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Roosevelt Leaks Jr. (born January 31, 1953) is a former All-American running back and 2005 inductee to the
College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...
. He was the first black All-American player in University of Texas history and went on to play in the National Football League (NFL) for the
Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...
and
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
.


Early life

Born and raised in
Brenham, Texas Brenham ( ) is a city in east-central Texas in Washington County, United States, with a population of 17,369 according to the 2020 U.S. census. It is the county seat of Washington County. Washington County is known as the "Birthplace of Texas, ...
, between Houston and
Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
, Leaks grew up on his family's farm, where they raised, among other things, cotton and
corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
. His father was a farmer and day laborer. Leaks was an all-state running back and linebacker for Brenham High School in 1969 and 1970, and a star hitter and outfielder for the baseball team and helped Brenham win its first state championship in that sport in 1970. Heavily recruited, he had his mind set on the University of Houston, until he realized that the Cougars had three other running backs in his recruiting class. Instead, he signed with his second choice, the University of Texas in Austin.


College career

Leaks arrived at UT in
1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...
, only one year after the Longhorns football team had their first black letterman. Freshmen weren't eligible to play on the varsity until the following year, but he soon emerged as one of the country's top running backs. In
1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
, he was the team's leading rusher, running for 1,099 yards and eight touchdowns, making him only the second Longhorn to rush for a thousand yards in a season. He earned All- Southwest Conference honors as a running back and helped Texas to a 10–1 regular season record and a #7 ranking, then a win over #4 Alabama in the Cotton Bowl. In that game, he rushed for 120 yards, which, at the time, was the third-best performance by a Texas running back in the Cotton Bowl. Quarterback Alan Lowry ran for 117 yards, making it the first time Texas had two 100-yard rushers in the same bowl game. Down 13–3 at the half the Longhorns shut out the Tide in the second half and finished third in the final AP poll. As well as Leaks did in 1972, he was even better in
1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...
as a junior. He was again the team's leading rusher and set a school and Southwest Conference rushing records with 1,415 yards. He also set or tied 7 other school records that season, including the conference record for most yards in a game when he ran for 342 yards in a 42–14 win over SMU. This was only eight yards short of Eric Allen's NCAA record of 350 yards, set two years earlier in
1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...
. Leaks was again named All-SWC, as well as a consensus All-American. He finished third in the Heisman balloting, which made him only the fifth Longhorn Heisman finalist and tied him with James Saxton's
1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...
performance for the best Longhorn Heisman finish. Texas went 8-3 in 1973 and won another Southwest Conference title and were ranked eighth, but lost the Cotton Bowl 19–3 to #12 Nebraska and finished fourteenth. Following his success, Leaks was an early Heisman favorite for the
1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...
season, but suffered a serious injury in spring drills when he leaped into the air and another player's helmet hit his knee. It required surgery and Leaks was given the option to take a redshirt season. He chose to play, but missed the first game and was hobbled by injuries all season. Freshman Earl Campbell was given the majority of carries and was the team's leading rusher and bowl MVP that year. Leaks carried the ball 96 times for 409 yards and 4 touchdowns. Texas was 8-3 in the regular season but were runner-up to Baylor in the Southwest Conference. The #11 Longhorns lost 27–3 to #6
Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...
in the
Gator Bowl The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, operated by Gator Bowl Sports. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised natio ...
, in which Leaks did not play, and fell to seventeenth in the final poll.


Records

* UT Record - Most rushing yards, game (342), surpassed by Ricky Williams in 1998 * UT Record - Most rushing yards by a junior, game (342) * UT Record - Most rushing yards, road game (342) * UT Record - Most rushing yards, season (1,415), surpassed by Earl Campbell in 1977 * UT Record - Most touchdowns, season (14), tied
Byron Townsend George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...
, Steve Worster and
Donnie Wigginton Donnie Wigginton is a former football player who started as quarterback for the Texas Longhorns in the early 1970s. Though a quarterback, he is best known for one single catch when, as a holder, he snagged a bad snap on the game winning extra- ...
, surpassed by Campbell in 1977 * UT Record - Most 100-yard games, season (7), tied Chris Gilbert, surpassed by Campbell in 1977 * UT Record - Most 200-yard games, season (2), tied Gilbert, tied by Campbell in 1977, surpassed by Ricky Williams in 1997 * UT Record - Most 300-yard total offense games, season (1), tied Eddie Phillips, surpassed by Donnie Little in 1980 * UT Record - Most 300-yard total offense games, career (1), tied Eddie Phillips, surpassed by Donnie Little in 1980 * UT Record - Highest Heisman voting finish (3rd), tied James Saxton, surpassed by Campbell in 1977 * SWC Record - Most rushing yards, game (342), surpassed by Tony Jeffery of TCU in 1987 * SWC Record - Most rushing yards, season (1,415), surpassed by Campbell in 1977


Candidate for Heisman


NFL career

Leaks was selected in the
fifth round Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash t ...
of the
1975 NFL Draft The 1975 National Football League draft was held January 28–29, 1975, at the New York Hilton at Rockefeller Center in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Atlanta Falcons selected quarterback Steve Bartko ...
by the
Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...
. He played five years for the Colts, putting up 1,268 yards and 14 touchdowns, but he spent most of his fifth season on the sidelines after the Colts added former first-round choice Don Hardeman. After the
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
season, he was waived by Baltimore and picked up by the
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
, where he spent four years carrying the ball and blocking for Joe Cribbs. He was considered one of the best blocking backs in the NFL and went to the playoffs 5 out of 9 years. At training camp of his tenth year he was cut by the Bills in August
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
. At that time, only one running back from his class, Walter Payton, was still playing.


Personal life

Leaks and his wife had been working in the real estate business for several years before his football career ended and he transitioned into it full-time. In 1987, he began working with Texas General Land Office in Austin, eventually becoming the Director of Veterans Land Board Appraisals. He retired from that job in 2013.


References


External links

*
University of Texas Athletics
– Hall of Honor – Roosevelt Leaks * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leaks, Roosevelt Living people 1953 births People from Brenham, Texas American football running backs Texas Longhorns football players Baltimore Colts players Buffalo Bills players College Football Hall of Fame inductees