Jerry Ray Watford (December 19, 1930 – March 10, 1993) 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 ...

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative (Netherlands), Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tende ...

who played two seasons with the

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ca ...

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). He was selected by the Cardinals in the eighth round of the

1953 NFL draft The 1953 National Football League draft was held on January 22, 1953, at Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia. Selections made by the folded Dallas Texans were assigned to the Baltimore Colts, since the Dallas team had moved to Baltimore. ...

after playing

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 ...

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 ...

Early life and college

Jerry Ray Watford was born on December 19, 1930, in

Gadsden, Alabama Gadsden is the county seat of Etowah County in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is located on the Coosa River about northeast of Birmingham and southwest of Chattanooga, Tennessee. It is the primary city of the Gadsden Metropolitan Statist ...

. He attended Gadsden High School in Gadsden. Watford was a member of 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 ...

of the

from 1949 to 1952 and a three-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

from 1950 to 1952. He converted from tackle to guard in spring 1950. He started 34 consecutive games for Alabama. Watford earned

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first-team

All-SEC The All-SEC football team is an annual Southeastern Conference (SEC) honor bestowed on the best players in the conference following every college football season. Seasons Following is a list of all-conference teams in the history of the SEC: * ...

honors and

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third-team All-SEC honors his senior year in 1952. He was also a two-year letterman in baseball in college.

Professional career

Watford was selected by the

in the eighth round, with the 88th overall pick, of the

. He played in all 12 games, starting six, for the Cardinals as an offensive guard during the 1953 season and recovered one fumble. He appeared in all 12 games, starting six, again in 1954, recovering one fumble. Watford became a free agent after the season.

Personal life

Watford died on March 10, 1993, in

Blountville, Tennessee Blountville is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the county seat of Sullivan County, Tennessee. The population was 3,074 at the United States Census, 2010, 2010 census and 3,120 at the 2020 census. It is the only Tennessee county seat not ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watford, Jerry 1930 births 1993 deaths Players of American football from Gadsden, Alabama Baseball players from Alabama American football offensive guards Alabama Crimson Tide football players Alabama Crimson Tide baseball players Chicago Cardinals players