Ron Widby
| Ron Widby | |
|---|---|
|
Position (s): Punter |
Jersey numbers: 12, 10, 20 |
| born March 9, 1945 in Knoxville , Tennessee | |
| Career information | |
| Active : 1962 - 1974 | |
| NFL Draft : 1967 / Round: 4 / Pick: 81 | |
| College : University of Tennessee | |
| Teams | |
|
|
| Career statistics | |
| Punts | 368 |
| Space gain | 15,448 yards |
| average | 42.0 yards |
| longest punt | 84 yards |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
| Stats at pro-football-reference.com | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
|
|
George Ronald "Ron" Widby (* 9. March 1945 in Knoxville , Tennessee , USA ) is a former American American football and basketball poker players. He played as a punter in the National Football League (NFL) with the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers . He was also active in the American Basketball Association (ABA) with the New Orleans Buccaneers .
Player career
College career
Ron Widby grew up in his hometown, where he also attended high school . At school he played several sports. After he received a scholarship from the University of Tennessee , he was initially only active as a basketball player with the Tennessee Volunters due to an injury he sustained as a football player. Because of his athletic achievements, he was voted All American and Player of the Year in the Southeastern Conference in 1967. After the college football team of the volunteers needed a player in the position of a punter, he also ran for the football team. In 1966 he achieved an average gain of 43.8 yards with his punts . This performance was the best nationwide. In addition to American football and basketball, Widby was also interested in golf . He was recognized by his college for his achievements as a golfer .
Professional career
Ron Widby received a contract offer from three professional teams in 1967. The Chicago Bulls drew him in the NBA Draft and the New Orleans Buccaneers in the ABA Draft. The New Orleans Saints also showed interest in him and drew him in the NFL Draft in the fourth round in 81st place. Widby initially joined the Saints but was fired before the season. He then played twenty games for the New Orleans Buccaneers. However, he ended his basketball career after receiving a contract offer from the Dallas Cowboys, which initially loaned him to the Oklahoma City Plainsmen, based in the Continental Football League . In 1968 he was able to establish himself with the Dallas Cowboys trained by Tom Landry . That year he set an NFL annual record of 84 yards. The cowboys around players, such as the future members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Bob Lilly and Mel Renfro , had developed into a top team under Landry.
In the game year 1970 Widby was able to win his first championship title in the National Football Conference (NFC) with his team . After the team was able to win ten of 14 games in the regular season , the team from Dallas moved into the play-offs , where the Detroit Lions were initially defeated 5-0. In the following NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers , the Cowboys prevailed with 17:10, Widby was used six times in the game and achieved an average gain of 40.2 yards with his punts. In Super Bowl V , Widby and his team had to admit defeat to the Baltimore Colts with 16:13. Widby set a Super Bowl record with nine punts in the game.
In 1971 Ron Widby won eleven of 14 games with the Cowboys in the regular season and thus moved back into the play-offs. After a 14: 3 victory over the San Francisco 49ers , Widby had to punt six times to an average gain of 45 yards, in the NFC final, they made it into Super Bowl VI . In this game the Miami Dolphins were defeated with a 24: 3 victory. Widby contributed five punts to the victory of the Dallas team .
After the 1971 season, the Cowboys gave Widby to the Green Bay Packers. With the team from Wisconsin , however, he could not win another title. Due to a serious injury, he played for the Packers until 1973 . He then had to sit out for two years and ended his career as a football player in 1975 .
Honors
Ron Widby played in the Pro Bowl once and was voted All Pro three times . He is a member of the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame and his college hall of fame.
After the career
Widby became a club golfer in a country club after his career . His attempt to establish himself as a professional golfer in the Senior PGA Tour was unsuccessful. He now lives in Wichita Falls , Texas with his wife .
Web links
- Ron Widby in the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame
- Ron Widby at college
- Statistics as a basketball player
source
- Jens Plassmann: NFL - American Football. The game, the stars, the stories (= Rororo 9445 rororo Sport ), Rowohlt, Reinbek near Hamburg 1995, ISBN 3-499-19445-7
- Peter Golenbock: Landry's Boys: An Oral History of a Team and an Era, Triumph Books, 2005, ISBN 1-617-49954-4
- Brian Jensen, Troy Aikman : Where Have All Our Cowboys Gone, 2005, ISBN 1-461-63611-6
Individual evidence
- ^ Annual statistics of the cowboys 1970
- ↑ Statistics play-off game Dallas Cowboys vs. Detroit Lions 1970
- ↑ Statistics NFC final 1970
- ↑ Statistics Super Bowl V
- ↑ Annual statistics of the cowboys 1971
- ↑ Statistics NFC final 1971
- ↑ Statistics Super Bowl VI
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Widby, Ron |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Widby, George Ronald |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American football player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 9, 1945 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Knoxville, Tennessee, USA |