Lee Roy Selmon

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Lee Roy Selmon (born October 20, 1954 in Eufaula, Oklahoma) is a Hall of Fame former NFL football defensive lineman. He is the youngest of nine children of Lucious and Jessie Selmon, raised on a farm near Eufaula, Oklahoma.

[edit] Early life

A National Honor Society member at Eufaula High School, Lee Roy graduated in 1971.

[edit] College career

Lee Roy joined brothers Lucious and Dewey Selmon on the University of Oklahoma defensive line in 1972. He blossomed into a star in 1974, anchoring one of the best defenses in Sooner history. The Sooners were NCAA Division I-A national football champions in 1974 and 1975. Selmon won the Lombardi Award and the Outland Trophy in 1975. OU Head Coach Barry Switzer called him the best player he ever coached, and College Football News placed him as the 39th best college player of all time. He was known as "The Gentle Giant." In the Fall of 1999, Lee Roy was named to the Sports Illustrated NCAA Football All-Century Team as only one of six defensive tackles on the squad.

Selmon was named a consensus All-American in 1975 and also in 1974 by Newspaper Enterprise Association. His long list of achievements, in addition to the Vince Lombardi Award and the Outland Trophy, includes the National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete, GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-American and Graduate Fellowship Winner National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame.

His brothers Lucious and Dewey Selmon also were All-American defensive linemen for Oklahoma, and played on the same defensive line together in 1973. The fearsome trio is still regarded as the most famous set of brothers in OU history.

The 1996 Walter Camp "Alumnus of the Year" was voted to the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame ^[1] in 1992.

[edit] Statistics

All statistics courtesy of the official website of the Oklahoma Sooners

[edit] Professional career

In 1976, Selmon was the first player picked in the NFL draft, the first-ever pick for the then-brand-new expansion team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He joined older brother Dewey, who was a second round pick of the Bucs. In his first year, Lee Roy won the team's Rookie of the Year and MVP awards. Selmon went to six straight Pro Bowls and was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1979. A back injury made the 1984 season his last, and the Bucs retired his number, 63, in 1986. He is a member of the Florida Sports Hall of Fame.

[edit] After football

Selmon stayed in Tampa, Florida, working as a bank executive and being active in many charities.

From 1993-2001, Selmon served as an assistant athletic director at the University of South Florida under Paul Griffin. When Griffin moved on to take the same position for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Selmon stepped up and took over the athletic department.

As the USF Athletic Director, Selmon launched the football program, spearheaded the construction of a new athletic facility and led the university's move into Conference USA and then into the Big East Conference. Citing health issues, Selmon resigned as the USF Athletic Director in 2004. He assumed the role as president of the USF Foundation Partnership for Athletics, an athletics fund-raising organization.

The Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway is named for him, as is a chain of restaurants. ^[2] The chain, aptly titled Lee Roy Selmon's, was named one of the 10 best sports bars in America in 2009 it's motto is Play Hard. Eat Well. And Don't Forget to Share.^[1] He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1995.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Pro Football Hall of Fame: Lee Roy Selmon
• College Football Hall of Fame: Lee Roy Selmon
• Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame
• Lee Roy Selmon's Restaurants
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers Fan Site Hall of Fame
• Lee Roy Selmon's Page at Bucpower.com
• St. Petersburg Times: Selmon remains hero, class act for Sooners
• Selmon to lead new fund-raising initiative for USF athletics