Alex John "Buck" Lansford (born November 4, 1933) is an American former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was an

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

and the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

. He was named to the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

once. Lansford played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and a ...

and was selected in the second round of the

1955 NFL Draft The 1955 NFL season, 1955 National Football League NFL draft, draft was held January 27–28, 1955 at the Warwick New York Hotel, Warwick Hotel in New York City. This was the ninth year that the List of first overall National Football League Dra ...

High school and college career

Lansford played high school football at Carrizo Springs High School. After graduating, he attended the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

and played as a tackle for them starting in 1951. His older brother, James "Longhorn Jim" Lansford, also played for the University of Texas. In 1952, Lansford played in the left tackle position. In 1953 he was nominated for the

College Football All-America Team The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best college football players in the United States at their respective positions. The original use of the term ''All-America'' seems to have been to the 1889 College Football ...

but was not ultimately selected. Lansford was made one of three team captains for the Texas Longhorns in 1954. That year, he was described as the "leed

Steer Steer, Steers or Steering may refer to: Animals * Steer or bullock, castrated male cattle * Ox, a steer used as a draft animal People * Steer (surname) * Steers (surname) Places * Steer Creek (West Virginia), a tributary of the Little K ...

" of Texas' offense and was again unsuccessfully nominated for the All-America team.

Professional career

Lansford was selected by the

in the second round of the

. He re-signed with the Eagles in 1956. That same year, he was selected to the

1956 Pro Bowl The 1956 Pro Bowl was the National Football League's sixth annual all-star game which featured top performers from the 1955 season. The game was played on January 15, 1956, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California in front ...

. In 1957 he was named an

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list th ...

player. The Eagles would not have another All-Pro offensive lineman until

Jermane Mayberry Jermane Timothy Mayberry (born August 29, 1973) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive guard in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected in the first round of the 1996 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Ea ...

in 2002. In 1958 Lansford and Jimmy Harris were traded to the

in exchange for quarterback

Norm Van Brocklin Norman Mack Van Brocklin (March 15, 1926 – May 2, 1983), nicknamed "The Dutchman", was an American football quarterback and coach who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He spent his first nine seasons with the Los Ang ...

. Lansford was made a captain on the Rams and played for the team through the 1960 season but quit the team partway through training camp in 1961 after a dispute over being made backup. As he was still under contract with the Rams, they attempted to arrange for him to be traded to the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

but no deal was ultimately made. After three years absence from professional football, Lansford was signed to the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...

in August 1965. At the end of the month, Lansford announced his intention to formally retire and returned home to

Lampasas, Texas Lampasas ( ) is a city in Lampasas County, Texas, United States. Its population was 7,291 at the 2020 census. It is the seat of Lampasas County. Lampasas is part of the Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood metropolitan statistical area. History ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lansford, Buck 1933 births Living people American football offensive linemen Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players Los Angeles Rams players Philadelphia Eagles players Texas Longhorns football players