Booker Tyrone Edgerson (born July 5, 1939) is an American former 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 ...

player who was a

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

in the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

(AFL) and

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). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Western Illinois Leathernecks The Western Illinois Leathernecks are the teams and athletes that represent Western Illinois University, located in Macomb, Illinois, in NCAA Division I sports. The school is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference. Its football team is a member ...

. He became a cornerstone of the AFL's

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

' defense in the mid-1960s, at left cornerback.

Early life and education

Booker was born in

Baxter County, Arkansas Baxter County is a County (United States), county in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas. Created as Arkansas's 66th county on March 24, 1873, the county has eight incorporated municipalities, including Mountain Home, Arkansas, Mountain Home, its ...

. A four-year letterman (football,

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

); in 1959 and 1960, he led the

Western Illinois University Western Illinois University (WIU) is a public university in Macomb, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. As the normal school grew, it became Western Illinois State Teachers College. Once West ...

(WIU) football team to the only consecutive undefeated seasons in school history, and is in the WIU Hall of Fame.

Career

Professional football

He signed as a free agent with the Bills in 1962 and stepped into a starting role at left cornerback. He made a career-high six

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

s (including two in his first game, against Hall of Famer

George Blanda George Frederick Blanda (September 17, 1927 – September 27, 2010) was an American professional American football, football quarterback and placekicker who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). Blanda ...

), and was named to the AFL All-Rookie team. Edgerson's college background as a sprinter and

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

er served him well in the demanding role of man-to-man pass coverage. The AFL featured many dangerous receivers at that time including

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

Lance Alworth Lance Dwight Alworth (born August 3, 1940), nicknamed "Bambi", is an American former professional football wide receiver who played for the San Diego Chargers of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL), and the Dal ...

. But Edgerson became one of the key components of the league's best defense, and he was the only man ever to catch Alworth from behind in a game. Edgerson appeared in playoffs four consecutive years, and in three straight

AFL Championship For its first nine seasons, 1960 through 1968, the American Football League determined its champion via a single playoff game between the winners of its two divisions (although ties in the standings in 1963 (Eastern) and 1968 (Western) necessitat ...

games. The Bills beat the San Diego Chargers in 1964 and again in 1965, when Edgerson was selected as an American Football League All-Star. Edgerson had 23 interceptions in his eight-year career in Buffalo, and scored on two, including one against

Joe Namath Joseph William Namath (; ; born May 31, 1943), nicknamed "Broadway Joe", is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seaso ...

. He also forced and returned a

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

for the deciding score in a 1969 game against 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 ...

, played in

blizzard A blizzard is a severe Winter storm, snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow th ...

conditions.

Business

After retiring from professional football, Edgerson worked for the telephone company. He then ran a travel agency for a few years, before filing for bankruptcy in 1974. He then became a special consultant to the city of Buffalo, to assess the feasability of renovating

War Memorial Stadium War Memorial Stadium may refer to: * Ada War Memorial Stadium, in Ada, Ohio, also known as ''War Memorial Stadium'' * War Memorial Stadium (Arkansas), Little Rock, Arkansas * War Memorial Stadium (Austin, Texas) (former official name 1924–1947), ...

. Edgerson then worked with the National Alliance of Businessmen (NAB) on a program to help ex-convicts find employment. In 1978, he started working as a marketing representative for

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

Public service

Edgerson retired to Buffalo, where he has been involved in numerous charitable endeavors through the Bills Alumni. Edgerson wrote the foreword to ''The Cookie That Did Not Crumble'', the autobiography of his former teammate,

Cookie Gilchrist Carlton Chester "Cookie" Gilchrist (May 25, 1935 – January 10, 2011) was an American football fullback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was named the AFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) ...

Awards and recognition

Edgerson was the 1993 recipient of the Ralph C. Wilson Award. He is a member of the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. He was selected to be the 2010

Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

inductee where his name was revealed during a halftime ceremony on October 3 during the Bills game against AFC rival

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edgerson, Booker 1939 births Living people American football cornerbacks Buffalo Bills players Denver Broncos players Western Illinois Leathernecks baseball players Western Illinois Leathernecks football players American Football League All-Star players People from Baxter County, Arkansas Players of American football from Arkansas American Football League players Western Illinois Leathernecks men's track and field athletes