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"When I’m in the game I can’t think of anything else.”
(Oklahoma)...6'3'', 256...Lee Roy Selmon ... First-ever draft pick of Buccaneers, 1976 ... Soon recognized among elite NFL defenders ... Career stats: 78 1/2 sacks, 380 quarterback pressures, forced 28 1/2 fumbles, recovered 10 ... Key member of Tampa Bay's NFC Central title teams, 1979, 1981 ... All-Pro 1979, 1980, 1982. . .All-NFC five times ... Elected to six Pro Bowls ... NFL Defensive Lineman of Year, 1979 ... Born October 20, 1954, in Eufaula, Oklahoma ... Died September 4, 2011, at age of 56.
Lee Roy Selmon, a 6-3, 256-pound consensus All-America in 1975 at the University of Oklahoma, was the first-ever draft pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers franchise in 1976. The winner of both the Lombardi and Outland trophies as the outstanding college lineman in 1975, the defensive right end immediately established himself at as the leader of the Buccaneers defensive unit that would eventually produce two NFC Central Division championships in the team's first six seasons.
Selmon, who was born in Eufaula, Oklahoma, joined his brother Dewey on the first Tampa Bay team. Dewey, a year older, was a second-round draft pick. A defensive tackle/linebacker, he played in Tampa Bay until 1980.
Although he missed six games due to injuries as a rookie, he was named the Bucs’ Rookie of the Year and the team’s Most Valuable Player. He battled injuries during two of his first three seasons, but starting in 1978 he was named first- or second-team All-Pro five times. He also was also All-NFC choice five times, and was named to six straight Pro Bowls from 1980 to 1985. With four sacks, he was co-Player of the Game in the 1982 Pro Bowl.
Four times the NFL Players Association named Lee Roy the NFC Defensive Lineman of the Year and he was a unanimous choice as NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1979. Selmon was a major factor in the Bucs' first winning season, which was concluded with a 9-0 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the 1979 NFC Championship Game. Lee Roy had 11 sacks and a career-best 117 tackles that year. He had three sacks in one game four times. A back injury, which forced him to miss the entire 1985 season, brought a premature end to his outstanding career.
Championship Games
1979 NFC – Los Angeles Rams 9, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 0 Selmon started at right defensive end. He left the game with a sprained knee early in the second half and did not return. He did not register any statistics.
All-NFL: 1979 (AP, PFWA, NEA, PW), 1980 (PFWA, NEA, SN), 1982 (PFWA, NEA)
All-NFL Second Team: 1978 (AP, NEA), 1980 (AP), 1982 (AP), 1984 (NEA)
All-NFC: 1978 (UPI, SN), 1979 (UPI, SN, PW), 1980 (UPI), 1982 (UPI), 1984 (UPI, PW)
All-NFC Second Team: 1977 (UPI), 1983 (UPI)
(6) – 1980*, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985
*Did not play
Buccaneers’ records held by Selmon (Records through the 1984 season, Selmon’s final season with Tampa Bay) • [1st] Most Sacks, Game – 3 (vs. New Orleans, Oct. 23, 1983; at Detroit, Dec. 14, 1980; at Minnesota, Sept. 17, 1978; at New Orleans, Dec. 11, 1977) • [1st] Most Sacks, Season – 13 (1977) • [1st] Most Sacks, Career – 78.5 • [1st] Most Quarterback Pressures, Season – 72 (1980) • [1st] Most Opponents Fumbles Caused, Career – 27.5 • [2nd] Most Sacks, Season – 11 (1978, 1979, 1983) • [2nd] Most Tackles, Career - 742 • [Tied for 2nd] Most Opponents Fumbles Caused, Season – 5 (1977, 1981)
Team Statistical Championships Sack Titles: 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984
• 1979 NFL Defensive Player of the Year (AP, PFWA) • NFL's All-Decade Team of the 1980s
Full Name: Lee Roy Selmon Birthdate: Ocotber 20, 1954 Birthplace: Eufaula, Oklahoma Died: September 4, 2011 in Tampa, Florida High School: Eufaula (OK) Elected to Pro Football Hall of Fame: January 28, 1995 Enshrined into Pro Football Hall of Fame: July 29, 1995 Presenter: Dewey Selmon, Lee Roy's brother and teammate Other Members of Class of 1995: Jim Finks, Henry Jordan, Steve Largent, Kellen Winslow Pro Career: 9 Seasons, 121 games Drafted: 1st round (1st player overall) in 1976 by Tampa Bay Buccaneers Uniform Number: 63