TAMPA, Fla. -- Halftime. A few precious moments for an NFL player to make adjustments and catch his breath.For Chicago Bears offensive tackle Ted Albrecht, it was just enough time to make a confession.
The date was Dec. 4, 1977. The Bears were battling the Buccaneers in Tampa Stadium. The game was a scoreless tie, but Albrecht was already beat. A Bears assistant walked across the visiting locker room to talk with him.
"Coach, there are four things in this world I do not want to do under any circumstance," Albrecht said. "No. 1, I don't want to milk a cobra. No. 2, I don't want to be buried at sea. No. 3, I don't want to be hit in the head with a hockey puck.
"And No. 4," he said, "I don't want to play the second half against Lee Roy Selmon."
No one did.
Selmon was simply unstoppable. First, at the University of Oklahoma, and then with the expansion Tampa Bay Bucs, who selected him with the first overall pick in the 1976 NFL Draft.
The only thing that ever managed to stop Selmon was a herniated disk -- it ended his career prematurely after only nine seasons when he was only 31 years old.
In those nine seasons, Selmon transformed the Bucs, the NFL's laughingstocks -- a franchise started with 26 consecutive losses -- into an NFC force, coming within one win of the 1979 Super Bowl. That year, Selmon was named the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year.
"That was quite a rewarding season," Selmon said.
On Sunday when Tampa Bay hosts Green Bay, Selmon will become the inaugural inductee into the club's Ring of Honor. And don't adjust your TV set -- the Bucs will be wearing their throwback Creamsicle orange jerseys and helmets featuring Bucco Bruce, the winking pirate.
"I was excited about the orange and Bucco Bruce," Selmon said. "My brother Dewey [also drafted by the Bucs] and I were ecstatic to play in the National Football League.
"The colors really didn't matter to us. We thought this was great. I like Creamsicles anyway."
Selmon grew up in Eufaula, Okla., and along with his brothers Lucious and Dewey, went on to play at Oklahoma.
The famed Selmon brothers were depicted on a popular bumper sticker, sitting in a baby carriage with the words: God Bless Mrs. Selmon.
"He was the first Oklahoma Sooner in the Pro Football Hall of Fame," former Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer said. "He's in all the hall of fames: academic, college and NFL. There's no hall that he won't be in.
"Plus, Lee Roy always played at the '10' level. He never took a play off. That's a tribute to his character, discipline and competitive desire. That's something his mommy and daddy instilled into that family."
Considered the greatest player in OU's storied history, Selmon won two national titles as the Sooners went 32-1-1 the three years he at defensive end for them. In 1975, he finished ninth in the Heisman Trophy voting.
Selmon was the obvious draft choice for the expansion Buccaneers in 1976. And Selmon didn't disappoint.
He finished with a franchise-record 78 1/2 sacks in his nine-year career. He was an All-Pro selection six times.
After his NFL career ended, Selmon remained in Tampa. He was involved in banking, and then was hired as an assistant athletic director at the University of South Florida to help with the start up of the school's football program.
Selmon eventually became the school's athletic director, but in January 2004 took a six-week sabbatical because of "stress-related" problems, his brother Dewey said. In February 2004, Selmon became president of the USF Foundation as the chief fundraiser for the school's athletic department.
Still to this day, Selmon remains Tampa's most popular athlete. He is among the nicest persons -- if not the nicest person -- you'll ever meet. He has an expressway named after him, and he owns a chain of restaurants, but he still remains the same humble, down-to-Earth person.
Because of his popularity, Selmon's office is a must stop for USF coaches, who take recruits by to visit.
A few years ago, Selmon was discussing the benefits of attending USF to a recruit, when the girl's father noticed some football memorabilia in Selmon's office.
The father proudly told Selmon that he had played football when he was younger and, well, he was quite good.
"Were you any good?" Selmon was asked by the recruit's father, who obviously had no knowledge about Selmon's past.
"I guess I was OK," Selmon responded.
"Are you, like, in any Hall of Fames?" the man asked.
"Uh, yes," Selmon humbly replied.
"Which one: college or pro?"
"Both," Selmon said.
The Bucs retired his No. 63 jersey in 1986. The mild-mannered Selmon said he's honored to be recognized by the Bucs in the Ring of Honor. He's happy that the team is also making it a 30-year reunion of sorts for the 1979 Buccaneers.
"It's very fitting having the 1979 team invited and connecting to the past, current and future," Selmon said. "We had a lot of wonderful players. I'm grateful for the Glazers for establishing the Ring of Honor."
Selmon laughed that he's excited to see all the Creamsicle jerseys and shirts on Sunday.
"They've been out of circulation for a while," Selmon said. "I told folks to go down in their trunks and pull out an old golf shirt with the old colors, so they can go out and wear it one more time.
"It's a throwback to the history of the Bucs. It's a blessing to be alive and see it. It's been 30 years. It's a first. It's a joy and blessing to be a part of those things."
Lucious and Dewey Selmon, along with a lot of Selmon's family members, will be in attendance for Sunday's ceremonies.
"We may have a mini-reunion, but it's not about me," Selmon said. "Any honor that I receive, I've done none of this on my own. I'm truly humble and grateful."
