Wilson Whitley
| No. 75 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Defensive tackle | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | April 28, 1955 Brenham, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died: | October 27, 1992 (aged 37) Marietta, Georgia, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 265 lb (120 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Brenham (TX) | ||||||||
| College: | Houston (1973–1976) | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1977 / round: 1 / pick: 8 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Wilson Carl Whitley Jr. (May 28, 1955 – October 27, 1992) was an American professional football defensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Houston Cougars, where he was named a consensus All-American under defensive coordinator Don Todd. He led the Cougars to the Southwest Conference championship in during Houston's first season as a conference member and won the 1976 Lombardi Award as the nation's top lineman. Former President Gerald Ford presented him the award.[1] He was later named to the 1970s Southwest Conference All-Decade Team.
Professional career
[edit]Whitley was drafted in the first round of the 1977 NFL draft by the Cincinnati Bengals and started alongside another Lombardi Award winner, Ross Browner, for 6 seasons.[2]
Death
[edit]Whitley died at the age of 37, due to a heart attack.[3]
Honors
[edit]He is a 1998 inductee into University of Houston's Hall of Honor and was a perennial candidate for the College Football Hall of Fame until his selection in 2007.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ "Former UH Great Wilson Whitley To Be Inducted Into The College Football Hall of Fame". University of Houston.
- ^ "Cincinnati Bengals History, 1981". Cincinnati Bengals.
- ^ "Wilson Whitley, Football Player, 37". The New York Times.
- ^ "'70s UH standout Whitley to enter College Hall of Fame". Houston Chronicle.
External links
[edit]
 | This biographical article relating to an American football defensive lineman born in the 1950s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This Texas biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1955 births
- 1992 deaths
- All-American college football players
- American football defensive tackles
- Cincinnati Bengals players
- Houston Cougars football players
- College Football Hall of Fame inductees
- Sportspeople from Brenham, Texas
- 20th-century American sportsmen
- American football defensive lineman, 1950s birth stubs
- Texas people stubs