Tubbs was an honor graduate student and played center at Breckenridge High School. He was part of two Texas state championship football teams in 1951 and 1952. He played in three high school All-Star games and was a unanimous Texas All-State selection in 1952.
The teams were coached by Cooper Robbins (1951) and Joe Kerbel (1952), who would go on to the college ranks. Tubbs lost only three games during his high school career.
In 1971, he was inducted into the Texas High School FootballHall of Fame. Since 2008, the Breckenridge Buckaroos open the football season playing the "Jerry Tubbs Kickoff Classic".
College career
Tubbs accepted a football scholarship from the University of Oklahoma. He played three varsity years, contributing to the Sooners winning all 31 games during that period.
As a sophomore in 1954, when fullbackBilly Pricer was injured, Tubbs had to replace him playing against University of Texas, the first time he had ever played in the backfield. He rushed for 387 yards, 2 touchdowns and averaged 6.1 yards per carry.[1]
As a junior in 1955, head coach Bud Wilkinson moved him to center, which became his signature position, while also playing linebacker. In the 20–0 victory over the University of Texas, he had 27 tackles and 3 interceptions, prompting Wilkinson to call it "the single greatest game ever played by an Oklahoma defender".[2]
During his three varsity years, Oklahoma's record was 10-0, 11-0, 10-0. His 31 wins were part of that legendary 47-game winning streak and two national titles from 1954-56. The 1954 team was ranked third nationally in the Associated Press and United Press polls. The 1955 and 1956 teams were national champions. In those years Oklahoma played in only one bowl game, where the 1955 team beat Maryland University 20-6 in the Orange Bowl.[5]
Tubbs was acquired by the Dallas Cowboys in 1960 NFL Expansion Draft.[8] As it turned out, he would spend the next 29 years in Dallas — as a player, player-coach and full-time assistant coach. In the 4th game of the 1960 season, Tubbs became the first player in franchise history to start at the middle linebacker position on a regular basis, finishing with 149 tackles (48 solo).
He became a player-coach in 1965. In 1966 he retired and was working for the Dallas Federal Savings and Loan Association, but was lured back by Tom Landry to play behind Lee Roy Jordan for one more year. He played just the first three games of the season, until he suffered a back injury.
The following year (1967), Landry sensing that the Cowboys had a real chance at a championship, wanted to have Tubbs as insurance in the event Lee Roy Jordan should be injured. He came back again, but didn't play a single down while serving as a player-coach, hence he was on the roster and in uniform for the 1967 Ice Bowl championship game against the Packers.[9]
Personal life
When he finally retired as a player at the end of the 1967 season, he became Cowboys linebackers coach for 21 years. He coached in five Super Bowls, winning two of them. He died on June 13, 2012, at the age of 77.[5]
References
^Hickman, Herman (September 12, 1955). "The Eleven Best Elevens". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 20, 2023.