Gerald Lynn Skinner (September 12, 1954 – November 17, 2018) was a former player 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). He was selected in the fourth round of the

1977 NFL Draft The 1977 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 3–4, 1977, at the Roosevelt Hotel ...

by the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

and later played 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 ...

during the

1978 NFL season The 1978 NFL season was the 59th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded the regular season from a 14-game schedule to 16 games, which it remained in place until 2021 when it was increased to 17 games. Furthermore, ...

. Skinner was an All-SWC selection as an offensive tackle after his senior season at Arkansas. He helped the Razorbacks win a share of the 1975 Southwest Conference Championship by beating #2 Texas A&M in the season finale. Arkansas would finish 10-2 and ranked in the Top Ten after a victory over the Georgia Bulldogs in the

1976 Cotton Bowl Classic The 1976 Cotton Bowl Classic was a post-season college football bowl game between the co-Southwest Conference champion Arkansas Razorbacks"Major Conference Champions.1975 SWC Champions.Infoplease.com. Retrieved on April 11, 2010. and the Georgia B ...

. After his playing days were over, Skinner earned a master's degree at the

University of Central Arkansas The University of Central Arkansas (Central Arkansas or UCA) is a public university in Conway, Arkansas. Founded in 1907 as the Arkansas State Normal School, the university is one of the oldest in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As the state's only n ...

, and spent a number of years as a teacher and football coach in

Conway, Arkansas Conway is a city in the U.S. state of Arkansas and the county seat of Faulkner County, located in the state's most populous Metropolitan Statistical Area, Central Arkansas. Although considered a suburb of Little Rock, Conway is unusual in that ...

. He would go on to be a project manager for Fort Smith Glass Company and Overhead Door. Skinner died unexpectedly from a heart attack. Memorial contributions were made to the

American Heart Association The American Heart Association (AHA) is a nonprofit organization in the United States that funds cardiovascular medical research, educates consumers on healthy living and fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and death ...

in his honor.

References

1954 births 2018 deaths Malvern High School (Arkansas) alumni People from Malvern, Arkansas Players of American football from Arkansas Green Bay Packers players Arkansas Razorbacks football players {{offensive-lineman-1950s-stub