Former Cowboys punter Ron Widby dies at age 75

Ron Widby (Google Images)

According to Charean Williams of NBC Sports on Wednesday, former Dallas Cowboys punter Ron Widby of Knoxville, Tennessee passed away at the age of 75. Widby played six seasons in the National Football League from 1968 to 1973 with the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers.

Widby was part of the Cowboys team that won the 1972 Super Bowl from the 1971 National Football League season. In the Cowboys’ 24-3 win over the Miami Dolphins, Widby had five punts for 186 yards.

Widby’s longest punt of his career came during his rookie season of 1968. On November 3, 1968, Widby had an 84-yard punt in a 17-3 Cowboys win over the New Orleans Saints. This was the longest punt during the 1968 NFL season, and is still a Cowboys franchise record for the longest punt. Steve O’Neal of the New York Jets holds the longest punt in NFL history. O’Neal’s punt was for 98 yards in a 21-19 Jets loss to the Denver Broncos at Mile High Stadium on September 21, 1969.

Widby was also known as a great multi-sport athlete. In addition to playing six seasons in the National Football League, Widby was an excellent basketball player. He was the 1967 SEC Basketball Player of the Year while with the University of Tennessee Volunteers. Widby also played with the New Orleans Buccaneers of the old American Basketball Association during the 1967-68 season, and was drafted by the Chicago Bulls.

Also an excellent golfer, Widby was on the Volunteers’ university golf team, and nearly made the Senior PGA Tour when he turned 50 years old. Widby was part of senior golf qualifying, but came up short.

Widby is one of two multi-sport football players to pass away in 2020. In April, former football star Bobby Mitchell, who also played baseball, died at the age of 84. 

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