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| No. 12, 10, 20 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Punter | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born: | (1945-03-09)March 9, 1945 Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Died: | December 22, 2020(2020-12-22) (aged 75) Allen, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 210 lb (95 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | Fulton (Knoxville, Tennessee) | ||||||||||
| College: | Tennessee | ||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1967: 4th round, 81st pick | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
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George Ronald Widby (March 9, 1945 – December 23, 2020) was anAmerican footballpunter in theNational Football League (NFL) for theDallas Cowboys andGreen Bay Packers. He also was a member of theNew Orleans Buccaneers of theAmerican Basketball Association. He played college football at theUniversity of Tennessee.
Widby attendedFulton High School, where he was a multi-sport athlete. He playedquarterback in football. From his childhood in Knoxville, Widby showed tremendous athletic promise. One retired Knoxville sportswriter, Marvin West, recalled for a 2011 story on Widby that "he was good for his age. Every step of the way in his career, he was smooth for his age." Widby himself would recall, "I grew up with the idea I was going to win ascholarship to theUniversity of Tennessee."
He did just that, signing withTennessee after starring as aquarterback,safety, andpunter atFulton High School in Knoxville. However, near the end of his seniorfootball season at Fulton, he broke his arm and shoulder. Widby recovered well enough to have a strong seniorbasketball season.[1]
After arriving at his hometown university, Widby initially decided to concentrate onbasketball due to his high school injury. Even though he did not attend spring or fall practice with the freshmanfootball team—at the time, freshmen were not allowed to playNCAA varsity sports—thefootball team kept him on scholarship in hopes he would change his mind.
As it turned out, thefootball coaching staff went to headbasketball coachRay Mears, telling him they needed apunter. Mears had no problem with Widby playing that position, and as Widby himself recalled in 2011, "I always enjoyed punting a football." He also played on the freshman team in another of his high school sports,baseball, hitting nearly .400.[1]
As a sophomore (1964–65), he had won starting positions in bothfootball andbasketball. He averaged 41.1 yards on 74 punts. He also hit nearly .300 in what would be his only varsitybaseball season, but felt bored by that sport.
As a junior, he averaged 42.8 yards on 20 punts.[2] He also met Tennessee'sgolf coach, who upon finding out that Widby had also been on Fulton's varsitygolf team, invited him to try out for the team. Widby would go on to earn a letter ingolf.[1] He had the unusual situation of having his football team playing in the1965 Bluebonnet Bowl and at the same time the basketball squad was participating in the Gulf South Classic, so he was ferried by airplane back and forth between Shreveport and Houston as his playing schedule required.
Sportswriter Ron Higgins would say in 2011, "Few athletes in SEC history enjoyed a better senior year in 1966–67 than Ron in both football and basketball." As a senior infootball, he led the nation inpunting average at 43.8 yards on 48 punts, while inbasketball, he averaged 22.1 points and 8.7 rebounds while leading the Volunteers to a conference title.[3] He was named a second-teamAll-American in basketball, and was also theSEC'sbasketball Player of the Year.[4][5]
He scored 50 points in his last regular season game againstLouisiana State University, finishing his college career with 576 points. He also thought about continuing withgolf, but decided against it because it interfered withNFL contract negotiations.[1] Similarly to the previous year, he had to take part in a basketball tournament and then rush to play in the1966 Gator Bowl football game on the same day.
In 1997, he was inducted into theTennessee Sports Hall of Fame.[6] In 2016, he was inducted into the University of Tennessee Athletics Hall of Fame.[7][8]
Widby was selected in three professional drafts in two sports. TheNew Orleans Saints selected him in the fourth round (81st overall) of the1967 NFL/AFL draft.[1] In the same year, he was chosen by theNew Orleans Buccaneers in theABA Draft and was selected in the 12th round of the1967 NBA draft by theChicago Bulls. Althoughbasketball was his favorite sport, he signed with the Saints for a $50,000 bonus, who released him in August when he couldn't beat rookieundrafted free agentTom McNeill.[9]
After failing to make the Saints' inaugural season roster,[1] he signed with theNew Orleans Buccaneers of theAmerican Basketball Association, playing for that team during the 1967–68American Basketball Association season.[10][11]
On September 13,1967, he was signed by theDallas Cowboys after his release from the Saints. He was assigned to the Oklahoma City Plainsmen of theContinental Football League before returning to the team'staxi squad in December.
In1968, he became the startingpunter and finished tied for fifth in the league with a 40.9-yard average. He had a franchise and anNFL record, with an 84-yardpunt against his former team the Saints (also had a 56-yard punt in the same game) and set a second club mark by averaging 53.4 yards per punt.
In1969, he voluntarily gave his #12 jersey to futurehall of famerRoger Staubach, who had resigned his naval commission to join the Cowboys. He finished second in the league with a 43.3-yard average.
In1970, he was second in the NFC with a 41.3-yard average. He also set aSuper Bowl record with ninepunt attempts, while playing against theBaltimore Colts inSuper Bowl V.
In1971, he was third in the NFC with a 41.6-yard average. He played inSuper Bowl VI and became the second Cowboyspunter to be named to thePro Bowl (Sam Baker was the first).
On September 5,1972, to make room for rookiepunterMarv Bateman who could alsoplace kick if needed, he was traded to theGreen Bay Packers along withcornerbackIke Thomas, in exchange for a1973 second round draft choice (#46-Golden Richards) .[12]
Widby played two seasons for the Packers before suffering a ruptured spinal disc in a freak accident, that would cost him the last two games of1973, all of the1974 season, ending his career and leading to his release on July 18,1975.[13] He averaged 41.8 yards perpunt in1972 and 43.1 yards in1973.
He later became a club pro at a country club in Texas, and once he turned 50, he entered the qualifying school for theSenior PGA Tour twice, just missing out on his tour card on his second attempt. As of 2020, he was retired and lived inAllen, Texas.[1] Widby died on December 23, 2020, at the age of 75.[14]