Lee Roy Selmon Went from Humble Beginnings to the Hall of Fame

Tampa paid its final tribute Friday to Lee Roy Selmon.

Thousands showed up at the Idlewild Baptist Church to pay their respects to the 10th son of sharecropper parents Lucious and Jessie B. Selmon, a son born in their small home on a dirt road in Eufaula, Okla., a son who went on to gain fame and fortune in the National Football League and in life after football, but always retained incredible humility.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers honored the face of their franchise. Bryan Glazer, one of the ownership family members, recalled how when his family acquired the team in 1995 and they'd get requests for a player to make community appearances, they didn't call active players, "we called Lee Roy," Glazer said. "And we called Lee Roy again, and again and again. He never said no."

University of South Florida president Judy Genshaft said of Selmon: "He was the father of USF football."

Even more powerful was Selmon's Tampa pastor, Rev. Jeffery Singletary, who called Selmon "a great man of God."

Selmon was all those things and more. He was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1979, and a four-time Pro Bowl player. He was All-Everything at Oklahoma where he won the Outland and Lombardi Trophies, and was All-America on the field and in the classroom.

He was the first player selected in the 1976 NFL draft by the expansion Buccaneers, and he would forever be their most decorated player, their biggest star. But you would never know it from the way Selmon conducted himself. He never spoke of his own accomplishments. He was more concerned with those around him.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame called him to its class of 1995 and he was the first member of the Buccaneer Ring of Honor, the only Buccaneer to have his number retired.

"We were made better by him," brother Dewey told those gathered, including the entire USF football team, wearing Saturday's game jerseys.

Former Buccaneer great Doug Williams sat with Selmon's and his teammates from the 1979 NFC Central championship team. Derrick Brooks, Tampa's next Hall-of-Famer, sat close by with his pal Warrick Dunn, now part of the Atlanta Falcons ownership.

There was resounding applause and the crowd rose when Genshaft announced that the athletic headquarters building at USF would forever be called "The Lee Roy Selmon Athletic Center at USF."

There were slides and videos of Selmon's football and family life.

He was remembered as a man who gave tirelessly to his community.

In a powerful eulogy, Singletary spoke of the five fingerprints Selmon left: Faith, family, friends, football and his eternal future.

Brother Dewey Selmon put the tribute in its simplest form when he declared:

"Lee Roy loved The Lord and the Lord loved Lee Roy."

So did everyone Selmon met or touched.

He will be missed, but most of all, remembered and loved.

Godspeed, Lee Roy Selmon.