Cecil Dowdy (May 9, 1945 – November 24, 2002) 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 ...

player who was an

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

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). 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

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the Na ...

from 1964 through 1966. He was a member of both the

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

and

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

teams. Dowdy was also named a

unanimous All-American The College Football All-America Team is an honorific college football all-star team compiled after each NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) season to recognize that season's most outstanding performers at their respective positions. ...

in 1966.

Playing career

College

After a successful

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

playing career at Cherokee Vocational High School that culminated with his selection to the 16th annual

AHSAA The Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA), based in Montgomery, is the governing body for interscholastic athletics and activities programs for public schools in Alabama. The AHSAA is a member National Federation of State High S ...

All-Star Game in 1963, Dowdy enrolled at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

with an

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private school, private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on their ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the U ...

to play on the

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

. After he played on the freshman football squad for the 1963 season, Dowdy stated as an

for the three years that followed. Over those three seasons, Alabama amassed an overall record of 30 wins, two losses and one tie (30–2–1) and won three

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC) championships and two

national championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

. In recognition for his play on the field, Dowdy was recognized as a unanimous selection to the

1966 College Football All-America Team The 1966 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1966. The NCAA recognizes six selectors as "official" ...

as an offensive tackle. He was also awarded the

Jacobs Blocking Trophy The Jacobs Blocking Trophy is the name of several similar annual college football awards bestowed by a conference upon their best blocker. The awards are named in honor of William P. Jacobs, son of the founder and president of Presbyterian Colleg ...

in 1966 as the best blocker in the SEC as selected by the coaches.

Professional

Dowdy was selected in the ninth round (230th overall) of the

1967 NFL/AFL draft The 1967 NFL/AFL draft was conducted March 14–15, 1967, at the Gotham Hotel in New York City. It was the first common draft between the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL), part of the AFL–NFL merger agreeme ...

by the

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 ...

. After spending a season with the Browns with limited playing time, Dowdy was traded to the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

ahead of the 1968 season, where he was a member of their practice squad. In April 1969, Dowdy signed with the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

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 ...

. He was later waived by the team in July 1969.

Death

Dowdy died on November 24, 2002, at

Helena, Arkansas Helena is the eastern portion of Helena–West Helena, Arkansas, a city in Phillips County, Arkansas, located on the west bank of the Mississippi River. It was founded in 1833 by Nicholas Rightor and is named after the daughter of Sylvanus Phil ...

at the age of 57. His death was ruled accidental after his

shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, peppergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which discharges numerous small ...

discharged and hit him in his lower jaw when he was retrieving a duck he hit during a

hunting trip "Hunting Trip" is the tenth episode of the second season of American comedy television series '' Parks and Recreation'', and the sixteenth overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on November 19, 2009. In ...

Lambrook, Arkansas Lambrook is an unincorporated community in Phillips County, Arkansas, United States. Lambrook is located on Arkansas Highway 20, west-northwest of Elaine. Lambrook has a post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that ...

. He was pronounced dead at 11:45 a.m at Helena Regional Medical Center.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dowdy, Cecil 1945 births 2002 deaths People from Colbert County, Alabama Players of American football from Alabama American football offensive tackles All-American college football players Alabama Crimson Tide football players Cleveland Browns players Los Angeles Rams players Saskatchewan Roughriders players Hunting accident deaths Accidental deaths in Arkansas Deaths by firearm in Arkansas Firearm accident victims in the United States