| No. 40, 34, 38 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Running back | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | (1940-08-29)August 29, 1940 Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Died | July 15, 2013(2013-07-15) (aged 72) Prairieville, Louisiana, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 220 lb (100 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | Terrebonne (LA) | ||||||||||||
| College | LSU | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1962: 1st round, 14th overall pick | ||||||||||||
| AFL draft | 1962: 2nd round, 15th overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Earl Roy Gros (August 29, 1940 – July 15, 2013) was an Americanfootballrunning back who played in theNational Football League (NFL) for nine seasons. Born and raised inLouisiana, he playedcollege football atLouisiana State University (LSU) inBaton Rouge.
Gros was born on August 29, 1940, inLafourche Parish, Louisiana.[1] He attendedTerrebonne High School. Gros was afullback on thefootball team.[2][3] He was a standout in the 1958 Louisiana high school football All-Star Game.[4] As a senior, the 195-pound (88.5 kg) Gros was named by theAssociated Press (AP) second-team Triple-A All-State at running back.[5] He was also a member of thetrack and field team, running the 180-yard low hurdles.[6]
Gros attendedLouisiana State University (LSU), and played on the varsity football team from 1959 to 1961, under head coachPaul Dietzel.[7][8] He started his first game for LSU in September 1961, at fullback.[9] As a senior in 1961, he had 90rushing attempts for 406 yards and fourtouchdowns. During the regular season, Gros did not have one rush for a loss of yardage in his 90 attempts. His teammates included future NFL playersBilly Truax,Roy Winston andJerry Stovall, among others.[10][11][12][13][14][15] The1961 LSU Tigers had a 10–1 record, and were ranked No. 4 in the final Associated Press (AP) poll that year.[10] They defeatedColorado in theOrange Bowl, 25–7.[16] Gros played a valuable role rushing andblocking in the Orange Bowl victory, and led all runners with 55 yards in 10 carries.[17][18][19]
In 1962, Gros received the Percy E. Roberts Award as LSU's Most Valuable Player.[20] The 220-pound (99.8 kg) Gros was selected to play in theSenior Bowl.[21][22] Gros played in the 1962Chicago College All-Star Game against theGreen Bay Packers, who had drafted him.[23] Gros scored a touchdown against the Packers in the game on August 3, 1962.[24]
Gros played two seasons with theGreen Bay Packers (1962–63), three seasons with thePhiladelphia Eagles (1964–1966), three with thePittsburgh Steelers (1967–1969), and one game in1970 with theNew Orleans Saints.
Gros was selected in thefirst round of the1962 NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers (14th overall),[25] and in the second round of the1962 American Football League (AFL) Draft by theHouston Oilers (15th overall).[26] LSU great and future NFL Hall of Fame fullbackJim Taylor of the Packers was courting Gros to join Green Bay, while former LSUHeisman Trophy winnerBilly Cannon was pursuing Gros to join the Oilers.[27][28][29] Gros opted for the NFL.
Before the 1962 season started, Gros, his wife Mickey and 10-month-old son Earl II had moved from Louisiana to Green Bay. When Mickey suffered a pancreatic ailment and had to be hospitalized for 10 days, Green Bay citizens volunteered to help watch baby Earl while Gros attended to his wife in the hospital. Gros was appreciative of this northern hospitality.[23]
He was the backup fullback to Taylor in his 1962 rookie season, rushing for 155 yards on 29 carries with two touchdowns. Taylor led the NFL in rushing attempts, yards and touchdowns. The Packers had a 13–1 record, winning the West Division.[30] The Packers then repeated asNFL champions in1962. They had defeated the New York Giants 37–0 in the1961 NFL Championship Game,[31] and won the 1962 game 16–7, though Gros did not play in that game.[32]
Gros again served as Taylor's backup in 1963. He had 203 yards in 48 attempts and two touchdowns.[33] Before the start of the 1964 season, he was traded withHall of Fame centerJim Ringo[34] to the Philadelphia Eagles for linebackerLee Roy Caffey (and a first round draft choice) in May1964. The draft choice was used to select halfbackDonny Anderson as a "future pick" in the1965 NFL draft.[35][36][37][38][39][40]
