Lee Roy Selmon as an Oklahoma Sooner zeroing in on an unfortunate runner: ‘There was a sense of awe every time you were in Lee Roy's presence, and yet that was the last thing he would have wanted,’ says Oklahoma head football coach Bob Stoops

‘The Rock of Our Family’

Stroke Claims NFL, College Hall of Famer Lee Roy Selmon

‘Lee Roy possessed a combination of grace, humility and dignity that is rare’—Barry Switzer

After his death from a massive stroke was erroneously reported on Twitter on Saturday, August 6, Lee Roy Selmon, the pro football Hall of Fame defensive end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (he was, in fact, the Bucs' first-ever draft pick) who teamed with his older brothers Lucious and Dewey at Oklahoma to create a dominant defensive front that helped lead the Sooners to consecutive national championships, died on Sunday, August 7, at age 56.

A statement released on behalf of his wife Claybra said he died at a Tampa hospital surrounded by family members.

"For all his accomplishments on and off the field, to us Lee Roy was the rock of our family. This has been a sudden and shocking event and we are devastated by this unexpected loss," the statement said.

Selmon was hospitalized on August 5, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers confirmed later that he had suffered a stroke.

"No Sooner player cast a longer shadow over its rich tradition than Lee Roy," said Selmon's former Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer in a statement. "Beyond his many and great accomplishments, I believe the true legacy of Lee Roy Selmon lies within the kind of man he was. Lee Roy possessed a combination of grace, humility and dignity that is rare. His engaging smile and gentleness left you feeling blessed to be in his presence. Best of all, he was all genuine. One would be blessed to have a father, son, uncle, brother, or friend like Lee Roy Selmon."

Current OU head coach Bob Stoops saw in Selmon the model player who made positive contributions off the field as well and never strayed from the solid values he had been raised with.

"There was a sense of awe every time you were in Lee Roy's presence, and yet that was the last thing he would have wanted," Stoops said. "He accomplished so many things in life, but remained a humble, unassuming champion. I hold up many of our previous greats as examples for our current players and Lee Roy is among the very best. All of our players would do well to follow in Lee Roy's footsteps."

A 2010 radio interview with Lee Roy Selmon, in which he discusses playing college ball with his brothers, going to the same pro team as a rookie with one of his brothers, life in the NFL trenches and the matter of penalizing players for violent hits.

While they were students at Oklahoma, Lee Roy (the youngest of the Selmon brothers), Lucious and Dewey were not only star football players but also the most popular men on campus, beloved as much for their humility, friendliness, unflagging work ethic and dedication to family as for their gridiron feats. They brought honor to themselves, their parents, their university and their state.

At Oklahoma Lucious became an All-American and three-year starter. Following their brother to the Norman campus, Dewey and Lee Roy both skipped the freshman squad to play varsity football their first season. Lee Roy and Dewey achieved All-American honors in 1974 and 1975, when Oklahoma won back-to-back national championships. Lee Roy also won the Outland and Vince Lombardi trophies in 1975. All three brothers were also accomplished students, and Dewey eventually attained a doctorate in philosophy.

After college Lucious played in the World Football League for the Memphis Southmen. After one season he returned to OU as an assistant coach. In 1995 he left the Sooners and became the linebackers coach for the National Football League's Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Lee Roy as the first pick of their new franchise and the first selection in the 1976 National Football League (NFL) draft. While Lee Roy was with the Buccaneers, the league named him All-Pro six times, and he became the first Tampa Bay player to have his number retired. For thirteen years he held the club's team record for quarterback sacks (78 ½) before Warren Sapp broke it in 2000. In 1986 Lee Roy retired from football because of a back injury. Two years later he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. He also became the first former OU football player to be elected into the NFL Hall of Fame. Presented by brother Dewey, Lee Roy said it was his family background that was noteworthy and not his accomplishments on the field.
"People have said, 'Your parents must be proud of you,' but I'm more proud of them," he said.

