Roy Haynes "Monk" Gafford, Jr. (October 1, 1920 – February 19, 1987) 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 with ...

player. He 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

Auburn Tigers football The Auburn Tigers football program represents Auburn University in the sport of American college football. Auburn competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Western Division o ...

team and gained 1,004 yards rushing in 1942 with an average of 7.6 yards per carry. He was selected by the

International News Service The International News Service (INS) was a U.S.-based news agency (newswire) founded by newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst in 1909.

as a first-team halfback on the

1942 College Football All-America Team The 1942 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1942. The nine selectors recognized by the ...

. He was selected by the Steagles with the 17th pick in the

1943 NFL Draft The 1943 National Football League Draft was held on April 8, 1943, at the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago, Illinois. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Detroit Lions selected running back Frank Sinkwich. This draft is the first NFL draf ...

. However, his professional football career was delayed due to military service during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After the war, Gafford played three seasons in the AAFC with the

Miami Seahawks The Miami Seahawks were a professional American football team based in Miami, Florida. They played in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) in the league's inaugural season, 1946, before the team was relocated to Baltimore. They are notable ...

in 1946 and the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

in the 1946, 1947 and 1948 seasons. He was the president of a steel plant in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

, for 28 years. He returned to Alabama in his retirement and died of cancer in 1987 at age 66.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gafford, Monk 1920 births 1987 deaths Auburn Tigers football players American football halfbacks Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL) players Miami Seahawks players Players of American football from Alabama People from Lowndes County, Alabama Deaths from cancer in Alabama American military personnel of World War II