Eugene Oliver Cockrell (June 10, 1934 – May 16, 2020) was an

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 wi ...

offensive tackle who played three seasons with the New York Titans of the American Football League (AFL). He was drafted by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

of 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) in the 28th round of the

1957 NFL Draft The 1957 National Football League draft had its first four rounds held on November 26, 1956, at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia and its final twenty-six rounds on January 31, 1957 at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel also in Philadelphia. This wa ...

. He played college football at Oklahoma and Hardin–Simmons. He was also a member of the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in ...

of the

Western Interprovincial Football Union The West Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League (CFL), its counterpart being the East Division. Although the CFL was not founded until 1958, the West Division and its clubs are descended from earlier leagu ...

(WIFU). He was inducted into the Texas Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.

Early years and college career

Cockrell attended Pampa High School in

Pampa, Texas Pampa (from the Quechua: ''pampa'', meaning "plain") is a city in Gray County, Texas, United States. Its population was 16,867 as of the 2020 census. Pampa is the county seat of Gray County and is the principal city of the Pampa micropolit ...

. He first played college football for the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early participants in the Land Ru ...

of the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

. He left the University due to his job as a professional on the rodeo circuit. He re-enrolled in school to play for the Hardin–Simmons Cowboys of

Hardin–Simmons University Hardin–Simmons University (HSU) is a private Baptist university in Abilene, Texas. It is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas (Southern Baptist Convention). History Hardin–Simmons University was founded as Abilene Baptist ...

after concluding, with the help of

Sammy Baugh Samuel Adrian Baugh (March 17, 1914 – December 17, 2008) was an American professional football player and coach. During his college and professional careers, he most notably played quarterback, but also played as a safety and punter. He ...

, that he should return to college.

Professional career

Cockrell was selected by the

of the NFL with the 330th pick in the

. He played in twelve games for the WIFU's

in 1957. He played for the New York Titans of the AFL from 1960 to 1962. He died on May 16, 2020, in Decatur, Texas at age 85.

References

External links

Just Sports Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cockrell, Gene 1934 births 2020 deaths American football offensive tackles Canadian football offensive linemen American players of Canadian football Oklahoma Sooners football players Hardin–Simmons Cowboys football players Saskatchewan Roughriders players New York Titans (AFL) players Players of American football from Texas People from Pampa, Texas