Roy Charles Winston (September 15, 1940 – March 5, 2022) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player. He played 15 seasons as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Minnesota Vikings. Winston graduated from Louisiana State University, where he was a standout offensive guard and linebacker in the 10–7 LSU victory over arch-rival Ole Miss in 1961. Following the season he was named a unanimous All-American as LSU finished as Southeastern Conference co-champions with Alabama. LSU finished the regular season 9-1 and ranked fourth in the polls, then defeated Colorado 25–7 in the Orange Bowl. He was drafted in the fourth round of the

1962 NFL Draft The 1962 National Football League draft was held on December 4, 1961 at the Sheraton Hotel in Chicago, Illinois. The Washington Redskins used the first overall pick of the draft to select running back Ernie Davis, then subsequently traded him ...

by the Vikings, for whom he played until he retired after the 1976 season. During that time, he was one of 11 players to play in all four of the Vikings

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

appearances (

Super Bowl IV Super Bowl IV was an American football game played on January 11, 1970 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was the fourth and final AFL–NFL World Championship Game in professional football prior to the AFL–NFL merger taking eff ...

, Super Bowl VIII, Super Bowl IX, Super Bowl XI). Winston started the first three Viking Super Bowls at left (strong side) linebacker; by time the Vikings reached Super Bowl XI, he was a reserve, replaced in the starting lineup by Matt Blair. Winston's counterpart at right (weak side) linebacker,

Wally Hilgenberg Walter William "Wally" Hilgenberg (September 19, 1942 – September 23, 2008) was a professional American football player. A linebacker, he played 16 seasons in the National Football League, four with the Detroit Lions and 12 with the Minnesota V ...

, also played in all four Viking Super Bowls, as did fellow defenders

Carl Eller Carl Eller (born January 25, 1942) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) from 1964 through 1979. He was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and played college football ...

, Alan Page, Jim Marshall and Paul Krause. Winston delivered one of the most devastating tackles ever filmed. In a game against the Miami Dolphins in 1972,

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 ...

Larry Csonka circled out into the flat to catch a pass. Just as he caught the pass, Winston hit him from behind with such force that the 240-pound Csonka was nearly cut in half. The tackle was so grotesque it was shown on '' The Tonight Show''. Csonka dropped the ball and rolled on the field in agony. He thought his back was broken and literally crawled off the field (he was not seriously injured, however). After their respective retirements from the NFL, Winston and Csonka remained close friends. Csonka invited Winston to be his guest when Csonka was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In 1976, Winston was inducted into the LSU Hall of Fame; in 1991, into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in Natchitoches. Winston died on March 5, 2022, at the age of 81.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winston, Roy 1940 births 2022 deaths Players of American football from Baton Rouge, Louisiana People from Morgan City, Louisiana All-American college football players American football linebackers LSU Tigers football players Minnesota Vikings players