Gros's best season was in 1964 with the Eagles. He rushed for 748 yards on 152 attempts, averaging 4.9yards per carry. He also had 29receptions for 234 yards.[1] His 4.9 yard average was fourth best in the NFL, behind only future Hall of FamersJim Brown (often considered football's greatest player) and Taylor, and the Baltimore Colts'Tony Lorick. His 748 rushing yards were seventh best in the NFL.[41][42]
While Gros started all 14 games for the Eagles in 1965, he also suffered injuries (including a painful hamstring). His yards per carry fell to 3.3, with 479 rushing yards on 145 carries; though he did score seven rushing touchdowns and catch 29 passes for 271 yards and two more touchdowns.[43][44][45] He was tied for ninth in the NFL in total touchdowns.[46] In an early December 1965 game against theDallas Cowboys, Gros threw a 63-yard touchdown pass toRay Poage on the Eagles first play from scrimmage.[47] It was the only completed pass of four attempted in his career.[1]
In 1966, Gros shared time at fullback withTom Woodeshick andIsrael ("Izzy") Lang. He rushed for 396 yards on 102 carries and again had seven rushing touchdowns. He had 18 receptions for 214 yards and two receiving touchdowns.[48][49] He was again tied for ninth in the NFL in total touchdowns.[50]
In March 1967, the Eagles traded Gros,guardBruce Van Dyke and a 1967 third round draft pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for receiverGary Ballman. The Steelers used the draft pick on centerRockne Freitas. The Steelers had been the NFL's worst rushing team in 1966, and the trade was part of CoachBill Austin's plan to remedy that situation. Austin had been one of Gros's coaches in Green Bay, and he considered Gros the best blocking fullback in the NFL.[51]
Gros suffered a knee injury in 1967.[52] He played in only 12 games for the Steelers, starting just seven. He had 252 yards in 72 rushing attempts with one touchdown. He also had 19 receptions for 175 yards.[53] Gros came back in 1968 to start 13 games for the Steelers. He gained 579 rushing yards (second most in a season during his career) in 151 attempts. He had three rushing touchdowns. Gros also had 27 receptions for 211 yards and three receiving touchdowns. His six total touchdowns were second on the team to receiverRoy Jefferson's 11.[54]
Gros started 11 games for the Steelers in 1969, gaining 343 yards on 116 carries, with four rushing touchdowns. He added 17 receptions for 131 yards and three receiving touchdowns. His seven total touchdowns were again second to Jefferson, who had nine.[55] In early September 1970, the Steelers traded Gros to his home stateNew Orleans Saints for an undisclosed 1971 draft choice.[56] He played in the Saints first game on September 20, 1970, with two yards in four attempts.[57] The Saints waived Gros the next day, ending his NFL career.[58]
He finished his career with 821 rushes for 3,157 yards (3.8 yards per carry) and 28 touchdowns; he also had 142 receptions for 1,255 yards (8.8 yards per reception) and ten touchdowns.[1][20]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won theNFL championship | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1962 | GNB | 14 | 0 | 29 | 155 | 5.3 | 26 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1963 | GNB | 14 | 0 | 48 | 203 | 4.2 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 19.0 | 19 | 0 |
| 1964 | PHI | 13 | 12 | 154 | 748 | 4.9 | 59 | 2 | 29 | 234 | 8.1 | 29 | 0 |
| 1965 | PHI | 14 | 14 | 145 | 479 | 3.3 | 33 | 7 | 29 | 271 | 9.3 | 37 | 2 |
| 1966 | PHI | 14 | 6 | 102 | 396 | 3.9 | 26 | 7 | 18 | 214 | 11.9 | 48 | 2 |
| 1967 | PIT | 12 | 7 | 72 | 252 | 3.5 | 23 | 1 | 19 | 175 | 9.2 | 22 | 0 |
| 1968 | PIT | 13 | 13 | 151 | 579 | 3.8 | 44 | 3 | 27 | 211 | 7.8 | 21 | 3 |
| 1969 | PIT | 13 | 11 | 116 | 343 | 3.0 | 16 | 4 | 17 | 131 | 7.7 | 20 | 3 |
| 1970 | NOR | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0.5 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 108 | 63 | 821 | 3,157 | 3.8 | 59 | 28 | 142 | 1,255 | 8.8 | 48 | 10 | ||
Gros died at age 72 inSchriever, Louisiana. He was predeceased by his wife June (Overton) Gros, and survived by his son Earl Roy Gros II and his mother Flora Trosclair Gros.[59][60]