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Today in Patriots History
Former 1st round pick traded to Cowboys
Former 1st round pick traded to Cowboys
July 11, 1972:
New England trades WR Ron Sellers to Dallas for a third round draft pick.
Sellers was a two-time All-American at Florida State, who was selected with the sixth overall pick of the 1969 draft. He was named to the Pro Bowl as a rookie when he caught six touchdown passes, and ranked second in the AFL with 26.1 yards per catch. But injuries limited him to ten games in 1971, and with Jim Plunkett throwing almost exclusively to former Stanford teammate Randy Vataha, Sellers' production plummeted. (In 1971 Plunkett completed 51 passes to Vataha, 47 to running backs, and only 40 at other wide receivers. Sellers was the Pats second leading WR, with just 14 catches for 222 yards and 3 TD.)
John Mazur, much like his predecessor Clive Rush, made a myriad of short-sighted, head-scratching personnel decisions. The Patriots no longer owned their own 1972 first round pick (10th overall), having forfeited that (plus starting safety John Charles) to Minnesota in 1970 as compensation for signing "free agent" Joe Kapp. Earlier in the year the Pats had traded another first (this one compensation for the loss of former first round pick Phil Olsen to the Rams) for the Giants Fred Dryer. ('Hunter' never signed a contract with the Patriots, forcing a trade.) Late in the second round the Patriots drafted a wide receiver by the name of Tom Reynolds (lasted one season, eight receptions), and later in the month of July, Mazur would trade away another first round pick for aging 49ers TE Bob Windsor. Apparently Mazur felt that Plunkett had plenty of pass receiving options, and Sellers was dealt to the Cowboys. At least the Patriots got a third round pick for him.
Sellers began the '72 season as a backup, then replaced former Olympian and future Hall of Famer Bob Hayes in the Cowboys starting lineup. Despite only starting nine games he finished the season number one in receiving yards and touchdowns for Tom Landry's team. In the '72 divisional round game Sellers caught the game-winning touchdown with 52 seconds remaining from Roger Staubach, who entered the game late in relief of Craig Morton, to cap a 17-0 fourth quarter, overcoming a 21-3 deficit to win 30-28. The play was somewhat overlooked at the time because it occurred on the same day as Franco Harris' game-winning Immaculate Reception, with the Steelers coming from behind to beat the Raiders with 22 seconds left.
Moment 16: Staubach's Playoff Game Rally
Roger Staubach spent most of the Dallas Cowboys 1972 playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers on the bench, watching as his opponents took control of the contest. But when Staubach replaced Craig Morton, things changed.
www.cbsnews.com
1972 NFC Semi-Final Game Between Dallas and San Fransisco
It's been a long time since the Lions had much to brag about, but in the 1950s, they were the team to be feared.The 1971 AFC Divisional Playoff game between the Miami Dolphins and the Kansas City Chiefs is the longest NFL game ever played, ending seven minutes and forty seconds into the sixth...
sportshistorynetwork.com
The following year Dallas drafted TE Billy Joe Dupree and WR Golden Richards 1-2, and dealt Sellers to Miami. He was a backup in what was his final NFL season, winning a super bowl ring with the Dolphins.
As for the draft pick they received from Dallas, the Patriots used that on a running back from Alcorn A&M named Charles Davis; he was waived at the end of training camp and never played a single down in the NFL.
Sellers worked at a Boston-based regional stock brokerage during his offseason time in New England. In 1975 he opened his own life insurance agency, where he is still president and CEO. Ron Sellers was named to the Florida Sports Hall of Fame in 1973, and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1988. Over his three seasons in New England he played in 35 games with 30 starts, compiling 1,477 yards receiving and 13 touchdowns. Sellers averaged 18.7 yards per catch while with the Patriots; that ranks as the third highest in franchise history for players with at least 75 receptions, behind only Harold Jackson and Stanley Morgan. At the time he left New England his touchdown reception ranked sixth in club history (31st now).
Jingle Joints should be judged by his cover
Everybody knew Florida State would come out throwing. After all, Bill Peterson, the FSU coach, is a devout church member back in Tallahassee and a devoted
vault.si.com
"I don't know," said Sellers. "I think I just lull people to sleep with my long stride. They don't think I'm going as fast as I am, then pffft."
People see Sellers for the first time, standing around or warming up, and invariably they are confused. How could this guy be so good? For sure, with his long, skinny bowed legs and thin frame, he's the most unlikely looking player on the field. Sellers can run 50 yards in 5.5 seconds, but always he looks as though at any moment his arms and legs will go flying off in entirely different directions. A Houston defensive back nicknamed him "Jingle Joints."
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Ron has been inducted into 10 Sports Hall of Fames and was FSU’s first football player to be inducted into the National College Football Hall of Fame (1987). Ron was honored to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in all three post season bowl games during his career at FSU – the Gator Bowl, Peach Bowl and Sun Bowl.
In 2007, Ron was honored by being named to The State of Florida’s “100 Greatest High School Football Players in Florida History.”
Florida Sports Hall of Fame | Ron Sellers
flasportshof.org
Ron “Jingle Joints” Sellers played college football for Florida State University, where he was a two-time All-American (1967 & 1968). Despite being limited to a total of 30 games of regular season eligibility, Sellers still holds Florida State career records for receptions, receiving yards, and most 200-yard receiving games.. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1988. A wide receiver, he played for the American Football League’s Boston Patriots in 1969, when he was an AFL All-Star, then for the NFL’s Patriots, Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins.
Inductee | Ronald Franklin Sellers 1988
Ronald Franklin Sellers was a Wide Receiver for Florida State Universityand inducted into College Football Hall of Fame in 1988
www.cfbhall.com
Ron Sellers was the greatest college pass receiver of his time. In three seasons at Florida State he caught 212 passes for 3,598 yards. His career yardage was a national record in 1968 and lasted 19 years. When he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1988, 20 years after his last game, he still held 16 school records. His best performance came in 1968 against South Carolina with 16 catches. In other games in his career he caught 14 passes (three times) and 13 passes (three times). His 14 receptions against Penn State in 1967 set a Gator Bowl record. Against Wake Forest in 1968 he caught five touchdown passes. Ron was twice a first-team All-America. Sports Illustrated named him Lineman of the Week; the Atlanta Touchdown Club named him Back of the Week. He tacked on five years as a pro with the Patriots, Cowboys and Dolphins and later moved to Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, to head Ron Sellers Associates, insurance specialists. He was named to the board of trustees of Florida State University.
FSU all-time countdown: #8, WR Ron Sellers
Born in Jacksonville, Florida, by the time Sellers was fielding college offers he had helped his high school win a state basketball championship and most people thought his athletic future would unfold on the hardwood. At 6-4 180, he was– by conventional standards– the wrong build to be a football player.
"Funny," Sellers said in a 1968 Sports Illustrated article, "but if I hadn't been so thin I probably would have gone to college on a basketball scholarship. But people kept telling me I was too light to play football; that I'd get killed. It made me mad and I decided I'd show everybody. And so when FSU offered me a football scholarship, I took it."
Ron Sellers Bio: Hall of Fame class, 1977 - Seminoles.com
Ron Sellers (1988) - Hall of Fame - National Football Foundation
footballfoundation.org
