David Euell Roller (born October 28, 1949) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

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). Prior to his professional career, Roller 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

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

, where he received multiple commendations for his athletic accomplishments, including induction into the

Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame The Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame is a sports hall of fame for the U.S. state of Kentucky established in 1963. Individuals are inducted annually at a banquet in Louisville, Kentucky, Louisville and receive a bronze plaque inside Louisville's Freedo ...

. Roller was drafted by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

in the 13th round of the

1971 NFL Draft The 1971 National Football League draft was held January 28–29, 1971, at the Belmont Plaza Hotel in New York City, New York. The Boston Patriots, who did not officially change their name to New England Patriots until after the draft, used th ...

as the 330th overall pick. He played for the Giants for one season, before a brief stint playing in the

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 and most of its second in 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest t ...

. He returned to the NFL in 1975 with the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

, where he would go on to play for four seasons. He left Green Bay in 1979 to play for the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

for two seasons before retiring from professional football. Altogether, Roller played in the NFL for seven seasons and appeared in 92 games.

Early life

Dave Roller was born in

Dayton, Tennessee Dayton is a city and county seat in Rhea County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 7,065. The Dayton Urban Cluster, which includes developed areas adjacent to the city and extends south to Graysville. Da ...

on October 28, 1949. He attended Rhea Central High School, where he was recognized as an

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n football player.

College career

Roller attended the

, where he played on the defensive line for the Kentucky Wildcats football team. Roller was an accomplished member of the Wildcats defense from 1968 to 1970. In his sophomore season, he was named to the second-team All-SEC team. He was then named to the first-team All-SEC team for his junior and senior seasons. During his college career, he participated in multiple all-star games, including the

All-American Bowl The All-American Bowl was an annual postseason college football bowl game played at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama from 1977 to 1990. The game was known as the Hall of Fame Classic from 1977 to 1985. In 1986, the National Football Foundatio ...

, the

Hula Bowl The Hula Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game held annually, usually in January. From inception through the 2021 playing, it was held in Hawaii; since the 2022 edition, it has been played in Orlando, Florida. The game was first st ...

, and

North-South Shrine Game ''North-South'' ( hy, Հյուսիս-Հարավ) or ''Four Buddies and the Bride'' is an Armenian comedy directed by Davit Babakhanyan and Vazgen Muradyan, starring Diana Malenko, Sona Shahgeldyan and David Tovmasyan. The film was produced by L ...

. In recognition of his contributions, the ''

Lexington Herald-Leader The ''Lexington Herald-Leader'' is a newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and based in Lexington, Kentucky. According to the ''1999 Editor & Publisher International Yearbook'', the paid circulation of the ''Herald-Leader'' is the second large ...

'' included him in Kentucky’s All-Time Team, he received the University of Kentucky's ''Unsung Hero Award'', and he was inducted into

. In 1986, he was also identified by writer

Stan Torgerson Stan Torgerson, (May 25, 1924 – June 26, 2006), was the announcer of the Ole Miss Rebels The Ole Miss Rebels are the 18 men's and women's intercollegiate athletic teams that are funded by and represent the University of Mississippi, located i ...

as one of the best football players in the SEC in the previous 20 years.

Professional career

Roller was drafted in the 13th round (330th overall pick) of the

by the

. He played 14 games for the Giants in the

1971 NFL season The 1971 NFL season was the 52nd regular season of the National Football League. The Boston Patriots changed their name to New England Patriots to widen their appeal to the entire New England region after moving to their new stadium in Foxbo ...

. He spent three years out of the NFL, during which he played for the

Southern California Sun The Southern California Sun were an American football team based in Anaheim, California that played in the World Football League in 1974 and 1975. Their records were 13-7 in 1974 and 7-5 in 1975. Their home stadium was Anaheim Stadium. They wer ...

in the

(WFL). He was an accomplished player in the WFL; both seasons he played for the Sun he was named to the WFL All-Star team. He was also named the defensive player of the year for one season and named to the WFL All-Time Team. In 1975 he was signed by the

, where he played for four seasons. He was well known in Green Bay for his positive interactions with fans, often showing up early or staying late to sign autographs. After a game against the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

, Roller, who weighed at the time, was even carried off the field by a number of fans, a rare event in the history of the Packers. Roller left the Packers for the

in 1978; he appeared in 30 games over two seasons with the team. During the last season of his career, he played in his first and only playoff game, a 31–16 loss to 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 ...

. Roller retired from the NFL at the end of the

1980 NFL season The 1980 NFL season was the 61st regular season of the National Football League. Prior to the season in March 1980, fellow NFL owners voted against the proposed move by the Raiders from Oakland, California to Los Angeles. Raiders team owner ...

Personal life

Roller is married with three children and multiple grandchildren. After his football career, he became a sales representative for

Lowe's Lowe's Companies, Inc. (), often shortened to Lowe's, is an American retail company specializing in home improvement. Headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina, the company operates a chain of retail stores in the United States and Canada. A ...

in the

Atlanta metropolitan area Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Alpharetta, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the ...

. Roller has faced various health issues since the conclusion of his professional football career. In response to these health issues, Roller has been part of at least four lawsuits against the NFL advocating for better financial and healthcare support for retired NFL players.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roller, Dave 1949 births Living people People from Dayton, Tennessee Players of American football from Tennessee American football defensive tackles Kentucky Wildcats football players New York Giants players Green Bay Packers players Minnesota Vikings players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Southern California Sun players