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OU Football Tradition | Hall of Famers
Updated May 17, 2011  
 
Great players and coaches built the Oklahoma football tradition. OU has placed 19 players and five former coaches in the College Football Hall of Fame. No Big 12 school has more.
 
 College Football Hall of Fame
 Player
Position
Seasons
 Year Inducted
 Clendon Thomas
RB
1955-1957
2011
 Tom Brahaney
C
1970-1972
2007
 Joe Washington
RB
1972-1975
2005
 Tony Casillas
MG
1982-1985
2004
 Keith Jackson
TE
1984-1987
2001
 Kurt Burris
C
1951-1954
2000
 Greg Pruitt
HB
1970-1972
1999
 Jerry Tubbs
C
1954-1956
1996
 Billy Sims
HB
1975-1979
1995
 J.D. Roberts
G
1951-1953
1993
 Jim Weatherall
T
1948-1951
1992
 Steve Owens
HB
1967-1969
1991
 Lee Roy Selmon
DT
1972-1975
1988
 Waddy Young
E
1936-1938
1986
 Tommy McDonald
HB
1954-1956
1985
 Jim Owens
E
1946-1949
1982
 Billy Vessels
HB
1950-1952
1974
 Forest Geyer
FB
1913-1915
1973
 Claude Reeds
FB
1910-1913
1961

 College Football Hall of Fame
 Coach
Seasons
 Year Inducted
 Barry Switzer
1973-1988
2001
 Jim Tatum
1946
1984
 Bud Wilkinson
1947-1963
1969
 Lawrence "Biff" Jones
1935-1936
1954
 Bennie Owen
1905-1926
1951

PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME
Two players, Tommy McDonald and Lee Roy Selmon, went on to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
 
Tommy McDonald

Wide receiver Tommy McDonald was a third-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Eagles in 1957. An All-America choice at Oklahoma, he won the Maxwell Award in 1956 as college football's player of the year. During his three years of varsity play at Oklahoma, the Sooners never lost a game.
 
A six-time Pro Bowl selection (1959-1963 and 1966), McDonald played seven seasons with the Eagles (1957-1963), one with the Dallas Cowboys (1964), two with the Los Angeles Rams (1965-1966), and one each with the Atlanta Falcons (1967) and the Cleveland Browns (1968).
 
Although he was just 5-9 and 176 pounds, McDonald was extremely durable and missed only three games in his first 11 seasons. He had elusive speed and used his running skills brilliantly after making his catches, finishing his career with an average of 17 yards per catch and 84 touchdowns.
 
A sure-handed receiver, McDonald had few peers when it came to putting the ball in the end zone. In the years 1958-62, he had 56 touchdown receptions in 63 games, including a 35-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Norm Van Brocklin in the 1960 NFL Championship Game in which the Eagles defeated the Green Bay Packers 17-13.
 
His career ratio of touchdowns-to-receptions is an impressive 1 in 5.9. He also caught at least one pass in 93 consecutive games. Used primarily as a kickoff and punt-return specialist during his rookie season, McDonald ranked sixth all-time in receptions (495), fourth in yards receiving (8,410) and second in touchdown catches (84) when he retired following the 1968 season.
 
McDonald, who was born in Roy, New Mexico, had an outstanding season in 1961. Not only did he lead the NFL in reception yardage (1,144) and in touchdowns (13), but in a game against the New York Giants he caught seven passes for 237 yards and two touchdowns, which is still an Eagles' single-game best.
 
Lee Roy Selmon
Lee Roy Selmon, a 6-3, 256-pound consensus All-America in 1975 at the University of Oklahoma, was the first-ever draft pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers franchise in 1976. The winner of both the Lombardi and Outland trophies as the outstanding college lineman in 1975, the defensive right end immediately established himself at as the leader of the Buccaneers defensive unit that would eventually produce two NFC Central Division championships in the team's first six seasons.
 
Selmon, who was born in Eufaula, Oklahoma, joined his brother Dewey on the first Tampa Bay team. Dewey, a year older, was a second-round draft pick. A defensive tackle/linebacker, he played in Tampa Bay until 1980.
 
Although he missed six games due to injuries as a rookie, he was named the Bucs' Rookie of the Year and the team's Most Valuable Player. He battled injuries during two of his first three seasons, but starting in 1978 he was named first- or second-team All-Pro five times. He also was also All-NFC choice five times, and was named to six straight Pro Bowls from 1980 to 1985. With four sacks, he was co-Player of the Game in the 1982 Pro Bowl.
 
Four times the NFL Players Association named Lee Roy the NFC Defensive Lineman of the Year and he was a unanimous choice as NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1979. Selmon was a major factor in the Bucs' first winning season, which was concluded with a 9-0 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the 1979 NFC Championship Game. Lee Roy had 11 sacks and a career-best 117 tackles that year. He had three sacks in one game four times. A back injury, which forced him to miss the entire 1985 season, brought a premature end to his outstanding career.
 
Text courtesy Pro Football Hall of Fame
 
OKLAHOMA SPORTS HALL OF FAME
Closer to home, the Sooners have placed 21 former players and three coaches in the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame administered by the Jim Thorpe Association.
 
 Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame
 Player
Position
Seasons
 Year Inducted
 Lucious Selmon
DT
1971-1973
2011
 Rick Bryan
DT
1980-1983
2009
 Tony Casillas
DT
1982-1985
2008
 Keith Jackson
TE
1984-1987
2006
 Eddie Crowder
HB
1950-1952
2003
 Jack Jacobs
QB
1939-1941
2002
 Jim Weatherall
T
1948-1951
2001
 Paul Young
C
1930-1931
2001
 Prentice Gautt
HB
1957-1959
2000
 Jerry Tubbs
C
1954-1956
1999
 Jack Mildren
QB
1969-1971
1998
 Greg Pruitt
HB
1970-1972
1997
 J.D. Roberts
G
1951-1953
1997
 Clendon Thomas
B
1955-1957
1995
 Billy Sims
HB
1975-1979
1994
 Joe Washington
HB
1972-1975
1993
 Darrell Royal
QB
1946-1949
1992
 Lee Roy Selmon
DT
1972-1975
1992
 Tommy McDonald
B
1954-1956
1991
 Steve Owens
HB
1967-1969
1991
 Billy Vessels
B
1950-1952
1989

 Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame
 Coach
Seasons
 Year Inducted
 Bennie Owen
1905-1926
2001
 Barry Switzer
1973-1988
1990
 Bud Wilkinson
1947-1963
1986
 
OU Football Tradition
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