Eugene Oliver Cockrell (June 10, 1934 – May 16, 2020) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

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 ...

who played three seasons with the New York Titans of 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). He was drafted 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 ...

of 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) in the 28th round of the

1957 NFL draft The 1957 NFL draft had its first four rounds held on November 26, 1956, at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia and its final twenty-six rounds on January 31, 1957, at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel also in Philadelphia. This was the 11th year th ...

. 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 ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

and Hardin–Simmons. He was also a member of 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

Western Interprovincial Football Union The West Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League (CFL), its counterpart being the East Division. With a few exceptions, a senior men's football championship has been contested in Western Canada since 1911 ...

(WIFU).

Early life and college

Cockrell attended

Pampa High School Pampa Independent School District is a public school district based in Pampa, Texas (USA). Located in Gray County, the district extends into portions of Roberts County. The school district has 3,446 students for 2010–2011 school year acco ...

Pampa, Texas Pampa (from the Quechua: ''pampa'', meaning "plain") is a city in Gray County, Texas, United States. Its population was 16,867 as of the 2020 census. Pampa is the county seat of Gray County and is the principal city of the Pampa micropolita ...

. He first played

for the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the college athletics in the United States , athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to ...

of the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

. He left the University due to his job as a professional on the

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...

circuit. He re-enrolled in school to play for the Hardin–Simmons Cowboys of

Hardin–Simmons University Hardin–Simmons University (HSU) is a private Baptist university in Abilene, Texas, United States. It is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. History Hardin–Simmons University was founded as Abilene Baptist College in 189 ...

after concluding, with the help of

Sammy Baugh Samuel Adrian Baugh (March 17, 1914 – December 17, 2008) was an American professional football quarterback who played 16 seasons with the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the TCU Horne ...

, that he should return to college.

Professional career

Cockrell was selected by the

of the NFL with the 330th pick in the

. He played in twelve games for the WIFU's

in 1957. He played for the New York Titans of the AFL from 1960 to 1962.

Later life

Cockrell was inducted into the Texas Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame in 2010. He died on May 16, 2020, in

Decatur, Texas Decatur is the county seat of Wise County, Texas, United States. Its population was 6,538 in 2020. History Wise County was established in 1856, and Taylorsville (in honor of Zachary Taylor) was made the county seat. Absalom Bishop, an early s ...

at age 85.

References

External links

Stats Crew prroile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cockrell, Gene 1934 births 2020 deaths American football offensive tackles Canadian football offensive linemen Players of Canadian football from Texas Oklahoma Sooners football players Hardin–Simmons Cowboys football players Saskatchewan Roughriders players New York Titans (AFL) players Players of American football from Texas People from Pampa, Texas