ANNAPOLIS, Md.—Former Navy great and 1963 Heisman Trophy winner Roger Staubach has been named to The Sporting News College Football All-Decade All America Team.
The Sporting News selected an All-America Team for each decade of college football history, honoring the greatest players at every position from that era.
In 1963, Staubach became the second Naval Academy football player in four years to win the Heisman Trophy (Joe Bellino won it in 1960). It was his junior season with the Midshipmen, and all he did was lead Navy to a No. 2 national ranking and a berth in the Cotton Bowl, where he set bowl records for pass completions (21-of-31) and yards passing (228).
The Midshipmen posted wins over West Virginia, Michigan, Notre Dame and Maryland that season. He completed 106 passes in 161 attempts for 1,474 yards, while earning consensus All-America honors along with the Maxwell Trophy and Walter Camp Memorial Trophy.
Staubach, who was hampered by injuries during his senior season in 1964, set 28 Naval Academy football records.
Staubach was the recipient of the Thompson Trophy Cup at the Academy for three consecutive years and was the 1965 winner of the Naval Academy Athletic Association Sword. He was the first sophomore to win the Thompson Trophy Cup and is its only three-time winner. He was only the fourth midshipman since 1900 to win both the Thompson Trophy Cup and NAAA Sword.
After four years in the United States Navy, including a tour in Vietnam, Staubach joined the Dallas Cowboys and led that team to unprecedented heights. Again, displaying the daring play he had shown at Navy, Staubach directed the Cowboys to 23 fourth-quarter comeback wins, 14 in the final two minutes of a game or in overtime. He played 11 seasons with the Cowboys and led them to the Super Bowl four times, including Super Bowl championships following the 1971 and 1977 seasons (Super Bowls VI and XII). The Cowboys were 90-31 with Staubach as their starting quarterback.
Among his awards were the NFL Players Association Most Valuable Player and The Sporting News NFL Player of the Year in 1971, Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl VI (1972), Washington Touchdown Club NFC Player of the Year in 1976 and 1978, NFC Pro Bowl selection five times, the Vince Lombardi Sportsman of the Year Award in 1975, NFL Players' Association NFC Offensive Player of the Year (1978), and the Byron "Whizzer" White Humanitarian Award in 1979.
Staubach was named Walter Camp Foundation Man of the Year in 1985, was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985, his first year of eligibility, and was inducted into the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame in 1981.
The football locker room in Ricketts Hall was named in his honor in 1996, and in 2008, Staubach received the National Football Foundation's Gold Medal, the highest honor one can receive from that organization. Staubach has also been honored as a "Distinguished Graduate" of the United States Naval Academy.
He was named to the Walter Camp All-Century Team, was elected into the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame, spearheaded a successful movement to land North Texas and the Dallas Cowboys the Super Bowl in 2011 and was named to the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium All-Stadium Team.
1960s All-America Team (1960-69)
Offense
QB: Roger Staubach, Navy
RB: O.J. Simpson, USC
RB: Ernie Davis, Syracuse
WR: Jack Snow, Notre Dame
WR: Howard Twilley, Tulsa
TE: Ted Kwalick, Penn State
T: Rony Yary, USC
G: Dick Arrington, Notre Dame
C: John Didion, Oregon State
G: Bob Brown, Nebraska
T: George Kunz, Notre Dame
Athlete: Mike Ditka, Pitt
K: Fred Cox, Pitt
Star power (excerpted from The Sporting News)
Staubach – nicknamed "Captain America" – led Navy to a 9-1 record and won the Heisman Trophy in 1963. Simpson and Yary led USC to the 1967 national championship. Simpson earned Unanimous All-America honors in 1967 and 1968. Yary won the Outland Trophy in 1967. We slid Ditka into the athlete position knowing he played tight end and defensive line as a three-sport star for the Panthers.
Best position group
Running back. We left off Oklahoma's Steve Owens – who had back-to-back 1,500-yard seasons in 1968-69 – and Ohio State's Bob Ferguson – who scored 24 TDs from 1960-61. USC's Mike Garrett and Syracuse's Larry Csonka also were in the mix, but we stuck with Davis – nicknamed "The Express." He won a national championship with the Orange in 1959 and averaged 6.6 yards per carry in his three-year career. Ferguson and Owens were both named Sporting News Player of the Year.
Toughest debate
Jack Snow vs. Howard Twilley vs. Fred Biletnikoff. "The Year of the Receiver" was 1964. Snow had 60 catches for 1,114 yards and nine TDs as part of a national championship season for the Irish. Biletnikoff – the namesake for the award given to the nation's top receiver – had 57 catches for 988 yards and 11 TDs at Florida State that season. Our panel gave the slight edge to Snow, who joined Twilley – who had 95 catches for 1,178 yards and 13 TDs for Tulsa the same year.
Defense
DL: Bob Lilly, TCU
DL: Bubba Smith, Michigan State
DL: Alan Page, Notre Dame
DL: Ted Hendricks, Miami
LB: Lee Roy Jordan, Alabama
LB: Tommy Nobis, Texas
LB: Dick Butkus, Illinois
DB: Jerry Stovall, LSU
DB: Mel Renfro, Oregon
DB: George Webster, Michigan State
DB: Jake Scott, Georgia
P: Zenon Andrusyshyn, UCLA
Star power
Butkus and Jordan each finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting. Jordan had a school-record 31 tackles in a 17-0 victory against No. 8 Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 1, 1963. Butkus had 374 tackles at Illinois. Nobis won the Maxwell Award in 1965. That trio of linebackers is as good as any group from any era.
Best position group
Defensive line. Hendricks is the only two-time Unanimous All-American on our list, and he's joined by Smith and Page – who easily could have been Unanimous choices. Lilly rounded out that defensive front, which left out seven Outland Trophy winners, including Penn State's Mike Reid, Texas' Scott Appleton and Minnesota's Tom Brown. Minnesota's Bobby Bell and Utah State's Merlin Olsen – also members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame – did not make the list even if they also were deserving.
Toughest debate
Jake Scott vs. Roger Wehrli vs. Jerry Stovall. We switched this one a couple times before reaching a final verdict in the secondary. Scott had 16 interceptions in two seasons with the Bulldogs. Wehrli had 10 interceptions and was a strong returner who also went on to a Pro Football Hall of Fame career. This, however, is a college list. We gave Scott the nod in the secondary. LSU's Jerry Stovall – who played halfback and finished second in the Heisman Trophy – made our secondary with seven interceptions at safety.
