Roy Stuart (American football)

Roy J. Stuart Jr. (July 25, 1920 – February 27, 2013) was a professional American football player in the National Football League (NFL). He played guard for the Cleveland Rams, Detroit Lions, and (after serving in World War II) the Buffalo Bisons of the All-America Football Conference.[1][2]

Roy Stuart
Born:July 25, 1920
Shawnee, Oklahoma, US
Died:February 27, 2013(2013-02-27) (aged 92)
Tulsa, Oklahoma, US
Career information
Position(s)Guard
CollegeTulsa
Career history
As player
1942Cleveland Rams
1943Detroit Lions
1946Buffalo Bisons (AAFC)

Stuart graduated from Shawnee High School in 1938 where he was an All-State football player. He then played college football at the University of Tulsa, on both offense and defense and was named the outstanding lineman in Tulsa's first bowl game (the 1941 Sun Bowl).

He played professionally for two years then went into the navy in 1943. He was part of the Norman Okla Naval Air Station Zoomers football team before being assigned aboard ship. He was on the USS Bunker Hill when it suffered a Kamikaze attack. Nearly 700 sailors and airmen were killed, injured or missing. After the war he played another year of pro football then returned to his hometown of Shawnee and became the head football coach for one year. He then worked in the oil business in Tulsa. Stuart was elected to Tulsa's athletic hall of fame in 1993.[3]

Footnotes

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  1. ^ Tim Stanley, "Roy Stuart 1920-2013: TU football star, WWII veteran dies at 92", Tulsa World, March 3, 2013.
  2. ^ Kenneth R. Crippen, The Original Buffalo Bills: A History of the All-America Football Conference Team, 1946-1949 (McFarland, 2009), ISBN 978-0786446193, p. 284. Excerpts available at Google Books.
  3. ^ Doug Eaton, "Postgame: Roy Stuart Jr. Early stalwart of Golden Hurricane football." TulsaPeople, January 2013.
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