Wilson Whitley
American football player (1955–1992)
American football player
| No. 75 | |||||||
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| Position: | Defensive tackle | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: | (1955-04-28)April 28, 1955 Brenham, Texas, U.S. | ||||||
| Died: | October 27, 1992(1992-10-27) (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 | |||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||||
College Football Hall of Fame | |||||||
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
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
Whitley died at the age of 37, due to a heart attack.[3]
Honors
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
- ^ "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
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Lombardi Award winners
- 1970: Stillwagon
- 1971: Patulski
- 1972: Glover
- 1973: Hicks
- 1974: White
- 1975: Selmon
- 1976: Whitley
- 1977: Browner
- 1978: Clark
- 1979: Budde
- 1980: Green
- 1981: Sims
- 1982: Rimington
- 1983: Steinkuhler
- 1984: Degrate
- 1985: Casillas
- 1986: Bennett
- 1987: Spielman
- 1988: Rocker
- 1989: Snow
- 1990: Zorich
- 1991: Emtman
- 1992: Jones
- 1993: Taylor
- 1994: Sapp
- 1995: Pace
- 1996: Pace
- 1997: Wistrom
- 1998: Nguyen
- 1999: Moore
- 2000: Reynolds
- 2001: Peppers
- 2002: Suggs
- 2003: Harris
- 2004: Pollack
- 2005: Hawk
- 2006: Woodley
- 2007: Dorsey
- 2008: Orakpo
- 2009: Suh
- 2010: Fairley
- 2011: Kuechly
- 2012: Te'o
- 2013: Donald
- 2014: Wright
- 2015: Nassib
- 2016: Allen
- 2017: Love
- 2018: Amadi
- 2019: Burrow
- 2020: Collins
- 2021: Hutchinson
- 2022: Anderson
- 2023: Latu
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