Colin Ridgway

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Colin Ridgway
Date of birth:	February 19, 1937
Place of birth:	Melbourne, Australia
Date of death:	May 13, 1993 (aged 56)
Career information
Position(s):	Punter
College:	Lamar University
Organizations
As player:
1965	Dallas Cowboys
Stats at DatabaseFootball.com

Colin Edwin Ridgway (February 19, 1937– May 13, 1993) was an American football punter distinguished as being the first Australian to play in the National Football League.

1 Athletic career
2 VFL career
3 NFL career
4 Murder
5 External links

[edit] Athletic career

Ridgway was a high jumper who competed at the 1956 Olympic Games and 1958 Commonwealth Games for Australia. He had also competed in the Australian Track and Field Championships from 1955/56 to 1959/60. He won a bronze medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics and then attended Lamar Tech (now Lamar University) in Beaumont, Texas, before moving to Dallas to join the Cowboys.

[edit] VFL career

Colin began his sporting career playing Australian rules football. He reached VFL reserves level, playing for the Carlton Football Club in the 1960s.

[edit] NFL career

In 1965 he was recruited by the Dallas Cowboys and played a total of 3 games as a punter. It turned out that the running drop-kicks that were commonly used at that time in Aussie Rules didn't translate well into the American game. But Colin stayed in Dallas and became a successful businessman.

[edit] Murder

Colin Ridgway was murdered at his University Park home in 1993. To date, no arrests have been and the case remains open. http://cbs11tv.com/sports/local_story_309233322.html