Cecil Dowdy (May 9, 1945 – November 24, 2002) was an American

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

player and businessman. He played

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

for the University of Alabama Crimson Tide 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 Patriarch ...

and

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime 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 Lyndo ...

national championship teams. Dowdy was also 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" f ...

Playing career

College

After a successful high school playing career at Cherokee Vocational High School that culminated with his selection to the 16th annual AHSAA All-Star Game in 1963, Dowdy enrolled at the University of Alabama with an athletic scholarship to play on the football team. 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 (SEC) championships and two

national championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or 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 best team, i ...

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

as an offensive tackle. He was also awarded the Jacobs Blocking Trophy 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 Draft The 1967 National Football League draft was conducted March 14–15, 1967, at the Gotham Hotel in New York City. It was the first common draft with the AFL, part of the AFL–NFL merger agreement of June 1966. This draft was delayed as new gui ...

by the Cleveland Browns. After a single season with the Browns that saw little playing time, Dowdy was traded to the

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

before the 1968 season, where he was a member of their practice squad. In April 1969, Dowdy signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. He was later waived by the team in July 1969.

Death

Dowdy died on November 24, 2002, at Helena, Arkansas at the age of 57. His death was ruled accidental as his

shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, 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 usually discharges numerous small p ...

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 the e ...

at Lambrook, Arkansas. 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