Lee Roy Caffey American football player
Lee Roy Caffey (June 3, 1941 – January 18, 1994) was an American football linebacker in the National Football League.Lee Roy Caffey started his football career in Thorndale, Texas at the age of ten when he played in the 'Milk Bowl' Championship on a pee wee league and shook hands with American legend Jim Thorpe. He later played college football at Texas A&M University where he led the Aggies in rushing with 371 yards in 1961. He played on the 1963 College All Star Football Team and in the 1963 Challenge Bowl, he is a member of the Texas A&M Hall of Fame, and is a member of the Texas A&M All-Decade Team of the 1960s. He is the first Texas A&M Aggie to play in, and win, a Super Bowl and is one of Texas A&M's top 10 best players in the NFL. He was an AFL fourth round draft choice for the Houston Oilers but was selected in the seventh round of the 1963 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles and was named All Rookie. Caffey was acquired by the Green Bay Packers in the famous 'Jim Ringo' trade where he became a starting linebacker and would become an All-Pro Player. At 6' 4 with 10.0 speed in the 100 yards he was one of the fastest linebackers in the league. He played on three of Vince Lombardi's championship teams at Green Bay which include the 1965 World Championship, Super Bowl I where he led with 7 tackles, and Super Bowl II. He was named AP and UPI All Pro in 1966, played in the 1966 Pro Bowl, and played in the legendary 'Ice Bowl' in 1967. Caffey later played for the Dallas Cowboys' first Super Bowl championship team (Super Bowl VI) under Tom Landry where he earned his third career Super Bowl ring and fourth championship ring.Caffey is considered one of the most underrated linebackers in the NFL due to the fact that he played beside Ray Nitschke in Green Bay, then beside Dick Butkus in Chicago. He is a member of the Green Bay Packer Hall of Fame and was selected to the 75th Anniversary All Time Packer Team, the Texas High School All Super Bowl Team, and was nominated for ESPN's All Time Super Bowl Team. In 2006, the Green Bay Packers' linebacking corps of Ray Nitschke, Dave Robinson, and Lee Roy Caffey was named one of the NFL's Top 10 Greatest Linebacking Trios in the history of the NFL. Lee Roy Caffey died of colon cancer at MD Anderson Cancer Hospital in Houston, Texas in 1994.