J. D. Roberts

J. D. Roberts was born in Oklahoma City and moved to Dallas at 6, where he and a friend sold programs at the Cotton Bowl. He played both ways at Jesuit College Preparatory School and is in the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame. At Oklahoma he played guard, and in 1953 he won the Outland Trophy, was UPI Lineman of the Year and a consensus All-American, and finished eighth in the Heisman voting. Green Bay drafted him in the 17th round, 195th overall, in 1954, but he served as a Marine lieutenant and played for Quantico until a 1956 leg injury. He became a coach and was head coach of the New Orleans Saints from midway through 1970 until 1973. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1993 and died on May 25, 2021.