Roy Lee Jefferson (born November 9, 1943) 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 with ...

player, a wide receiver 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 ...

for twelve seasons with the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...

, and

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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

. During 162

regular season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of Se ...

games, he had 451 receptions for 7,539 yards and 52 touchdowns.

Early years

Born in Texarkana,

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 Osage ...

, Jefferson grew up in

southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and graduated from

Compton High School Compton High School is a high school in Compton, California, United States, part of the Compton Unified School District. History The school opened in 1896 as Compton Union High School and was later re-established as Compton Senior High School in ...

in 1961. He played college football at the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, where he was named the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...

Player of the Year in his senior season in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

under head coach

Ray Nagel Raymond Robert Nagel (May 18, 1927 – January 15, 2015) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He was the head football coach at the University of Utah from 1958 to 1965 and the University of Iowa from 1966 t ...

. Jefferson played on both sides of the ball and also was the

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...

; and led the Utes to 32–6 victory in the

Liberty Bowl The Liberty Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in late December or early January since 1959. For its first five years, it was played at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia before being held at Atlantic City ...

over favored

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

to finish with a 9–2 record. The game was played indoors on natural grass at the convention center in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

, and featured shortened end zones.

Playing career

Selected in the second round of the

1965 NFL draft The 1965 National Football League draft was held at the Summit Hotel in New York City on Saturday, November 28, 1964. The first player selected was Tucker Frederickson, back from Auburn, by the New York Giants. The draft was marked by the failur ...

, 18th overall, Jefferson spent his first five NFL seasons with the

(1965–1969). In

1968 The year was highlighted by 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 Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

, Jefferson led the NFL in receiving yards with 1,074. His 58 receptions and 11 touchdowns were both 2nd highest in the NFL that season. He was named 1st Team

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list th ...

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

(AP), the

Newspaper Enterprise Association The Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) is an editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1902. The oldest syndicate still in operation, the NEA was originally a secondary news ...

(NEA),

New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...

and

UPI United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...

in 1969. Jefferson finished that season with 67 receptions for 1,079 yards and nine touchdowns and became the first Steelers receiver to post back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. Despite being the Steelers' best offensive player, conflicts with head coach

Chuck Noll Chuck is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to: People Arts and entertainment * Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet * Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV producer * ...

as the team's player representative resulted in a trade to the

for Willie Richardson and a

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

fourth-round selection (104th overall–

Dwight White Dwight Lynn White (July 30, 1949 – June 6, 2008) was an American football defensive end who played for ten seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL) and was a member of the famed Steel Curtain defense. Life an ...

) in an exchange of receivers who had fallen out of favor with their old teams on August 20,

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

. With the Colts for only one season, Jefferson helped them reach and win

Super Bowl V Super Bowl V was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Baltimore Colts and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys to determine the National Football League (NFL) champio ...

. He finished the

regular season with 44 receptions for 749 yards and seven touchdowns. He caught a 45-yard touchdown pass from

Johnny Unitas John Constantine Unitas (; May 7, 1933 – September 11, 2002) was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Baltimore Colts. Following a career that spanned from 1956 ...

in the Colts 17–0 divisional playoff win over 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) AFC North, North division. The c ...

and had three receptions for 52 yards in the Colts 16–13 victory over 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 divisi ...

in the Super Bowl. A contract dispute with the Colts ended with Jefferson being dealt along with ninth-round draft picks in

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

(218th overall–

Rick Galbos Rick Galbos (born July 21, 1951) is a former American football running back who played in the Canadian Football League. Early life and high school Galbos grew up in Mentor, Ohio and attended Mentor High School, where he was a member of the track ...

) and

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

(213th overall–traded to

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

for

Joe Sweet Joe Sweet (born July 5, 1948) is a former professional wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams Sweet attended Rochelle High School in Lakeland, Florida. In college he attended Tennessee State University Tennessee State University (Tennesse ...

) to the

for

Cotton Speyrer Charles Wayne Speyrer (born April 29, 1949) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Baltimore Colts and the Miami Dolphins. He played college football at the University of Texas. Speyrer was a first- ...

and a 1973 first-rounder (25th overall–traded to

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

for

Marty Domres Martin Francis Domres ( ; born April 17, 1947) is a former American collegiate and professional football player. From Columbia University, he was drafted in the first round of the Common Draft as a quarterback by the American Football League (A ...

) on July 31, 1971. He spent six seasons with the Redskins under head coach

George Allen George Allen may refer to: Politics and law * George E. Allen (1896–1973), American political operative and one-time head coach of the Cumberland University football team * George Allen (Australian politician) (1800–1877), Mayor of Sydney and ...

, helping them reach

Super Bowl VII Super Bowl VII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Miami Dolphins and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Washington Redskins to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

, and retired after the

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

season. Jefferson was named to the

Pittsburgh Steelers Legends team The Pittsburgh Steelers Legends team represents the franchise's best players from the pre-1970 era. The team was chosen by a small group of Steeler officials and journalists and presented as a part of the Steelers' 75th season celebration in . Th ...

in 2007, as one of the best 24 Steelers players prior to 1970.

After football

After his retirement from football, Jefferson has remained in the

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

area. He had a leading role in the

blaxploitation Blaxploitation is an ethnic subgenre of the exploitation film that emerged in the United States during the early 1970s. The term, a portmanteau of the words "black" and "exploitation", was coined in August 1972 by Junius Griffin, the president o ...

feature film ''

Brotherhood of Death ''Brotherhood of Death'' is a low-budget 1976 action film in the blaxploitation genre, directed by Richard F. Barker and Bill Berry, and starring Roy Jefferson, Le Tari, and Haskell Anderson. The film featured appearances by several members, i ...

''. In the ensuing years, his endeavors have included owning a chain of

barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke t ...

restaurants with the last closing in 1992 and owning a

catering Catering is the business of providing food service at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, hospital, pub, aircraft, cruise ship, park, festival, filming location or film studio. History of catering The earliest account of major services be ...

business. As of 2006, he was working in the

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

business. He reported that he and his wife, had three children and four grandchildren.Wexell, Jim. ''Pittsburgh Steelers: Men of Steel'' (

Champaign, Illinois Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metropo ...

: Sports Publishing L.L.C., 2006) , pp. 69-73

Personal life

Jefferson is the cousin of tight end

Marv Fleming Marvin Lawrence Fleming (born January 2, 1942) is a former professional American football player, a tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, seven with the Green Bay Packers and five with the Miami Dolphins. He was a membe ...

; they were teammates in high school and college, but were on opposing sides during

. Jefferson left Utah for the NFL in 1965, but returned to school in the off-seasons and completed his bachelor's degree in June 1970.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jefferson, Roy 1943 births Living people People from Texarkana, Arkansas American football wide receivers Utah Utes football players Pittsburgh Steelers players Baltimore Colts players Washington Redskins players Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players National Conference Pro Bowl players National Football League announcers