Lloyd Leroy Folkins (born July 4, 1939) 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

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

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) for the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

and

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

. 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

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) N ...

Early life

Folkins attended Roosevelt High School, before accepting a football scholarship from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

. Folkins started as a sophomore playing both offense and defense, standing out as an offensive end, where he eventually formed a massive duo with John Meyers, with both standing 6–5 and over 200 pounds each. In 1959, Folkins helped the Huskies reach the 1960 Rose Bowl, winning it for the first time in school history, with a 44-8 upset against the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

. In 1960, Folkins was a preseason

All-America 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 ...

n candidate and again helped the Huskies reach the 1961 Rose Bowl, which they won 17-7 against the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

Folkins was selected by the

in the sixth round (82nd overall) of the

1961 NFL draft The 1961 NFL draft took place at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia on December 27–28, 1960. The league would later hold an expansion draft for the Minnesota Vikings expansion franchise. This draft was also the first regular draft for the Dall ...

. He was converted to play

and was a reserve behind Ron Kramer. Folkins was part of the Packers

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

World NFL Championship Team, but spent most of his time playing

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. On 4 September

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

, Folkins was traded to the

in exchange for an eighth-round draft choice (#104- Keith Kinderman).

Dallas Cowboys

Folkins started the 1962 season as the backup for Pettis Norman at

, but by the fourth game he had won the starter position and developed into a very good pass receiver, catching 39 receptions for 536 yards and six

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s. In the 1962

Chicago College All-Star Game The Chicago Charities College All-Star Game was a preseason American football game played from 1934 to 1976 between the National Football League (NFL) champions and a team of star college seniors from the previous year. It was also known as the ...

, Folkins swung at a collegiate player, but connected instead with the head official, rendering him unconscious. Folkins made 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 ...

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

after making 31 catches for 407 yards and 4

s. After catching 70 passes in his first two seasons in Dallas, Folkins caught only five passes in

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 Patria ...

after being passed on the depth chart by Pettis Norman. He played mainly on

and was forced to be the Cowboys punter in the last 2 games of the season (15 punts for 497 yards). On 6 September

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First 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 Lynd ...

, Folkins was traded to the

in exchange for a twelfth round draft choice (#173- Les Shy). Shortly after being traded by the Cowboys to the Steelers, he returned to play in the Old Cotton Bowl at Fair Park in Dallas. Folkins recovered a fumble during that game and ran along the Cowboy sideline, holding out the football toward Coach Tom Landry and the Cowboy Team, as he ran for a touchdown. Folkins worked for Tecon Corporation, owned by the Murchison Brothers who owned the Cowboys, while with that team.

Pittsburgh Steelers

, Folkins didn't have a big impact with the

because of recurring injuries. But he played a part in beating the Cowboys that season; he recovered a

Bob Hayes Robert Lee Hayes (December 20, 1942 – September 18, 2002), nicknamed "Bullet Bob", was an American sprinter and professional football player. After winning gold medals at the 1964 Summer Olympics, he played as a split end in the National F ...

kickoff fumble that he returned for a

and afterwards tossed the ball to a surprised

Tom Landry Thomas Wade Landry ( ; September 11, 1924 – February 12, 2000) was an American professional football coach, player, and World War II veteran. Regarded as one of the greatest head coaches of all time, he was the first head coach of the Dallas ...

. After playing in only 8 games and catching just five receptions, Folkins decided to the retire at the end of the 1965 season. He played for five years, with 80 receptions for 1,042 yards and 10

Personal life

Folkins survived a 66,000 volt jolt, that happened during a work accident.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Folkins, Lee 1939 births Living people Players of American football from Seattle American football tight ends Washington Huskies football players Green Bay Packers players Dallas Cowboys players Pittsburgh Steelers players Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players