Roy Winston
| No. 60 | |||||
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| Position: | Linebacker | ||||
| Personal information | |||||
| Date of birth: | September 15, 1940 | ||||
| Place of birth: | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | ||||
| Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||
| Weight: | 222 lb (101 kg) | ||||
| Career information | |||||
| High school: | Baton Rouge (LA) Istrouma | ||||
| College: | LSU | ||||
| NFL Draft: | 1962 / Round: 4 / Pick: 45 | ||||
| AFL draft: | 1962 / Round: 6 / Pick: 42 | ||||
| Career history | |||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||
Roy Charles Winston (born September 15, 1940) is a former professional American football player. He played 15 seasons as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Minnesota Vikings.
Roy Winston graduated from Louisiana State University, where he was a standout offensive guard in the 10–7 LSU victory over arch-rival Ole Miss in 1961.[1] Following the season he was named a unanimous All-American.
He was drafted in the fourth round of the 1962 NFL Draft by the Vikings, for whom he played until he retired after the 1976 season. During that time, he was one of 11 players to play in all four of the Vikings Super Bowl appearances (Super Bowl IV, Super Bowl VIII, Super Bowl IX, Super Bowl XI).
Winston delivered one of the most devastating tackles ever filmed. In a game against the Miami Dolphins in 1972, fullback Larry Csonka circled out into the flat to catch a pass. Just as he caught the pass, Winston hit him from behind with such force that the 240-pound Csonka was nearly cut in half. The tackle was so grotesque it was shown on The Tonight Show. Csonka dropped the ball and rolled on the field in agony. He thought his back was broken and literally crawled off the field (he was not seriously injured, however). After their respective retirements from the NFL, Winston and Csonka remained close friends. Csonka invited Winston to be his guest when Csonka was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
In 1976, Winston was inducted into the LSU Hall of Fame; in 1991, into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in Natchitoches.
References
- ↑ Chet Hilburn, The Mystique of Tiger Stadium: 25 Greatest Games: The Ascension of LSU Football (Bloomington, Indiana: WestBow Press, 2012), p. 34