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 Elkins,c. 1964 | |||||||||
| No. 26 | |||||||||
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| Position | Wide receiver | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1943-07-28)July 28, 1943 (age 82) Brownwood, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Brownwood | ||||||||
| College | Baylor | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1965: 1st round, 10th overall pick | ||||||||
| AFL draft | 1965: 1st round, 2nd overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Lawrence Clayton Elkins (born July 28, 1943) is an American former professionalfootball player who was awide receiver for theHouston Oilers of theAmerican Football League (AFL). He was a two-timeAll-American playingcollege football as aflanker for theBaylor Bears before playing professionally for the Oilers.
Elkins is the youngest of ten children.[1] One of his mother's ex-husbands was Marshall Ratliff, best known as one of three perpetrators of the infamousSanta Claus Bank Robbery.[1][2]
Elkins was an all-around athletic star atBrownwood High School and turned down a $25,000 baseball offer to enroll atBaylor University. He had received an offer from theTexasLonghorns, then coached by legendDarrell Royal, but chose Baylor on the recommendation of his high school coachGordon Wood, who felt that the Bears'pro-style offense suited Elkins better.[2] One of the best receivers in Baylor history, Elkins set anNCAA record with his seventy catches in 1963.[1] Elkins also played safety for the defense and returned kicks. In 1962, he had a ninety-two-yard punt return againstTCU. For his career, he caught 144 passes for 2,094 yards with a school-record nineteen touchdowns. He still shares Baylor's single-game record for receptions with twelve, which he caught againstTexas in 1963. He ranks number three in all-time career receptions and career receiving yards.
Elkins was a consensus All-American his last two years (1963,1964) — Baylor's first-ever two-time consensus pick. He played in the 1965East-West Shrine Game, Coaches All-America Game, andHula Bowl. He was MVP of theHula Bowl. He appeared on the Tonight Show Dec. 3, 1964 as part of the Look Magazine All-American Football Team with his contemporaries Fred Biletnikoff, Craig Morton and Gale Sayers. He was chosen by Johnny Carson because of his deep Texas accent to simulate a television commercial.
Elkins was inducted into the Baylor Athletic Hall of Fame in 1976 and into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1994.
He was selected in the first round of the1965 NFL draft by theGreen Bay Packers and second overall in the1965 AFL draft by the Houston Oilers, one selection after theNew York Jets draftedAlabama quarterbackJoe Namath.[3] He was with Houston from 1965 to 1968. He suffered a knee injury in training camp with the Oilers in 1965 and was not on their active roster that year. His first season was 1966.
But Elkins' pro career never really got off the ground. After going to the Steelers, he broke his collarbone in a 1969 preseason game after earning a starting job with thePittsburgh Steelers. "Rather unlucky, I suppose," he told the Baylor Line in 2001.
From 1971 to 1978 he worked forBrown and Root Inc. in the safety, health, and claims department, both in the United States and in Europe.[1]