Leroy Jackson (born December 8, 1939) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a halfback for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Western Illinois Leathernecks The Western Illinois Leathernecks are the teams and athletes that represent Western Illinois University, located in Macomb, Illinois, in NCAA Division I sports. The school is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference. Its football team is a member ...

and is a member of the school's Athletic Hall of Fame. He was among the first black players to play for the Redskins in 1962, who were the last NFL team to racially integrate. On December 8, 1962, his 23rd birthday, Jackson caught an 85-yard

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

pass for the Redskins from quarterback

Norm Snead Norman Bailey Snead (July 31, 1939 – January 14, 2024) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Washington Redskins, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, New ...

in a 34–21 loss to the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...

. He had been a first-round NFL draft pick of the Cleveland Browns, the 11th player selected in the 1962 draft. Jackson, along with Bobby Mitchell, was traded by the Browns to the Washington Redskins in exchange for Ernie Davis in 1962. Jackson was the Illinois state champion in the 100-yard dash three years in a row for Bloom High School from 1956 to 1958.

References

1939 births Living people American football running backs Sportspeople from Chicago Heights, Illinois Players of American football from Cook County, Illinois Washington Redskins players Western Illinois Leathernecks football players Irons family (American football) Bloom High School alumni 20th-century American sportsmen {{runningback-1930s-stub