Roy Calvin Green (born June 30, 1957) is a former
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...
wide receiver in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...
. He played professionally for the
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
/
Phoenix Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play th ...
(1979-1990) and
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
(1991–1992).
Early life
Green was born in
Magnolia, Arkansas
Magnolia is a city in Columbia County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 11,577. The city is the county seat of Columbia County.
Magnolia is home to the World's Largest Charcoal Grill and the World Championship ...
.
College career
Green played
college football at
Henderson State University
Henderson State University (HSU) is a public university in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Founded in 1890 as Arkadelphia Methodist College, it is Arkansas's only member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. Henderson has an undergraduate enro ...
.
He played
defensive back
In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...
and returned kicks for Henderson State University, and achieved
All-America
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
n status.
Professional career
Green was
drafted by the Cardinals in the fourth round of the
1979 NFL Draft
The 1979 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 3–4, 1979, at the Waldorf Astor ...
. He starred as a rookie returning kicks, including a 106-yard return for a touchdown against the
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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...
, tying an NFL record. Green also played well at cornerback. In 1981, he stepped in as wide receiver part-time and managed to gain 708 yards on merely 33 catches – nearly 21.5 yards per catch. The following season, Green fully transitioned to wide receiver and performed well in the strike-shortened season. Green truly shined during the next several seasons, particularly in 1984 when his 1,555 receiving yards were then the third highest in a season (through the 2005 season, this has since dropped to eighteenth). Green led the Cardinals in receiving in 1983, 1984 and 1988 (during those intervening years, veterans
Pat Tilley and
J. T. Smith split time leading the team in receiving). He was usually one of the few stars on a mediocre team. During his career, the Cardinals only made the playoffs once, in the strike-shortened 1982 season, and would only garner winning records two other times.
Following a pair of decent seasons in 1989–90 (by which time the team had moved to
Phoenix), Green was traded to the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
in 1991. The Browns elected to release Green before the regular season began, and he was subsequently signed to the Eagles, who sought veteran leadership at wide receiver to replace the retired
Mike Quick
Michael Anthony Quick (born May 14, 1959) is a color commentator and former American football wide receiver. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) with the Philadelphia Eagles for nine seasons, from 1982 to 1990. Quick ...
and the waived
Cris Carter
Graduel Christopher Darin Carter (born November 25, 1965) is an American former football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles (1987–1989), the Minnesota Vikings (1990–2001) and the Mi ...
. Green played much of that season, in which a lackluster offense was balanced by a sensational defense. Green played sparingly the following season and retired in 1993.
John Madden
John Earl Madden (April 10, 1936 – December 28, 2021) was an American football coach and sports commentator in the National Football League (NFL). He served as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978, who he led to eight pla ...
honored Green in his annual
All-Madden Team, stating that at one point, he regarded Green as not the best wide receiver in the game, but the best ''player''. Green finished with 559 receptions for 8,965 yards and 66 touchdowns. He also rushed for 140 yards, returned 27 punts for 230 yards, and added another 2,002 yards on kickoff returns. He also intercepted 4 passes for 54 yards, and recovered 20 fumbles. Overall, he gained 11,391 yards and scored 69 touchdowns.
On October 2, 2016 Green was inducted as the 16th member of the Arizona Cardinals Ring of Honor.
On September 15, 2017 Green was inducted into the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame.
Personal life
Green married his wife, Sharon, before the 1980 NFL season.
Ottis Anderson
Ottis Jerome Anderson (born January 19, 1957) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Giants. He played college football at Miami, w ...
and
Theotis Brown
Theotis Brown II (born April 20, 1957) is a former professional American football running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played for six seasons for the St. Louis Cardinals, the Seattle Seahawks, and the Kansas City Chiefs. His f ...
served as groomsmen and his brother, Leotis, was best man.
Since retiring from the NFL, Green has shifted his focus to helping improve the health of current and former professional athletes through promoting sleep apnea awareness across the country. He has teamed up with dental icon, David Gergen, and a company calle
Pro Player Health Allianceto hold free public awareness events in local communities all over the nation. After joining the cause of Pro Player Health Alliance and using his extensive number of connections to players, he has helped get over 150 former players successfully treated for sleep apnea.
In 2012, Green was diagnosed with kidney disease due to the long-term use of anti-inflammatories during his playing career in the NFL. Following a year of dialysis three days a week, his daughters, Miyosha, 30, and Candace, 26, both offered to donate a kidney to their father. Both daughters were matches, but Miyosha was chosen to donate. Green had successful surgery on Nov. 14 at the Mayo Clinic.
References
External links
NFL Films Blog This Date In Football: Happy Birthday, Roy Green
{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Roy
1957 births
Living people
African-American players of American football
American football wide receivers
American football cornerbacks
American football safeties
American football return specialists
Henderson State Reddies football players
St. Louis Cardinals (football) players
Phoenix Cardinals players
Philadelphia Eagles players
National Conference Pro Bowl players
People from Magnolia, Arkansas
Players of American football from Arkansas
National Football League replacement players
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American sportspeople