Roy Charles Winston (September 15, 1940 – March 5, 2022) was an American professional football player. He played 15 seasons 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, ...

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 ...

(NFL) for the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

. Winston graduated from

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

, where he was a standout

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict in ...

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 The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

co-champions with

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

. LSU finished the regular season 9-1 and ranked fourth in the polls, then defeated

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

25–7 in the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game ...

. 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 appearances ( Super Bowl IV,

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

Super Bowl IX Super Bowl IX was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Minnesota Vikings to decide the National Football League (NFL) cha ...

Super Bowl XI Super Bowl XI was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Oakland Raiders and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Minnesota Vikings to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for i ...

). 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 Albert Matthew Blair (September 20, 1950 – October 22, 2020) was an American professional football player who was an outside linebacker for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL) for all 12 seasons of his career from 1974 ...

. Winston's counterpart at right (weak side) linebacker, Wally Hilgenberg, also played in all four Viking Super Bowls, as did fellow defenders Carl Eller,

Alan Page Alan Cedric Page (born August 7, 1945) is an American retired judge and former professional football He gained national recognition as a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) during 15 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings and C ...

, Jim Marshall and

Paul Krause Paul James Krause (born February 19, 1942) is a former American football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL). Gifted with a great frame, speed and range, Krause established himself as a defensive force against opposing wide ...

. Winston delivered one of the most devastating tackles ever filmed. In a game against the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

in 1972, fullback

Larry Csonka Larry Richard Csonka (; born December 25, 1946) is a former professional American football fullback who played for the Miami Dolphins for the majority of his career, along with the New York Giants for three years, and a short stint with the Me ...

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 ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...

''. 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 The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...

. In 1976, Winston was inducted into the

LSU Hall of Fame The Louisiana State University Athletic Hall of Fame recognizes members of the LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers athletics program that have made a lasting impact on Louisiana State University (LSU). To be eligible for the Hall of Fame in the Athlete ca ...

; in 1991, into the

Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame is located in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame & Northwest Louisiana History Museum – Natchitoches in a new facility in the downtown historic district in Natchitoches, Louisiana. After years of planning and con ...

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