Lee Roy Jordan (born April 27, 1941) 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 wit ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, pl ...

. After attending the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...

, playing under head coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, he played 14 years 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 ma ...

for 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 divis ...

from 1963 to 1976. He was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were v ...

in 1983.

Early years

Born and raised in

Excel ExCeL London (an abbreviation for Exhibition Centre London) is an exhibition centre, international convention centre and former hospital in the Custom House area of Newham, East London. It is situated on a site on the northern quay of the ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

, Jordan was the fifth of seven children of Walter Sr. and Cleo Jordan. He has three older brothers Walter Jr., Carl and Bennie Ray and three sisters Lottie, Agnes and Darlene (who died at age 2 of leukemia). He was a standout at

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

at Excel High School and graduated in 1959. He played college football for the

in Tuscaloosa under head coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. Jordan excelled as both a

and center for the Crimson Tide. In his sophomore season of 1960, he helped the Crimson Tide finish with an 8–1–2 record. In the Bluebonnet Bowl, versus 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 ...

, he was named the game's MVP in a 3–3 tie. The following year, Jordan was again an important part of the team as Alabama finished with an 11–0 record, a SEC Championship, and the

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

national championship. The season included six shutouts, which included a 34–0 win over rival Auburn. Led by senior quarterback

Pat Trammell Patrick Lee Trammell (July 11, 1940 – December 10, 1968) was an American college football player. He played quarterback at the University of Alabama from 1958 to 1961. In his senior season, he led the 1961 Alabama Crimson Tide football team t ...

(1940–1968), Alabama wrapped up the season with a 10–3 victory over

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the ...

in the

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed on ...

. In his senior season in

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wo ...

, the Crimson Tide fell short of another national championship with a 10–1 record with sophomore quarterback

Joe Namath Joseph William Namath (; ; born May 31, 1943) is a former American football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the New York Jets. He played college fo ...

. The loss was by one point at

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part o ...

in mid-November, their first defeat in over two years. In his final game for the Tide, Jordan recorded 31 tackles in a 17–0 victory over Oklahoma in the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in ...

, attended by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

Kennedy. For his performance, he received his second MVP award in a bowl game. At the end of his senior year, he received unanimous All-American status and the Lineman of the Year award. During his career for Alabama, Jordan received high praise from Bryant, who stated, "He was one of the finest football players the world has ever seen. If runners stayed between the sidelines, he tackled them. He never had a bad day, he was 100 percent every day in practice and in the games." In early August 1963 in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, he was part of the College All-Star team that defeated the defending champion

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) North division. It is the th ...

. In 1980, he was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. In 1983, he was inducted into the

. In 1988, he received the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award.

Professional career

Jordan was selected sixth overall in the 1963 NFL draft by the

, and was the fourteenth overall pick in the AFL draft, taken by the Boston Patriots. He chose the

NFL 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 major ...

and signed in early January. During preseason in

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

he was named the Cowboys' weakside linebacker and became the first rookie linebacker in franchise history to start a season-opener. He shared time with Jerry Tubbs at

middle linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

, then took over and teamed up with Chuck Howley and Dave Edwards to form one of the greatest linebacking corps in NFL history. His teammates nicknamed him "Killer" and named him team captain for the defense. In

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

, he had a team-record 21 tackles against

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 play ...

on September 26. On November 4,

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

, he intercepted three passes in the first quarter from the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home ...

' Ken Anderson within the span of five minutes, returning one 31 yards for a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Americ ...

. The picks were collectively named one of the ten most memorable moments in the history of Texas Stadium by

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

in 2008. Jordan was usually the smallest middle linebacker in the league at only and ( more than at Alabama), but his competitiveness and drive made up for his lack of size. Head coach Tom Landry said of Jordan, "He was a great competitor. He was not big for a middle linebacker, but because of his competitiveness, he was able to play the game and play it well. His leadership was there and he demanded a lot out of the people around him as he did of himself." He ran Landry's "Flex" defense on the field with unmatched intensity and efficiency. He watched game film endlessly; his contract included a projector for his home. He became the franchise's all-time leader in solo tackles (743) in his 14 seasons with the Cowboys. He was a two-time All-Pro and a five-time

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 ...

er. He also helped the Cowboys to three Super Bowls and five NFC Championship games. Jordan was an able defender against the run and pass, and had a penchant for recovering loose footballs. He remains tied for second in club history with 18 career fumble recoveries. More than 25 years after his retirement, Jordan still ranks second in Cowboys' history in career solo tackles with 743, second in career assisted tackles with 493, second in combined total tackles with 1,236 and first with 154 consecutive starts. He also holds the third and fourth highest totals of solo tackles in a single season with 100 in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

and 97 in

1968 The year was highlighted by Protests of 1968, protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechos ...

. In his 14 NFL seasons, he intercepted 32 passes (seventh in club history), returning them for 472 yards and three

s. He was selected to Cowboys Silver Season All-Time Team. In 1988, he was among fifteen finalists for induction into the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coac ...

but did not make the cut (among those finalists, him and Lou Rymkus are the only ones who did not eventually become elected into the Hall). In

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker ru ...

, he became the seventh member of the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor. He was the first member inducted by Jerry Jones. In 2018, the

Professional Football Researchers Association The Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA) is an organization of researchers whose mission is to preserve and, in some cases, reconstruct professional football history. It was founded on June 22, 1979 in Canton, Ohio by writer/hist ...

named Jordan to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2018

Personal life

Jordan married his college sweetheart, Mary "Biddie" Banks of Eutaw, and they had three sons, David, Lee and Chris Jordan. Jordan currently heads the Lee Roy Jordan

Lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...

Company, headquartered in Dallas.

Video

Alabama Crimson Tide football
– 1963 Orange Bowl

References

External links