John Wesley LaGrone III (November 4, 1944 – March 27, 2022) was an American professional
player who played for 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 ...
(CFL)'s
Edmonton Eskimos
The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...
.
CFL
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
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...
, where he was an
All-American
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
, LaGrone spent his entire eight-year CFL career from 1967 to 1974 as a
defensive tackle
A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...
. He was named a Western Conference All-Star six times, a CFL All-Star twice, and won the
CFL's Most Outstanding Lineman Award in 1969.
The Eskimos never won a
Grey Cup
The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...
during his time with them, losing twice under head coach
Ray Jauch
Ray Jauch ( ; born February 11, 1938) is an American former gridiron football player and coach. He was head coach in the Canadian Football League (CFL), the United States Football League (USFL), and the Arena Football League (AFL). He won 127 r ...
, the
61st Grey Cup of 1973 and the
62nd Grey Cup of 1974, to Ottawa and Montreal respectively.
Post-football
Since 1990, LaGrone served as a judge in
Hutchinson County, Texas
Hutchinson County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 20,617. Its county seat is Stinnett. The county was created in 1876, but not organized until 1901. It is named for Andrew Hutchinson, an early ...
. He died on March 27, 2022, in
Fritch, Texas, aged 77.
John Wesley LaGrone, III
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Further reading
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lagrone, John
1944 births
2022 deaths
All-American college football players
Players of Canadian football from Texas
Canadian football defensive linemen
Edmonton Elks players
Players of American football from Texas
People from Borger, Texas
SMU Mustangs football players
Texas state court judges
20th-century Texas state court judges