Irving Lee Goode (born October 12, 1940) 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

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

for 13 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). 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

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30, ...

and was selected by the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

in the first round of the

1962 NFL draft The 1962 NFL draft was held on December 4, 1961 at the Sheraton Hotel in Chicago, Illinois. The Washington Redskins used the first overall pick of the draft to select running back Ernie Davis, then subsequently traded him to the Cleveland Bro ...

Early life

Goode was born on October 12, 1940, in

Newport, Kentucky Newport is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city in Campbell County, Kentucky, United States. It is at the confluence of the Ohio River, Ohio and Licking River (Kentucky), Licking rivers across from Cincinnati. The population was 14,150 ...

. He attended

Boone County High School Boone County High School is located in Florence, Kentucky, United States. The school was opened in 1954, consolidating Burlington, Florence, New Haven and Hebron High Schools. Sports Boone County High School is known for its athletics. Both men ...

. Goode was named a ''Sporting News'' High School All-American. The

Louisville Courier-Journal The ''Courier Journal'', also known as the ''Louisville Courier Journal'' (and informally ''The C-J'' or ''The Courier''), and called ''The Courier-Journal'' between November 8, 1868, and October 29, 2017, is a daily newspaper published in ...

named him all-conference and All-State in 1957. In 1974, Boone County renamed its football field, Irv Goode Football Field. A parade was held in

Florence, Kentucky Florence is a city in Boone County, Kentucky, United States, part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area. The population was 31,946 at the 2020 census, making it the second-most populous city in Northern Kentucky, the eighth-most populous city i ...

as part of a weekend honoring Goode. In 2017, he was inducted into the Buddy LaRosa High School Sports Hall of Fame.

College

He played college football at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

from 1959-1962, where he played both offense (

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

) and defense (

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

), under

Wildcats The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while th ...

coach

Blanton Collier Blanton Long Collier (July 2, 1906 – March 22, 1983) was an American football head coach who coached at the University of Kentucky between 1954 and 1961 and for the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League (NFL) between 1963 and 1970. ...

. He was a team captain in 1961, named a First Team All-American by ''Time'', and selected by

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...

as Third Team All-

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 ...

. He played in four all-star games, including the College All Star Game. As a junior, he had 23 tackles in a single game against national champion University of Mississippi.

Professional career

The St. Louis Cardinals drafted Goode in the first round of the

. He was also drafted by the

Dallas Texans Dallas Texans may refer to: American football *Dallas Texans (NFL), 1952 team in the National Football League *Dallas Texans (AFL), 1960–1962 team that is now the Kansas City Chiefs *Dallas Texans (arena football) The Dallas Texans were an ...

(which became 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 ...

) 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 ...

in the fourth round of the 1962 AFL draft. Goode chose to play for the Cardinals, but the Texans went to court in an effort to force Goode to play for the Texans; with a judge ultimately ruling in the Cardinals' favor. The Cardinals drafted Goode as a center, but injury and circumstances led them to play

Bob DeMarco Robert DeMarco (born September 16, 1938) is an American former professional football player who was a center for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for four teams. He played college football for the Indiana Hoosiers and Dayton Fl ...

at center during training camp in 1962, while moving Goode to starting

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 ...

. He was the 1962 Cardinals Rookie of the Year. During his NFL career, Goode would start at tackle and guard (principally playing guard), was a

long snapper In gridiron football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a Center (gridiron football), center on American football positions#Special teams, special teams whose duty is to Snap (gridiron football), snap the football over a longer distance, ty ...

, and also served as a backup center. He spent his first two seasons at

left tackle A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and Defensive tackle, defense. In the modern system of ...

, and then was moved to left guard. He was named to the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

team in 1964 and 1967. In 1967, three other offensive lineman from the Cardinals, Bob DeMarco (center), Ken Gray (right guard), and Ernie McMillan (right tackle), along with Cardinals hall of fame tight end

Jackie Smith Jackie Larue Smith (born February 23, 1940) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football for the No ...

, were all selected to the Pro Bowl. During the 1960s, Goode and his linemates (including left tackle Bob Reynolds) were selected to a total of 18 Pro Bowls. He played for the Cardinals from 1962 to 1971. He was traded to the

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 ...

before the 1972 season in exchange for guard Joe O'Donnell, after a contract dispute with the Cardinals. Goode missed the entire 1972 season after suffering a knee injury during the preseason. He was traded to the

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

before the 1973 season in exchange for defensive tackle

Mike Kadish Michael Scott Kadish (May 27, 1950 – March 19, 2023) was an American professional football player who was a defensive lineman for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills. He played college ...

, who had been Miami's first round draft pick the prior season. He served as the Dolphins

for

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, ...

s and

extra points The conversion, try (American football), also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, extra point, two-point conversion, or convert (Canadian football) is a gridiron football play that occurs immediately after a touchdown. The scoring team att ...

, as well as a backup offensive lineman, for the Dolphins

Super Bowl VIII Super Bowl VIII 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 Ameri ...

champion team in 1973. After receiving little playing time in 1974, Goode retired prior to the 1975 season.

Honors

In 2005, Goode was in the charter class of the University of Kentucky Athletics Hall of Fame. In 2013, Goode was inducted into the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame. In 2018, he was inducted into the

Missouri Sports Hall of Fame The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is located in Springfield, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1994 by Springfield businessman John Q. Hammons, the Hall of Fame is housed in a two-story, 32,000-square-foot building. On display are more than 4,0 ...

. He has also been inducted into the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame, and been named a Legend of the Southeastern Conference. Boone County High School has named its football field Irv Goode Field.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goode, Irv 1940 births Living people American football offensive guards American football offensive tackles American football long snappers St. Louis Cardinals (football) players Miami Dolphins players Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players Kentucky Wildcats football players