Samuel Jack Claphan (October 10, 1956 – November 26, 2001) 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 who was an

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

for the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

of 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). Claphan attended high school at

Stilwell High School Stilwell High School is a high school (grades 9–12) in Stilwell, Oklahoma, United States. In 2020, a podcast created by Stilwell High School seniors was selected as a finalist in the National Public Radio Student Podcast Challenge. The student ...

Stilwell, Oklahoma Stilwell / ᏍᏗᎳᏪᎵ is a city located in the sovereign territory of the Cherokee Nation. It is also the county seat of Adair County, Oklahoma. The population was 3,700 as of the 2020 U.S. census, a decline of 6.7 percent from the 3,949 ...

, where he earned his way to

All-American 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 ...

status in 1974. He was recruited by head coach

Barry Switzer Barry Layne Switzer (born October 5, 1937) is an American former college and professional football coach. He served for 16 years as head football coach at the University of Oklahoma and four years as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys of the Natio ...

to play at the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

. Claphan died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

on November 26, 2001.

Career

Claphan played on the 1974 and 1975 National Championship teams and was the starting lineman for the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the college athletics in the United States , athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to ...

from 1975 to 1978. At 6' 7" and 295 lbs, Claphan was the largest player on the team. He was selected in the second 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 Astoria ...

(47th overall pick) by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

but failed to make the roster due to a preseason injury. He was picked up by the

in 1980. Claphan played longer in the NFL than any other University of Oklahoma lineman. He was a starting

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 ...

for the San Diego Chargers, protecting the blind side of

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 ...

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 ...

Dan Fouts Daniel Francis Fouts (born June 10, 1951) is an American former professional football quarterback who played for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League (NFL) throughout his 15-season career (1973–1987). After a relatively und ...

. He was with the Chargers from 1981 to 1987 until he retired. Claphan, a

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

, was inducted into the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994.

References

External links

* 1956 births 2001 deaths Sportspeople from Tahlequah, Oklahoma Cherokee Nation sportspeople Players of American football from Oklahoma American football offensive guards American football offensive tackles Oklahoma Sooners football players San Diego Chargers players 20th-century Native American people 20th-century American sportsmen {{offensive-lineman-1950s-stub