Samuel Thaw Walton (January 3, 1943 – May 9, 2002) 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 ...

tackle who played three seasons with 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 ...

and

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 ...

. He was selected by the Jets in the third round of the 1968 NFL/AFL draft after playing

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 ...

East Texas State University East Texas A&M University (ETAMU; formerly Texas A&M University–Commerce) is a public university in Commerce, Texas, United States. With an enrollment of over 12,000 students as of fall 2017, the university is the third-largest institution in ...

. He was a member of the Jets team that won

Super Bowl III Super Bowl III was an American football championship game played on January 12, 1969, at the Miami Orange Bowl, Orange Bowl in Miami, Miami, Florida. It was the third AFL–NFL Championship Game in professional American football, and the fi ...

Early life and college

Samuel Thaw Walton was born on January 3, 1943, in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

. He attended Melrose High School in Memphis. Walton was a member of the East Texas State Lions of

from 1964 to 1967 and a three-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

from 1965 to 1967.

Professional career

Walton was selected by the

in the third round, with the 72nd overall pick, of the

1968 NFL draft The 1968 NFL/AFL draft was part of the common draft, in the second year in which the National Football League, NFL and American Football League, AFL held a joint draft of college players. It took place at the Belmont Plaza Hotel in New York City ...

. He started all 14 games for the Jets in 1968. He also played in both playoff games, including the

victory over the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...

. Walton appeared in six games, starting five, during the 1969 season. In May 1970, Walton was traded 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 ...

for a draft pick, which was dependent on Walton making the team. On September 18, 1970, before the start of the season, it was reported that Walton had been waived by the Saints. Walton signed with the

in 1971. He played in all 14 games, starting 13, for the Oilers during the 1971 season. He was released in 1972. Walton was drafted by the New York Stars of the

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 in sports, 1974 and most of its second in 1975 in sports, 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a w ...

in March 1974. He signed with the team but was released later that year.

Personal life

After his football career ended, Walton became homeless on the streets of Memphis and died of a heart attack in 2002. His teammates had attempted to help him but were unsuccessful.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walton, Sam 1943 births 2002 deaths Players of American football from Memphis, Tennessee American football offensive tackles East Texas A&M Lions football players New York Jets players New Orleans Saints players Houston Oilers players New York Stars players 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen