'A champion for humanity'

The passing of Lee Roy Selmon hit his former Buccaneer teammates hard.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers died Sunday, two days after suffering a stroke. Selmon's death left several former Bucs players stunned and shook up Plant High School football coach Bob Weiner.

"This is devastating for the NFL community, the Tampa Bay community and everyone that knew Mr. Lee Roy Selmon," said former Bucs tight end Jimmie Giles, the newest inductee into the team's Ring of Honor. "Everyone knew he was a great football player, but he's also one of the nicest guys I ever met."

Former Bucs quarterback Doug Williams and Selmon were particularly close.

Williams, the head football coach at Grambling State University, was a frequent customer at Selmon's barbecue restaurant in Tampa while Williams was a Bucs executive.

"I don't know what to say," Williams said by phone from Louisiana. "Nobody expects something like this to happen, but you don't control it. I'm 56, just like Lee Roy. There's not a whole lot to say."

Sunday's news was particularly upsetting to Weiner, who appreciated Selmon's support of the football program.

In a glass case in the original Selmon's restaurant near Tampa International Airport, a Plant helmet and signed football from one of the three state championship teams is prominently displayed.

"He was a champion for high school sports, but mostly, he was a champion for humanity," Weiner said. "We teach our kids to be ferocious on the football field, but when they step off the field to be gentlemen. I don't know that you have a better example of that than Lee Roy Selmon. His humility was 100 percent sincere."

Weiner and his family were inaugural Bucs season-ticket holders. They purchased their tickets four years before the franchise came to Tampa in 1976 and for eight-straight seasons, Weiner attended every Bucs home game.

"That was my first introduction to football," Weiner said. "I loved watching Lee Roy play. I just remember him being a mauler. His huge arms outstretched, chasing after quarterbacks, was an amazing sight. It was like a bear engulfing a quarterback.

"There were a lot of bad plays those first couple of years, but you could always count on at least three maulings by Lee Roy," he said. "I was there at the beginning when things weren't always so good, but Lee Roy was always a shining light."

For Giles, it was Selmon's positive outlook that helped set him apart. "Lee Roy's legacy is he's the most peaceful guy you'd ever want to meet," Giles said. "He always made you smile, and that's a pretty rare thing to say about anybody. Every time you were around him, he made you feel better."

After Selmon retired from the Bucs in 1985, he was a frequent visitor to team headquarters, passing on his knowledge to the next generation of players.

"Not many words to say at this time," former Bucs linebacker Derrick Brooks said in a text message to the Tribune. "He was a great person that loved the Lord and a great example of humility. Tampa had great fortune to have Tom McEwen and Lee Roy. What a year — two of the best not here any longer."