary head coach Tom Landry appeared.

"Landry walks on the field. Danny sees Tom, I see Tom, and I know what's about to happen. He's about to change it from a 10-yard, half-speed out, to a bomb. Which he does, and I'm running," Melvin recalled.

Buit on the field, Melvin pulled his hamstring, ending his football career forever.

With his education to fall back on, Melvin never looked back. One job led to another and the next thing you know he's applying for a job as an astronaut -- again at the urging of friends who seem to always know what's in his best interest.

NASA selected him for the class of 1998, and now he's helping select the next few educator astronauts who will join Barbara Morgan as teachers in space -- a program that's still going strong even after the Columbia tragedy in February.

"There have been many exploration activities throughout our history that has lost people, but if we had stopped where we would be?" Melvin said.