| Date of birth: | July 3, 1944 |
| Place of birth: | Windsor, NC |
| Career information | |
|---|---|
| Position(s): | Defensive tackle |
| College: | Elizabeth City State |
| NFL Draft: | 1965 / Round: 11 / Pick: 145 |
| Organizations | |
| As player: | |
| 1965-1978 | Dallas Cowboys |
| Playing stats at NFL.com | |
Jethro Pugh, Jr. (born July 3, 1944 in Windsor, North Carolina) is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys.
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College career
After going to high school at Southwestern (Windsor, NC), Pugh attended Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina, where he was an All-CIAA defensive end in 1963 and 1964.
In 1979, he was inducted into the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Hall of Fame.
He was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African Americans.[1]
Professional career
He was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the 11th round of the 1965 NFL Draft.
Pugh started his professional career as a defensive end, but at the end of the 1966 season, he was moved to left defensive tackle replacing Jim Colvin in the starting lineup.
He played with the Cowboys for his entire career, from 1965 through 1978. His 14 seasons, represent the fourth-longest career in Cowboys history, Only Ed "Too Tall" Jones, Bill Bates and Mark Tuinei played more years.
Although he was widely regarded as an excellent player, he was never voted to a Pro Bowl. Pugh's achievements as a professional athlete, were largely overshadowed for most of his career by his defensive line teammates, who were Pro Bowl regulars. When Pugh started, he had to compete for attention with Hall of Famer Bob Lilly and George Andrie; when they retired, Pugh played in the same defensive line with Randy White, Harvey Martin and Ed "Too Tall" Jones.
Even though he was a physical player against the run, he utilized his athletism to become a great pass rusher for a defensive tackle.
While Quarterback sacks were not an official NFL statistic during Pugh's career, he is unofficially credited with a career total of 95.5.[2] He led the Cowboys in sacks each season from 1968-1973[3] with a high mark of 15.5 in 1968[4].
During one amazing stretch of his Cowboys career (1968-1973), Pugh averaged 12 1/2 sacks.
He ranks fifth on the Cowboys all-time sacks list.
Pugh helped the Cowboys win 4 NFC Championships, 2 Super Bowls, and qualify for the NFL post-season for 13th straight seasons (played a total of 23 playoff games).
In 1980 he was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.
Post-Football life
Pugh owns a number of Western-themed gift shops at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in Texas. He also hosts an annual Jethro Pugh Celebrity Golf Tournament in Dallas to raise funds for the United Negro College Fund.[5]
References
External links
- Database Football: Jethro Pugh
- Cowboys Top 50 Players of All-Time
- Former Cowboy Jethro Pugh offers a lot
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