Sammy Joe Odom (November 13, 1941 - January 18, 2001) was a professional football player, who played for the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...

in 1964. Odom was born November 13, 1941, in

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...

, and attended Minden High School in

Minden, Louisiana Minden is a city and parish seat in Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is located twenty-eight miles east of Shreveport. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 13,082. History Minden was established in 1836 by Charl ...

, and then

Northwestern State University Northwestern State University of Louisiana (NSU) is a public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Polk and Alexandria. It is a part of the Univer ...

, playing for the

Northwestern State Demons football The Northwestern State Demons football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Northwestern State University located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (F ...

as a

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, p ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

in the

Gulf States Conference The Gulf States Conference (GSC) was an College athletics, intercollegiate athletic college football, football conference that existed from 1948 to 1971. The league had members in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Many of the league's members f ...

. He was drafted in the seventh round of the

1964 NFL Draft The 1964 National Football League draft was held in Chicago, Illinois, at the Sheraton Hotel & Towers on Monday, December 2, 1963. The first overall pick was Dave Parks, an end from Texas Tech, selected by the San Francisco 49ers. The AFL dra ...

with pick 95 by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

and pick 78 in the tenth round of the 1964 AFL Draft by the

He opted to go to the Oilers and played fourteen games as a

with the Oilers in 1964, making two interceptions for 22 yards. The following year he moved to the

Richmond Rebels The Richmond Rebels were one of eight teams in the United States Baseball League, and were based in Richmond, Virginia. The league collapsed within two months of its creation from May 1 to June 24, 1912. The Rebels were managed by Alfred Newma ...

, as part of their inaugural team playing in the newly established

Continental Football League The Continental Football League (COFL) was a professional American football minor league that operated in North America from 1965 through 1969. It was established following the collapse of the original United Football League, and hoped to beco ...

. He did not play a game for the team and was delisted. Odom died on January 18, 2001, in

Mansfield, Louisiana Mansfield is a small city in, and the parish seat of, DeSoto Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,001 at the 2010 census, a decline of more than 10 percent from the 2000 tabulation. Mansfield is 77 percent African Americ ...

References

1941 births 2001 deaths People from Shreveport, Louisiana Players of American football from Louisiana American football linebackers Northwestern State Demons football players Houston Oilers players {{DEFAULTSORT:Odom, Sammy