Perhaps the most talented, all-round athlete ever to represent the University of Tennessee, Ron Widby lettered in four sports in his Vol career and made first-team All-America in basketball and football. In an era when even two-sport heroes like Michael Jordan are a vanishing breed, Widby represents a throwback to the days of the multi-talented star. One of the most memorable stories from those UT years illustrates his versatility. In 1965 the Vol football team was playing in the Bluebonnet Bowl in Houston at the same time the basketball squad was participating in the Gulf South Classic in Shreveport, Louisiana. Both teams sorely needed the services of Widby. The solution was an airplane procured by UT to ferry him back and forth between Shreveport and Houston as his playing schedule required. For good measure, he repeated the feat a year later! Widby won eight varsity letters in his UT career, three each in football and basketball, one in baseball, and one in golf. Although basketball was his first love, he chose football for a professional career, enjoying seven successful years as punter with the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers, playing in two Super Bowls, and being selected for the Pro Bowl. The versatile Widby is one of few, if not the only person, to play three sports professionally – football in the NFL, basketball in the ABA, and golf on the Senior PGA Tour.
