Milton Eugene "Mickey" Slaughter (August 22, 1941 – April 8, 2023) 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 ...

player and

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

coach. He played

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

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) after playing college ball for the

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and Lady Techsters, commonly abbreviated LA Tech and Dogs, refer to the sports teams of Louisiana Tech University, in Ruston, Louisiana. The teams compete in Division I of NCAA sports. Since 2013, Louisiana Tech has been ...

. Following his playing career, he was an assistant coach for Louisiana Tech. Slaughter was raised in

Alexandria, Louisiana Alexandria is the ninth-largest city in the state of Louisiana and is the parish seat and largest city of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River of the South, Red River ...

, and played quarterback for Coach

Maxie Lambright Maxie Thomas Lambright (June 23, 1924 – January 28, 1980) was an American football coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head coach of the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team from 1967 to 1978 and the Louisiana Tech Univ ...

at Bolton High School, where he graduated in 1959. He then played college football for

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

coach Joe Aillet at

Louisiana Tech University Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public university, public research university in Ruston, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and Carnegie Classification of Institu ...

, where he was a three-time all-conference quarterback before graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in 1963.

Playing career

Slaughter was drafted in the 7th round by the

, where he played his entire four-year career. Though he set several franchise rookie records in 1963 that stand to this day, he compiled just a 1-5-1 record as a starter. 's NFL off-season, his 1,689 yards, 15 interceptions, 7.57 yards per attempt, and 5 interceptions in a single game (Oct 13 against the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

) remain Broncos rookie records. He started just 12 games the rest of his career, which ended at a 2-15-2 record. He had 291 completions on 584 attempts for 3,607 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 38 interceptions.

Coaching career

After professional football, Slaughter earned a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

degree from

in 1966. In 1967, Slaughter's former high school football coach Maxie Lambright offered him an assistant coaching position on the Louisiana Tech football staff. He accepted the offer and coached the

offensive backfield The offensive backfield is the area of an American football field behind the line of scrimmage, and players positioned there on offense who begin plays behind the line, typically including the quarterback and running backs ( halfbacks and fullb ...

for 12 years from 1967 to 1978. Notable Louisiana Tech football players coached by Slaughter include

Terry Bradshaw Terry Paxton Bradshaw (born September 2, 1948) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Since 1994, he has been a television sports an ...

Phil Robertson Phil Alexander Robertson (April 24, 1946 – May 25, 2025) was an American professional hunter, businessman and television personality who was the founder of hunting products company Duck Commander. A reality television star on the popular te ...

Duck Dynasty ''Duck Dynasty'' is an American reality television series that aired on A&E from 2012 to 2017. The series portrays the lives of the Robertson family, who became successful from their family-operated business, Duck Commander. The West Monroe, ...

, Tommy Spinks,

Roger Carr Roger Dale Carr (born July 1, 1952) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Baltimore Colts. Carr led the NFL in receiving yards in 197 ...

, Mike Barber, Pat Tilley, and Billy Ryckman.

Personal life

Slaughter's son Bobby also played football at Louisiana Tech and was an

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 ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

in 1990 and was drafted by the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

in 1991. Slaughter was inducted into the

Louisiana Tech University Athletic Hall of Fame The Louisiana Tech University Athletic Hall of Fame was established in 1984 to honor student-athletes, coaches, administrators, and benefactors who have been highly successful at Louisiana Tech and who have distinguished themselves professionally. T ...

in 1987. On August 6, 2016, Slaughter was inducted into the Ark-La-Tex Sports Museum of Champions at the

Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

Convention Center. Slaughter died at a care home in

Ruston, Louisiana Ruston is a small city in and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The 2020 population was 22,166. Ruston is near the eastern border of the Ark-La-Tex region and is the home of Louisiana Tech University. Ruston is the prin ...

, on April 8, 2023, at the age of 81.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Slaughter, Mickey 1941 births 2023 deaths American football quarterbacks Denver Broncos (AFL) players Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football coaches Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football players Bolton High School (Louisiana) alumni Players of American football from Monroe, Louisiana Coaches of American football from Louisiana