Roger Lewis Finnie (November 6, 1945 – August 6, 2012) 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 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 ...
and
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 ...
who played eleven 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). Finnie 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
Florida A&M University
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. ...
.
Finnie was an All-City team member at
Miami Northwestern Senior High School and a key factor in Northwestern's state championship in 1964. At
Florida A&M, Finnie garnered All-Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and All-American honors.
Finnie was selected by the
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...
in the 14th round of the
1969 NFL/AFL draft
The 1969 NFL/AFL draft was part of the common draft, the third and final year in which the NFL and AFL held a joint draft of college players. The draft took place January 28–29, 1969.
The draft began with first overall pick of O. J. Simpso ...
. He began his NFL career as a defensive tackle and also played offensive guard and tight end with the Jets. He was traded to 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 1973 where he was converted to a full-time offensive tackle. Finnie played left tackle on a record-breaking offensive line that included
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...
member
Dan Dierdorf
Daniel Lee Dierdorf (born June 29, 1949) is an American sportscaster and former professional football player. He played 13 seasons (1971–1983) as an offensive tackle for the St. Louis Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL).
Dierdor ...
,
Conrad Dobler,
Tom Banks, and
Bob Young. That unit led the NFL with the fewest sacks allowed for three years (and the
National Football Conference
The National Football Conference (NFC) is a conference of the National Football League (NFL), the highest level of professional American football in the United States. The NFC and its counterpart, the American Football Conference (AFC), each h ...
for five years) in the mid-1970s. In 1975, the group set an NFL record, allowing only eight sacks in 14 games. The Cardinals traded Finnie to the
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...
in 1979 where he was reunited with former teammate Dobler. He retired in 1980.
After retirement, Finnie resided in Miami and served as a Coordinator for the Summer Youth Employment and Training Program, also working as a Senior and Youth Counselor. He also coordinated the city football league for boys ages 15 and under and was commissioner of the Miami city basketball team. He was inducted into the
FAMU Hall of Fame in 1990.
Finnie died in 2012 at the age of 66.
References
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