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Ron Widby
George Ronald Widby (March 9, 1945 – December 23, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a punter in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers. He also was a member of the New Orleans Buccaneers of the American Basketball Association (ABA). He played college football and basketball for the Tennessee Volunteers, earning conference player of the year honors in basketball in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in 1967.
Widby attended Fulton High School, where he was a multi-sport athlete. He played quarterback in football. From his childhood in Knoxville, Widby showed tremendous athletic promise. One retired Knoxville sportswriter, Marvin West, recalled for a 2011 story on Widby that "he was good for his age. Every step of the way in his career, he was smooth for his age." Widby himself would recall, "I grew up with the idea I was going to win a scholarship to the University of Tennessee."
He did just that, signing with Tennessee after starring as a quarterback, safety, and punter at Fulton High School in Knoxville. However, near the end of his senior football season at Fulton, he broke his arm and shoulder. Widby recovered well enough to have a strong senior basketball season.
After arriving at his hometown university, Widby initially decided to concentrate on basketball due to his high school injury. Even though he did not attend spring or fall practice with the freshman football team—at the time, freshmen were not allowed to play NCAA varsity sports—the football team kept him on scholarship in hopes he would change his mind.
As it turned out, the football coaching staff went to head basketball coach Ray Mears, telling him they needed a punter. Mears had no problem with Widby playing that position, and as Widby himself recalled in 2011, "I always enjoyed punting a football." He also played on the freshman team in another of his high school sports, baseball, hitting nearly .400.
As a sophomore (1964–65), he had won starting positions in both football and basketball. He averaged 41.1 yards on 74 punts. He also hit nearly .300 in what would be his only varsity baseball season, but felt bored by that sport.
As a junior, he averaged 42.8 yards on 20 punts. He also met Tennessee's golf coach, who upon finding out that Widby had also been on Fulton's varsity golf team, invited him to try out for the team. Widby would go on to earn a letter in golf. He had the unusual situation of having his football team playing in the 1965 Bluebonnet Bowl and at the same time the basketball squad was participating in the Gulf South Classic, so he was ferried by airplane back and forth between Shreveport and Houston as his playing schedule required.
Sportswriter Ron Higgins would say in 2011, "Few athletes in SEC history enjoyed a better senior year in 1966–67 than Ron in both football and basketball." As a senior in football, he led the nation in punting average at 43.8 yards on 48 punts, while in basketball, he averaged 22.1 points and 8.7 rebounds while leading the Volunteers to a conference title. He was named a second-team All-American in basketball, and was also the SEC's basketball Player of the Year.
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Ron Widby
George Ronald Widby (March 9, 1945 – December 23, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a punter in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers. He also was a member of the New Orleans Buccaneers of the American Basketball Association (ABA). He played college football and basketball for the Tennessee Volunteers, earning conference player of the year honors in basketball in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in 1967.
Widby attended Fulton High School, where he was a multi-sport athlete. He played quarterback in football. From his childhood in Knoxville, Widby showed tremendous athletic promise. One retired Knoxville sportswriter, Marvin West, recalled for a 2011 story on Widby that "he was good for his age. Every step of the way in his career, he was smooth for his age." Widby himself would recall, "I grew up with the idea I was going to win a scholarship to the University of Tennessee."
He did just that, signing with Tennessee after starring as a quarterback, safety, and punter at Fulton High School in Knoxville. However, near the end of his senior football season at Fulton, he broke his arm and shoulder. Widby recovered well enough to have a strong senior basketball season.
After arriving at his hometown university, Widby initially decided to concentrate on basketball due to his high school injury. Even though he did not attend spring or fall practice with the freshman football team—at the time, freshmen were not allowed to play NCAA varsity sports—the football team kept him on scholarship in hopes he would change his mind.
As it turned out, the football coaching staff went to head basketball coach Ray Mears, telling him they needed a punter. Mears had no problem with Widby playing that position, and as Widby himself recalled in 2011, "I always enjoyed punting a football." He also played on the freshman team in another of his high school sports, baseball, hitting nearly .400.
As a sophomore (1964–65), he had won starting positions in both football and basketball. He averaged 41.1 yards on 74 punts. He also hit nearly .300 in what would be his only varsity baseball season, but felt bored by that sport.
As a junior, he averaged 42.8 yards on 20 punts. He also met Tennessee's golf coach, who upon finding out that Widby had also been on Fulton's varsity golf team, invited him to try out for the team. Widby would go on to earn a letter in golf. He had the unusual situation of having his football team playing in the 1965 Bluebonnet Bowl and at the same time the basketball squad was participating in the Gulf South Classic, so he was ferried by airplane back and forth between Shreveport and Houston as his playing schedule required.
Sportswriter Ron Higgins would say in 2011, "Few athletes in SEC history enjoyed a better senior year in 1966–67 than Ron in both football and basketball." As a senior in football, he led the nation in punting average at 43.8 yards on 48 punts, while in basketball, he averaged 22.1 points and 8.7 rebounds while leading the Volunteers to a conference title. He was named a second-team All-American in basketball, and was also the SEC's basketball Player of the Year.
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