"The guy just worked as hard as you could ever work and was just a great guy," said former Tampa Bay teammate Bill Kollar, now the Houston Texans' assistant head coach and defensive line coach. "Never got mad, was just always great to everybody and it's hard to imagine that you could end up being a better person than Lee Roy was. Really, the guy was just a phenomenal person. It's obviously really a sad day. The guy was a great player and even a better person. It's just a shame that this happened to him."

NFL Films Top 100 Greatest Players: #98—Lee Roy Selmon

Selmon played a key role in the creation of the football program at South Florida, where he was hired in 1993 first as associate athletic director before promoting him to athletic director in 2001, a post he held until stepping down for health reasons in 2004. In 2000 he opened Lee Roy Selmon's restaurant in Tampa, Florida, where an expressway named in his honor.

“Here’s a guy that was from Oklahoma, who came here as a first-round pick and wasn’t from Miami, Florida or Florida State,” said St. Petersburg Times sportswriter Rick Stroud, “and as one person told me, ‘He played nine years and they named an expressway after him when his career was over, and nobody argued that it shouldn’t be named after Lee Roy Selmon. That’s the kind of impact that the man had and continued to have, spearheading the effort to start football at the University of South Florida. His contributions are endless, and at 56 years old he died way too young. The community is very saddened and their prayers go to the Selmon family and friends.”

In the second round of the 1976 draft Tampa Bay selected Dewey, making the Selmon brothers the first two picks of their organization. Dewey played for the Buccaneers until 1982, when the team traded him to the San Diego Chargers. After one year with the Chargers Dewey returned to Norman and worked as an oil and gas consultant. He served on the Norman Housing Authority board, and in 1993 he opened his own construction business.

In 1988 the Selmon brothers began marketing their Selmon Brothers Fine Bar-B-Q Sauce. Their older brother, Charles, developed the sauce for his Selmon Brothers Bar-B-Q restaurant in Wichita, Kansas, where his other brothers Chester and Elmer also lived.

The Glazer family, which owns the Tampa Bay franchise, released the following statement mourning Lee Roy: "Tampa Bay has lost another giant. This is an incredibly somber day for Buccaneer fans, Sooner fans, and all football fans. Lee Roy's standing as the first Buc in the Hall of Fame surely distinguished him, but his stature off the field as the consummate gentleman put him in another stratosphere."

While accompanying the South Florida football team to a game against Oklahoma in 2002, Lee Roy said he was humbled that Switzer had called him his greatest player.

"I see myself as just having been a teammate with so many great players and coaches," he told The Associated Press. "I'm floored by such a generous compliment."

Born Oct. 20, 1954, in Eufaula, Okla., to Jessie and Lucious Selmon Sr. and raised on a farm with eight siblings, Lee Roy and his two older brothers almost signed with Oklahoma’s Big Eight rival, Colorado. Only a last-minute recruiting effort by Oklahoma’s then-defensive coordinator (soon to be assistant head coach) Larry Lacewell persuaded them to attend OU.

In his book Wish Bone Lacewell revealed that the Sooners didn't decide to recruit Lucious Selmon until Barry Price switched his commitment from Oklahoma to Oklahoma State the day before signing day. Lacewell showed up at the Selmons' house to find Colorado coach Eddie Crowder there. When he got his chance to talk to the family, he stayed at the house until the two younger brothers had fallen asleep and he had convinced the Selmon parents it was better for Lucious to play 100 miles away than 600.

News of Lee Roy Selmon's stroke had already spurred tributes to Selmon on Saturday, August 6, when members of the University of South Florida's football team wore his number on their helmet.

"We all loved him, and we're all deeply saddened," USF President Judy Genshaft said. "We're a better university because of Lee Roy Selmon. He was an incredible role model, who cared about all of our student-athletes, no matter what sport. He built an incredible legacy and he will never be forgotten."