Sammy Green

Samuel Lee Green (born October 12, 1954) is an American former college and professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for five seasons during the 1970s and early 1980s. He played college football for the University of Florida, and received All-American honors. A second-round pick in the 1976 NFL Draft, Green played professionally for the Seattle Seahawks and the Houston Oilers of the NFL.

Sammy Green
No. 56, 41
Position:Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1954-10-12) October 12, 1954
Bradenton, Florida
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:228 lb (103 kg)
Career information
High school:Fort Meade (FL)
College:Florida
NFL Draft:1976 / Round: 2 / Pick: 29
Career history
Career highlights and awards
  • First-team All-SEC (1975)
  • Consensus All-American (1975)
  • University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame
Career NFL statistics
Games played:62
Games started:44
Interceptions:3
Fumbles recovered:2
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Early life

Sammy Green was born in Bradenton, Florida in 1954.[1] He attended Fort Meade High School in Fort Meade, Florida,[2] where he played high school football for the Fort Meade Miners.

College career

Green accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Doug Dickey's Florida Gators football team from 1972 to 1975.[3] Memorably, as a sophomore in 1973, Green forced a critical fumble by Auburn Tigers tailback Sullivan Walker, which led to a touchdown and the Gators' margin of victory in a 12–8 upset of the Tigers at home—the Gators' first-ever win at Jordan–Hare Stadium. He was a team captain, a first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection, and a consensus first-team All-American in 1975.[3][4] Green was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2003.[5][6] In one of a series of articles published by The Gainesville Sun in 2006, the newspaper's sports editors ranked him as the No. 51 all-time greatest Gator among the top 100 players from the first century of the Florida football team.[7]

While a student at Florida, Green was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity (Theta Sigma Chapter).

Professional career

The Seattle Seahawks selected Green in the second round (twenty-ninth pick overall) in the 1976 NFL Draft,[8] and he played for the Seahawks for four seasons from 1976 to 1979.[9] He had three interceptions during his time with the Seahawks, including one that he returned ninety-one yards for a touchdown in 1979,[9] the longest in Seahawks history.[10] Green played his final NFL season for the Houston Oilers in 1980.[9] He played in sixty-two NFL games in his five-season career, starting in forty-four of them.[1]

Life after football

Green completed his master's degree at Iowa State University, and as of 2010, is working to complete a doctorate. He Has now retired from Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.[11]

See also

References
  1. Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players, Sammy Green. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
  2. databaseFootball.com, Players, Sammy Green Archived May 15, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
  3. 2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide Archived April 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 87, 91, 96, 124, 153, 173, 181 (2011). Retrieved August 29, 2011.
  4. 2012 NCAA Football Records Book, Award Winners, National Collegiate Athletic Association, Indianapolis, Indiana, pp. 8 & 14 (2012). Retrieved September 14, 2012.
  5. F Club, Hall of Fame, Gator Greats. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
  6. "Nine Inducted Into UF Hall of Fame", GatorZone.com (April 11, 2003). Retrieved July 21, 2011.
  7. Robbie Andreu & Pat Dooley, "No. 51 Sammy Green", The Gainesville Sun (July 14, 2006). Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  8. Pro Football Hall of Fame, Draft History, 1976 National Football League Draft. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
  9. National Football League, Historical Players, Sammy Green. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
  10. "Reed rumbles 108 yards for NFL record; Longest interception returns by team", Pro Football Hall of Fame (November 24, 2008). Retrieved July 10, 2014.
  11. Gary White, "Polk's Former Pros Have No Regrets", The Ledger (August 28, 2010). Retrieved August 26, 2011.

Bibliography
  • Carlson, Norm, University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators, Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). ISBN 0-7948-2298-3.
  • Golenbock, Peter, Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory, Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). ISBN 0-9650782-1-3.
  • Hairston, Jack, Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told, Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). ISBN 1-58261-514-4.
  • McCarthy, Kevin M., Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football, Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). ISBN 978-0-7385-0559-6.
  • Nash, Noel, ed., The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football, Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois (1998). ISBN 1-57167-196-X.
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