Nicholas George Roman (September 23, 1947 – May 18, 2003) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

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who played five seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) with the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

and

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

. He was selected by the Bengals in the tenth round of the

1970 NFL draft The 1970 NFL draft was the 35th National Football League draft and the first of the league's modern era, following the merger of the National Football League with the American Football League. It was held on January 27–28, 1970, at the Belmont ...

after playing

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Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

Early life and college

Nicholas George Roman was born on September 23, 1947, in

Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in Stark County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, eighth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 70,872 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Canton–Massillo ...

. He attended

Canton McKinley High School McKinley Senior High School is a public high school in Canton, Ohio, United States. It is the only secondary school in the Canton City School District and has two campuses: Downtown Campus (mostly known as Early College High School or Timken H ...

in Canton. He was inducted into the Stark County High School Football Hall of Fame in 2019. Roman was a member of the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree, ...

from 1965 to 1969. He was a

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in 1966, 1967, and 1969. Roman enrolled in

Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC; or ) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...

(ROTC) in 1968 due to thinking he would get drafted. However, he suffered a knee injury during ROTC training and missed the entire 1968 football season. The 1968 Buckeyes were consensus national champions.

Professional career

Roman was selected by the

in the 10th round, with the 241st overall pick, of the

. He officially signed with the team on August 4. He played in four games for the Bengals in 1970 and posted one sack. He also appeared in one playoff game that year. Roman played in 12 games during the 1971 season, recording one sack and one fumble recovery. He was released by the Bengals on September 12, 1972. Roman signed with the

on October 4, 1972. He appeared in ten games, starting seven, for the Browns in 1972, totaling 3.5 sacks and one interception that he returned 36 yards for a touchdown. He also started a playoff game that year, posting 1.3 sacks. Roman started all 14 games for the Browns in 1973, recording 6.5 sacks, as the team finished 7–5–2. He became a free agent after the 1973 season and re-signed with Cleveland on August 20, 1974. He played in 12 games, starting nine, in 1974, recording 3.5 sacks and four fumble recoveries for 47 yards. Roman was released by the Browns on February 12, 1975. Roman was signed by the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

on March 4, 1975. However, he was later released. Roman signed with the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

in 1976 but was later released.

Personal life

Roman's parents were Romanian immigrants. His brother, Dan Roman, played college football for the

Purdue Boilermakers The Purdue Boilermakers are the official college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana. As is common with athletic nicknames, the Boilermakers nickname ...

. Nick died of a heart attack at his home in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

on May 18, 2003.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman, Nick 1947 births 2003 deaths Players of American football from Canton, Ohio Players of Canadian football from Ohio American football defensive ends Canadian football defensive linemen American people of Romanian descent Ohio State Buckeyes football players Cincinnati Bengals players Cleveland Browns players Kansas City Chiefs Toronto Argonauts players Romanian players of American football