Place of birth: Brenham, Texas Name Wilson Whitley Education University of Houston Role American football player Positions Tackle | High school: Brenham (TX) Height 1.91 m Awards Lombardi Award College: Houston Weight 120 kg | |
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Date of birth: (1955-04-28)April 28, 1955 Date of death: October 27, 1992(1992-10-27) (aged 37) Died October 27, 1992, Marietta, Georgia, United States | ||
Place of death: Marietta, Georgia | ||
Wilson Whitley: Football Defensive Tackle
Wilson Whitley (May 28, 1955 – October 27, 1992) was a consensus All-American defensive tackle at the University of Houston from 1972-1976 under defensive coordinator Don Todd. He led the Cougars to the Southwest Conference championship in football during Houston's first season as a conference member and won the 1976 Lombardi Award as the nation's top lineman. Former President Gerald Ford presented him the award at a ceremony in Houston, Texas.
Whitley was drafted in the first round by the Cincinnati Bengals and started alongside another Lombardi Award winner, Ross Browner, for 6 seasons. He was later named to the Southwest Conference "All Decade Team" for the 1970s.
Whitley died at the age of 37, due to a heart condition. He is a 1998 inductee into University of Houston's Hall of Honor and was a perennial candidate for the National College Football Hall of Fame until his selection in 2007.